California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



I'ovciue, 



How to Tell the Age of Pigs. 



„, T the various exhibitions of stock, where 

 :7i\'' care is t.ikeu to test the correctness of 

 the certificate of age by an examination 

 of the teeth, pu^ occnpy a somewhat 

 invidious position, inasmuch as they 

 are always suspected animals. Disqualifica- 

 tious on account of the discrepancies between 

 the state of the dentition and the age stated 

 by the exhibitor are of constant occurrence, 

 and outsiders are compelled to conclude either 

 that the dentition of jjigs is very irregular, or 

 that those who have charge of the animals 

 are singularly inexact in their reckoning. 

 Certainly, the pig is not to blame, for the 

 changes which take place from birth to the 

 completion of permanent dentition at eigh- 

 teen months are remarkable for their regular- 

 ity. Comparing the statements of the older 

 writers on the subject of dentition of the jng 

 with the facts which have been recently noted 

 wo may conclude that an improved system of 

 breeding and feeding has had great influence 

 in advancing the development of the teeth; 

 but whatever was gained in this particular 

 reached its culminating point years ago, and 

 for some time past wo have noticed that the 

 exceptional cases have been in the direction 

 of retarded rather than premature develop- 

 ment of the teeth. 



At birth the pig has the temporary tusks 

 and the corner incisors well up. These teeth 

 are very fine and sharp, almost like fine 

 needles, and occnpy a position on each side 

 the mouth, leaving a clear sjiace in front. In 

 a mouth to six weeks the central temporaries 

 are cut, and soon after the completion of the 

 second month the latteral incisors are cut,and 

 the animal has its full set or temporary teeth, 

 including three molars on each side, toj) and 

 bottom, six incisors, top and bottom, and a 

 tusk on each side, top and bottom. At the 

 age of six months the premolars, which occu- 

 py a position between the first temporary mo- 

 lar and the tusk, are cut, and also a permanent 

 molar, which is fourth in situation. The 

 premolars are not always present, and in their 

 absence the fourth molar will be accepted as 

 an indication of the age of six months. At 

 nine months the permanent tusks are cut, 

 and the corner permanent incisors, which 

 often prick through the gum soon after seven 

 months, are fairly up. At one year old the 

 central permanent incisors take the place of 

 the temporary teeth, and the fifth molar is 

 also in position. 



Many pigs at the age of twelve months re- 

 tain the temporary central incisors, and we 

 have mot with no instances of the permanent 

 centrals being in their place before the full 

 age of a year ; hence the fact of these teeth 

 being well up in an animal which was certi- 

 fied to be under one year, would disqualify 

 it. At fifteen months the three anterior 

 molars are permanent, and they maj- be easily 

 recognized by their recent appearance, and by 

 the absence of any signs of wear. At eigh- 

 teen months the permanent dentition of the 

 pig is completed by the cutting of the last 

 molar, and also the external permanent in- 

 cisors. 



After this period it is seldom necessary to 

 define the age of the pig, nor is the evidence 

 which is afforded by the growth and wear of 

 the teeth sufficiently exact to enable the ex- 

 aminer to form a positive opinion. — London 

 Agncultural Oazetle. 



The Beekshires. — David Z. Evans, Jr., 

 thus speaks of this breed in the Live Stock 

 Journal: The Berkshire breed of swine is 

 much esteemed, and deservedly so, for its 

 many good qualities. One of its chief recom- 

 mendations is its freedom from most diseases, 

 particularly skin diseases, such as mange, etc. 

 With precisely the same management, I have 

 seen the white breeds become mangy, while 



the black one remained i^erfectly healthy, with 

 the skin soft and smooth. Besides this, they 

 do not consume as much food, proportion- 

 ately, as most other breeds. To illustrate 

 this, I will give the average feed of some of 

 mine. I have pigs weighing from two to 

 three hun<lred pounds, breeding sows and 

 boars, which get for their daily feed three 

 good sized ears of corn and three common 

 pailfuls of thin slop, the slop made of six 

 quarts of wheat middlings, or corn and oats. 

 This constitutes the food for each, and pro- 

 duces as tine specimens of this breed as can 

 •be found. The reason for this is, I believe, 

 that they assimilate all the food given them, 

 are quiet in disposition, and when kept grow- 

 ing from the start, can be kept in extra order 

 with only a moderate amount of food. Of 

 course when they are growing — that is, when 

 they are not taken from the sow until they 

 are about ten weeks old — wo give heavier 

 feeding to sows, with as much green food of 

 different kinds, in its season, as they will con- 

 sume readily, making the lesser iiroportion of 

 different kinds of grain. 



The best specimens of Berkshires have 

 small, shapely jmck ears, areheavily hammed, 

 and rather heavily jowled, with broad shoul- 

 ders and a square, short, broad nose, with the 

 forehead sometimes dished. In selecting a 

 boar or sow for breeding, look for hams as 

 heavy as possible, as the broad and deep 

 shoulders are more easily found. The 

 straighter you can get the back, especially on 

 the hams, the better the pigs; and avoid one, 

 particularly a boar, which has shelving hams, 

 or a back drooping rapidly from the fore-hips 

 to the tail. I like a good chest, as it denotes 

 strength of constitiition, a thing which, I am 

 sorry to admit, has not been considered by 

 many lireeders of thoroughbred stock. 



In regard to dish-faced Berkshires, they are 

 very hard to find, and yet harder to breed. 

 The best specimen, perhaps, which I ever saw 

 of this kind, was a two-year-old sow, exhib- 

 ited at the Middletown (Del.) fair, last Sep- 

 tember. She was imported from the queen's 

 pens, England, and had one of the finest 

 formed heads possible. Many breeders aie 

 striving to produce this form of head, but 

 mostly without success. 



Feeding Swine ix Summer. — A correspon- 

 dent of the Germantown Telegraph writes; 

 5Iy own experience of pork-raising, based 

 upon experience, observation, and probably a 

 little philosophy of things, if written for the 

 benefit of others, would be about as follows: 

 During the hot Summer months I would feed 

 very little solid feed, such as corn in the ear 

 or uncracked. I would keep hogs upon green 

 feed constantly, either grass, oats or rye, and 

 feed them at regulai* intervals, once or twice a 

 day, upon mashed feed, either shorts, chopped 

 oats or rye, buckwheat, etc., feed in troughs. 

 "When fed in this way and at the same time 

 allowed access to water and shade, hogs will 

 bear crowding through the hot months, a very 

 good time if not the best, to take on flesh. 

 This puts them in the best of condition for 

 corn feeding, which should commence about 

 the first of September, when the new crop is 

 still soft and tender. Treated in this way 

 hogs become probably as perfect as any meth- 

 od could make them. Upon the whole, I 

 believe it the cheapest and most economical. 



Cost of Preparing Pokk for Maeket. — 

 The charges for slaughtering, cutting and cur- 

 ing the hoc product, and for smoking, pack- 

 ing, canvasing the same, in the city of St. 

 Louis, are about as follows : 



Hogs slaughtered for slaughter house offal. 



Cutting dressed hogs, curing and rendering 

 the lard, "exclusive of salt and cooperage," 

 25 cents per 100 pounds, hook weight. 



Furnishing salt for curing green meats, in 

 bulk, 25 cents per 100 pounds meat, biUk 

 weight. 



Pacldng barrel pork, furnishing salt and 

 pickle, 75 cents per barrel. 



Packing hams in tierces, furnishing sweet 

 pickle §1 per tierce. 



Sugar curing hams, in open vats, ready for 

 smoking, one cent per pound. 



Cooperage furnished at market price. 



Storage free on the product to March 1st. 



Oft'al from dressed hogs sold free of charge 

 and proceeds credited to the owner. 



Smoking, 25 cents per 100 pounds, weight 

 out of smoke, including fifteen days' storage. 



Packing bacon and bulk meats, in casks, 

 "exclusive of package or salt," 50 cents per 

 1,000 pounds. 



Packing bacon or bulk meats, in tierces or 

 boxes, "exclusive of salt, package or paper, " 

 35 cents per package. 



Packing bacon, in gunnies or bales, " ex- 

 clusive of bags or paper, " ten cents per pack- 

 age. 



Ro-packing pork, including pickle, fifty 

 cents per barrel. Extra salt and barrels ne- 

 cessary furnished atmarliet price. 



Cleaning bulk sides, one and a half cents 

 each; bones sold and proceeds credited to 

 owner. 



Canvasing and washing hams, furnishing 

 all material and one month's storage, one 

 cent per pound. — Rural ^yorld. 



Hog Items. — The pig is a social animal, 

 and generally will fatten faster in company 

 with other hogs than when kept alone. 



Pigs, to thrive well, and be healthy, where 

 full fed on corn, should have plentd of salt, 

 sulphur, and wood ashes, where they can run 

 to it and help themselves. Bituminous or 

 soft stone coal will furnish the sulphur, and 

 is quite valuable for hogs; feed it by throwing 

 in a shovelful or two at a time in its natural 

 state only breaking up in pieces the size of a 

 walnut. 



The usual practice in the management of 

 hogs is to keep the whole stock for fall kill- 

 ing, through the previous Winter. In this 

 practice lies, perhaps, the secret of want of 

 success in hog keeping. The mosteconamical 

 method, we are inclined to think, wonld be 

 to keep sows enough to have the whole stock 

 of pen hogs come about the first of March, to 

 be well prepared with roots, a lot of rye or 

 or other early pasture, and a clover field, to 

 furnish both sows and pigs with full supplies 

 of succulent food from the start, and through- 

 out the season. Such management may bring 

 any tolerable breed to a weight of 150 to 175 

 pounds, by the middle of December. 



The Jourtvil of Agricultnre says: 'When 

 corn sells for 15^^^ cents per bushel, pork 

 costs l).-^ cents per pound. 



When corn costs 17 cents per bushel, pork 

 costs 2 cents per pound. 



When corn costs 25 cents per bushel, pork 

 costs '.i cents per pound. 



When corn costs 33 cents per bnshel, pork 

 costs 4 cents per pound. 



When com costs 50 cents per bushel, pork 

 costs 5 cents per pound. 



This may be correct when hogs are fed on 

 corn alone ; but where hogs are raised on pas- 

 turage and stubble fields, it costs but little to 

 grow and fatten them. 



-w ♦ »" ■ 



The Vahje or a Thoroughbred Boab. — A 

 breeder's circular says that "the thoroughbred 

 pig, in starting a herd, is chiefly valuable in 

 breeding the common stock. By using a 

 thoroughbred boar upon common sows, yon 

 get a half-blood that does very well for feed- 

 ing inirposes, which can be further improved 

 by selecting the best sow pigs, feeding them 

 liberally, and again getting a thoroughbred 

 boar and using on them, which, if practiced 

 a few years, will produce porkers equal to the 

 pure blood. But graded or impure males 

 ■ should never be used, as the tendency is to 

 run back to the scrub. The thoroughbred, if 

 purchased young, can be had for from S25 to 

 $30 each. He can be used one season, and 

 sold or castrated and fed, when he will of 



