486 



SWINE IN AMERICA 



extreme cold weather that any door is needed. We al- 

 ways have the house set with the doorway in the direc- 

 tion from which comes the least wind. 



"When the surface is rolling-, lloors to these houses 

 will seldom be needed. The ground is the best floor, 

 under most conditions; but when the weather is very 

 wet and the ground muddy, a plank floor comes in ex- 

 cellent play. The floor should be made separate from 

 the house, and the house placed over it, the floor fitting 

 neatly inside the sills When a plank floor is used, care 



A GOOD HOUSE FOR A SOW AND YOUNG PIGS 



should be taken to prevent the wind driving under it. 

 One man can turn one of these houses over on to a sled 

 and mo\e it when desired, which should be done when 

 the ground floor is used and becomes filthy. If disease 

 strikes the herd, the houses can be turned upside down 

 that the sun and weather may disinfect them. 



"A few years ago we had sows farrow the last of Jan- 

 uary, when the mercury was l^elow zero. W'e co\^ered 

 their houses with fodder, nailed a sack above the door- 

 way, and hung a thermometer inside of one to observe 

 what efifect the heat of the sow's body would have on the 

 temperature. We found, when the mercury registered 

 eight degrees below zero outside the house, that the heat 



