348 SWINE IN AMERICA 



Stances "hogging off" is deemed profitable. Where the 

 growth is rank or the weather wet, turning the brood 

 sows and young pigs in the rye field ma) cause some 

 losses if the pigs find it difficult to keep up with their 

 dams, and caution should be observed in their behalf. 

 By "hogging off" rye on clay or other rather poor lands, 

 the double advantage is obtained of feeding the hogs 

 and distributing the straw and manure on the land in a 

 way that is very excellent. An experience of a Ross 

 county, Ohio, farmer, John M. Jamison, with rye pasture 

 was given in the Country Gentleman as follows : "As a 

 farm crop to be grown and harvested as wheat is, we are 

 not much in favor of rye, the heavy straw being so dif- 

 ficult to handle, and when we have a crop we prefer to 

 let the hogs gather it. Our land being principally heavy 

 clay, it is our aim to add all the humus we can to it, and 

 we can use the heavy growth of rye straw to great ad- 

 vantage for this purpose. When it is 'hogged down' 

 it is left on the ground, evenly distributed, just as we 

 want it. The same quantity of wheat straw would often 

 smother the young clover or grasses sown in the rye, 

 but we have never known rye to do so. We regard 

 rye as the best of small grains to start grass crops in, 

 the rye not having as dense a foliage near the ground 

 as oats and wheat. Rye, when fully ripe, will straw- 

 break 15 or 18 inches above the ground, the heads 

 lodging on the bench formed by this breaking, keep- 

 ing them off the ground and preventing decay of the 

 grain. Again, it will not shatter as wheat will, nor 

 does it, like wheat, decay on account of wet weather. 

 These qualities make it valuable as a crop to 'hog 



