CHAPTER XVIII. 



Hog Houses and Pens 



Probably every swine grower, and especially ot pure- 

 ))re(ls reared for breeding purposes, has had dreams of 

 some time possessing a model hog house; one so capa- 

 cious, so complete and so nearly meeting every require- 

 ment that labor and further expense would be almost un- 

 necessary, while the convenience, better health, freedom 

 from losses, economy in feed and increased profits re- 

 sulting from an equipment so perfect would make the 

 breeder's progress toward fortune little less than a tri- 

 umphal march along an asphalt highway, shaded by 

 sighing elms and perfumed by flowers. Properly am- 

 bitious, and with such ideals in mind, breeders have 

 planned, erected and equipped what were intended to be 

 such buildings; many expensi^•e, elaborate and ornate, 

 with "all modern conveniences," and others less so in 

 varying degrees, but all intended to insure economy by 

 accommodating a large number of animals under one 

 roof and in restricted yards or pens adjacent. 



So far as mere theory disclosed, many of these, of 

 moderate, as well as of high cost, were admirable, if not 

 perfect, and their owners for the time fancied they pos- 

 sessed a sort of Aladdin's lamp, by means of which 

 they would find a larger measure of success than was or 

 would be vouchsafed to their less discerning and less 

 enterprising fellows. In practice these structures have 



