Califorxia Agriculturist and Live Stock Jourxal. 



foceinr. 



Pat and the Pig. 



'^^'V E have read of a Pat so financially flat 

 That he had neither money nor meat, 

 And when hungry and thin, it was whisp- 

 pered by sin 

 That he ought to steal something to eat. 



Solie went to the sty of a widow near by, 

 And he gazed on the tenant — poor soul ! 

 "Arrah now," said he, "what a trate that'll be," 

 And the pig of the widow he stole. 



In a feast he joined : then he went to the judge; 



For, in spite of the pork and the lard. 

 There was soxuething within that was sharp as a 

 pin, 



For his conscience was pricking him hard, 



And he said with a tear, " Will your reverence 

 hear 



What I have in Borrow to say ?" 

 Then the story he told, and the tale did unfold 



Of the pig he had taken away. 



And the judge to him said, "Ere you go to bed. 

 You must pay for the pig you have taken; 



For 'tis thus, by my soul, you'll be saving your 

 soul. 

 And will also be saving your bacon." 



•' Oh, be jabers," said Pat, " I can uiver do that— 

 Not the ghost of a hap'orth have I— 



And I'm wretched indade if a penny it nade 

 Any pace for my conscience to buy." 



Then in sorrow he cried, and the judge replied 

 "Only think how you'll tremble with fear 



When the Judge you shall meet at the great judg- 

 ment seat 

 And the widow you plundered while here." 



"Will the widow be there?" whispered Pat, with a 

 stare, 

 "And the pig? by mi.- Bowl, is it thrue ?" 

 " They will surely be there," said the judge, *' I 

 declare. 

 And, oh Paddy! what then will you do I" 



' Many thanks," answered Pat, "for your tellin' me 

 that; 

 May the blessings upon you be big! 

 On that eittlement day to the widow I'll say: 

 ' Mrs, Flaunegan, here is your pig!' " 



The Berkshire Hog. 



At a late State Fair in the East there was 

 not one white hog exhibited. All were black, 

 mid either Berkshire or Essex. At the largest 

 of the Western State Fairs, that of Illinois, 

 nearly all the hogs were black, or black and 

 white. This would seem to indicate the rapid 

 growth of the black breeds iu public favor, 

 and of these the Berkshire takes the lead. As 

 well indirectly as directly, for in the Poland 

 Chinas of the West is seen, in the majority of 

 oases, the Berkshire blood greatly predomin- 

 ating. The Berkshire has been most care- 

 fully bred for many years, starting from what 

 was originally a large breed, possessing many 

 good points, and of a black and white and 

 yellowish spotted color. The improvement 

 of the old Berkshire hog was begun in Eng- 

 land by Lord Barrington, who died in lK2y, 

 and most of the best herds now trace back to 

 this original improved herd. By careful 

 breeding the yellowish color has been gotten 

 rid of, and the white has been confined to the 

 feet, a spot between the eyes, and iu some 

 eases a few white hairs near the shou'ders, 

 although there are herds in which these last 

 white marks are entirely bred out. The Berk- 

 shire, as we now know him, is a moderately 

 ' large hog, with a smooth, round carcass, 

 broad across the shoulders, with well devel- 

 ' oped and round hams, a long, deep flitch, 

 Tery fine, small, bony legs and feet, short 

 face and snout, and covered with a good coat 

 of long, silky, black hair. In many good 

 Berkshires the bluish or slate-colored tint and 

 thin hair of the Neapolitan hog, which has 

 , been crossed upon it, is very conspicuous, 

 I but it is a question if the black, well-haired 

 I f.nimal is not the more vigorous and thrifty 

 ' sort. One of the chief characteristics of the 

 Berkshire is the evenness with which it 

 breeds. At the exhibitions and iu the breed- 

 ers' yard whole litters may be seen that 

 scarcely vary from each other, and hardly to 

 be distinguished one from another in "ap- 



pearance, and pen after pen maj- be examined 

 without any marked variatiim, excepting iu 

 those cases iu which, as already noted, the 

 Neapolitan cross is apiiarent. After fifty 

 years of careful breeding, this is not more 

 than might be exjjected, and the result ap- 

 pears in an animal which, on the whole, is 

 probably the most profitable to the Ijreeder, 

 the feeder, the butcher, and the packer. 

 There is no pig that is more useful to the 

 man who keeps but one, aud more to the 

 farmer who feeds a hundred, if the amount 

 of meat iu proportion to feed consumed be 

 considered. There is more lean iu proijortiou 

 to fat than iu most other, if not iu all other 

 breeds, and the boue and ofl'al are very light. 

 The black color is not only skin deep, but the 

 color lies in the outer skin, which is all re- 

 moved by scalding, aud a Berkshire ham is 

 not to be distinguished from that of a white 

 hog if the hair has not been left on to tell the 

 story. It is no little evidence of its good 

 qualities that the Berkshire has become so 

 rapidly popular, in spite of the prejudice 

 against its color, as to supjjlant, along with 

 the Essex, aU the white breeds at one of the 

 most prominent Eastern States Fairs. — Home 

 Journal. 



Breeding Swine, 



The present rage among American pig 

 breeders to jiossess animals of pure blood, 

 whether in the Berkshire, Essex, Suft'olk, or 

 auy other breed, while likely to ijrove ulti- 

 mately of general benefit to the stock of 

 swine in the country, is far from beiug the . 

 end to which breeders should aim at. As a 

 general thing, very few pigs are really thor- 

 oughbred, and now in England, from a well- 

 known tendency of the hog to degenerate and 

 become enfeebled iu constitution, the moment 

 the refining process through in-and-in breed- 

 ing is carried beyond a limited point, it will 

 be well for breeders to consider if it is not 

 more to their advantage rather to breed for 

 feeding purposes, than to aim at getting fancy 

 prices for fancy animals of a certain fixed 

 type. It has been proved time and again iu 

 Britain that the cross-bred liig is the one for 

 profit in the pen. What is wanted is to have 

 good blood iu the males, with sufficient of 

 boue aud smallness of ofl'al, to ensure early 

 maturity and quick feeding. Cross these 

 males on sows of a larger and coarser frame, 

 with souud healthy constitution, and we ob- 

 tain a pig that is a good w.ay ahead of tlie 

 common sort. By keeping to the use of well 

 bred males, selected with a view to possess- 

 ing the points that go to make up a fine pig, 

 without regard to color or faucy points iu 

 markings, we get healthy thrifty pigs that 

 will readily attain fair weight at an early age, 

 on a moderate amount of feediug. 



Experience in pig breeding teaches that it 

 is better to use small but thoroughly well- 

 formed boars that are quick, easy feeders of 

 their breed, rather than larger ones, and 

 never to use the same boar more than one 

 year. The boar iu all cases should be smaller 

 aud finer than the sows to which he is put. 

 — English Paper. 



^-♦-^ 



What Constitutes a Good Pig. 



The AiHt'riaiii .Sirific and roultri/ Journal 

 says: We would not speak of auy jiarticular 

 breed, but would generalize: as what can be 

 said of a good pig of one breed holds equally 

 good of one from another breed, if we except 

 the size, shape, position of ears, tail, etc., and 

 marking. A good pig is one that has the 

 smallest proportionable amount of oftal; 

 whose nose, feet and tail are shortest, gener- 

 ally speaking, and smallest, consistent with 

 proper locomotion, etc. A good pig is one 

 that has heavy, broad hams, good deep chest, 

 showing a heiilthy constitution: which has a 

 quiet disposition, yet one which is always 

 read}- to get a square meal, and which can 

 digest aud assimilate all it eats in the quick- 

 est possible space of time without impairing 

 the digestive organs. We do not want a pig 



which has a small appetite, but one that eats 

 all that is given it with an evident appetite. 

 The inofit consists in getting your grain and 

 other food rapidly converted into pork ; the 

 quicker the better. Never bother much with 

 a restless pig, for a quiet one, with the same 

 chances in his favor which the restless one 

 has, will soon outstrip him iu the race for fat 

 and pork. 



Crapes Make Pork. 



Says the Foothill Tidinrjs: In a recent con- 

 versation with our old friend Thomas Payne, 

 whose fine farm aud vineyard is situated on 

 the Colfax road two miles from town, we learn- 

 ed that he had been trj-ing the experiment of 

 feediug grapes to hogs. He says he finds the 

 practice all aud more than has been chiimed 

 for it — that the pigs eat the grapes with avid- 

 ity aud are taking on flesh rapidly. There is 

 no excuse for the miserable shiftlessless of 

 the farmers of the foothills of California 

 which compells the importation of pork and 

 lard from IlUnois and Iowa. With rye aud 

 grapes, two crops that can be easily raised 

 here, and with never a failure, we can pro- 

 duce pork here at a less cost of labor than 

 can be done there, and save all the freights 

 and profits while the money is kept at home. 



Short Hog Crop. 



It has been a long time since we have had 

 so short a hog croj) in the West, says the 

 Ilural World. Several causes nave contribu- 

 ted to it. The severe di-outh of last year and 

 the year before, and the chinch bug aud gi-ass- 

 hopper invasions, made corn scarce aud high, 

 and but few hogs were kept over Winter. The 

 high prioe for pork last year caused every 

 available hog to be fattened and slaughterecl. 

 Then there has been a gi-eat mortality in hogs, 

 caused by what is known as hog cholera. All 

 of these matters have decreased the number 

 of hogs, aud good prices can be commanded 

 if the farmers wiU stand firm and not be iu 

 too much haste to slaughter. 



" My onthankful hearers," said a back- 

 woods preacher, "you air like onto hogs eatiu' 

 acorns. They never look up to see where the 

 acorns come from." 



New Peat Fuel Company. — Articles incor- 

 porating the Santa Clara Valley Peat Fuel 

 Comiianj' have been filed in the office of the 

 County Clerk. The capital stock is placed 

 at 81,500,000, divided into shares of SlOO 

 each. The Company will have its priucipal 

 place of business in this city, and its term of 

 existence is fifty years. A certified copy of 

 the articles of incorporation has been traus- 

 mitted to the Secretary of State. The Direc- 

 tors are all of this citv, and are as follows: 

 Samuel A. Bishop, J. H. L. Tuck, Cuthbert 

 Burrel, J. H. Elwood, and Edward llc-Gow- 

 au. 



How TO Stop a Newspaper. — Do not leave 

 it to your friend who is going to town. Do 

 not leave it to tfce Postmaster, unless you 

 know he is a prompt, reliable man; but send 

 a notice by letter or postal card to- the pub- 

 lisher, givinri the address to xchich the pa])er is 

 sent, and yoiu- order will receive prompt atten- 

 tion. 



A FAKJiEK from Lake Washington informs 

 the Seattle Tribune of the 19th that he had 

 raised onions on his place this season at the 

 rate of 1,450 bushels to the acre. Nine and 

 ten hundred bushels are claimed every year 

 for various parts of the Ten'itoi'j". 



Since the rain the atmosphere is pure and 

 balmy aud men's minds are clearer. One 

 man who had owed us for four years, came in 

 aud said he would pay us as soon as the next 

 crop of wheat comes oft, showing the benefi- 

 cial eft'ects of a gentle shower on the mind. — 

 Pafaroniatt. 



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