480 SWINE IN AMERICA 



a high, dry site, and, if possible, on soil containing suffi- 

 cient sand to drain well. A house located on an elevation 

 may be somewhat colder in winter, but it is much cooler 

 and more comfortable in summer. Hogs suffer greatly 

 from the extreme heat of summer, and it is equally as 

 important to keep them cool in summer as it is to keep 

 tliem warm in winter. 



"The portable houses are useful on any sized farm, 

 as the number can be regulated to the size of the herd. 

 With separate paddocks to accommodate swine of dif- 

 ferent ages and sexes, the portable house is practically a 

 necessity. Swine will never pile up in a damp, poorly- 

 ventilated quarter and come out steaming in the cold 

 morning air unless compelled to do so. Where a large 

 number of animals are continually housed in one hog- 

 house and fed in or around the house, the surroundings 

 are sure to become more or less filthy and unsanitary. 

 If feeding is done on the inside it keeps a portion of the 

 floor wet, and gives the entire building an offensive, dis- 

 agreeable appearance. On the other hand, by using the 

 portable house, moving it occasionally to a fresh piece 

 of ground, and feeding the hogs at a different place, one 

 avoids these unsanitary conditions. These portable 

 houses can be built to accommodate from four to six 

 mature animals or ten to 20 shotes. This method of 

 housing keeps them much cleaner and more thrifty than 

 when allowed to congregate in larger numbers, and in- 

 dividuals of a herd showing evidences of a contagious 

 disease can be readily isolated." 



The illustrations at the first of this chapter include 

 two of the individual hog houses at the Illinois experi- 



