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California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



that big chib there, and the bntcher-kuife 

 and th'it shot-guu; for I'll be darned if 

 this old hellion shall ever live to kick mo 

 iu the jaws agin!" — Vir.ks'ntrr! Herald. 



& 



How to Breed Pigs. 



AGK OF PARENTS. 



\iTHER things being equal, those ob- 

 tained from parents two to five 

 years old are generally the largest 

 and most vigorous and from siU'L I 

 jjrefer to select for breeding. 



TIME or BIKTH. 



If the climate where bred will safely 

 admit of it, pigs ought to bo dropped as 

 early as March or April. By coming 

 thus early, those destined for fattening, 

 if continuously fed well, will be large 

 enough for slaughter th<^ following De- 

 cember or January, which is usually the 

 best time for marketing. If born much 

 later, it may be necessary to winter them 

 over for another year, which lessens the 

 profits of rearing considerably. Those 

 reserved for kee ing up the stock, com- 

 ing thus early, will get so good a growth 

 at one year as to breed then, advantage- 

 ously. 



FEEDING. 



Do this for the first few weeks after 

 weaning, five or six times per day. This 

 keeps them from an empty stomach or 

 overgorgiug, both alike pernicious. See 

 that they eat up their food each time be- 

 fore being again fed. After attaining 

 three months age, they need not be fed 

 oftener than three times a day, but this 

 should be regularly done morning, noon 

 and night. 



KINDS OF FOOD. 



The best food I have found for i>igs 

 for a few weeks after weaning, is as much 

 cow's milk or whey as they will drink. 

 Into this stir more or less, as required, 

 of finely ground provender slightly salt- 

 ed, composed of six parts of oats, two of 

 corn and one of flax seed. If the latter 

 is not at hand, substitute oil or cotton 

 seed meal. If rcilk or whey .are not to 

 had, use pure, fresh water. If all could 

 be cooked so much the better. 



When more convenient or economical, 

 other food may be substituted for the 

 above, such as pea, bran or barlej' meal, 

 and unbolted wheat, rye or buckwheat 

 flour. Shorts and bran I have found are 

 apt to scour them at this age, especially 

 if uncooked. The same remark will ap- 

 ply to vegetables, ajjples and other fruit, 

 which if fed at all, should be first steam- 

 ed or boiled, and then mixed with meal. 

 Brewers' grains and malt combs are re- 

 commended, but never having tried them 

 for very young pigs, I cannot speak of 

 their suitableness from my own experi- 

 ence. They are good for older animals. 



Other kinds of food assist iu produc- 

 ing a rapid growth of the pig, as ofl'al 

 from hotel .'ables, fisheries, slaughter- 

 houses, etc., but as few can avail them- 

 selves of these, I sjjeak more particularly 

 of such as is produced on the farm. Be- 

 ing an omnivorous animal, it does not 

 matter so much as to the kind of food 

 given, except when put up for f.attening 

 — then it must be grain or meal of some 

 sort entirelj- — provided it keejjs the pig 

 in a healthy, thriving condition. Care 

 must be had during growth to never 

 stufl' nor scrimp, both being alike injuri- 

 ous. 



TEATMENT OF PIGS DESIGNED FOE BEEED- 

 ING. 



In warm weather, let them run iu a 

 grass pasture, if to be bad, with pure 



running water and plenty of shade. In 

 cold or stormy weather, provide yards 

 with a dry soil and southern exposure, 

 with comfortable pens or sheds, well lit- 

 tered, under which they can retire at 

 will. Cold night air is pernicious to 

 young pigs, and is liable to give them 

 swollen thro.its, which sometimes proves 

 fatal. Those of nearly the same age 

 should be kept together, and not so 

 many as to endanger any being overlaid 

 and smothered. When kept in pens or 

 yards, supply them with chunks of de- 

 (iaj'ed wood, charcoal, etc. 



PUEGING OK SCOURING. 



Young pigs are apt to scour when fed 

 on too loose food. The best remedy I 

 found for this, was to shut them up in a 

 covered pen, with a jilank floor, and 

 feed entirely with well dried oats or coru. 

 Some times I gave, in addition, a little 

 boiled flax seed or oil meal mixed with 

 their drink. 



TREATMENT OF PIGS SELECTED FOR FAT- 

 TENING. 



Careful experiments have proved that 

 time is economized and that pork can be 

 be most cheaply produced, by pushing 

 pigs forward as rapidly as possible, from 

 the time of their birth to that of their 

 slaughter, giving them regularly, at least 

 thrice per day, all the most suitable food 

 for this purpose which they will eat up 

 clean and digest. The last three weeks 

 or so, finish oft' with Indian meal pud- 

 ding, or whole corn, with pui'o, fresh 

 water to drink. Old corn, or well rip- 

 ened and dry of the season's growth, is 

 best. This makes the sweetest and most 

 solid pork of anything I have tried. 

 Some contend that roots and pumpkins 

 have so great a proportion of water in 

 them, that if fed with the whole corn or 

 meal, they tend to an increased appetite, 

 keep the bowels in better order, and les- 

 sen the quantitj' of water a fattenmg an- 

 imal would otherwise drink. They add 

 also, that this combined feed lessens the 

 cost of fattening, and makes as sweet 

 and solid meat as corn alone. I cannot 

 vouch for this method, never having fol- 

 lowed it; but if I did, I should use the 

 sugar beet iu preference to other roots, 

 and the winter squash in jireferenee to 

 pumpkins for I think they are best fitted 

 for this purpose. — From Alkii's Prize Ea- 

 sai/. 



ds 



BEST BREED OF HORSES. 



HERE are many and diverse opin- 

 ions as to what sort of horses are 

 'Jiihi most profitable to raise. The lead- 

 5«jU ing breeds on this Coast are fast 

 J^ horses, such as sporting men like. 

 Probably the horse-racing element at our 

 agricultural fairs, which has controlled 

 and overshadowed everythiug else, has 

 had a good deal of influence over breed- 

 ers. It requires fine bone and muscle 

 and toughness of cords and nerves to ex- 

 cel iu speed, and it is agreed that the 

 "wind and bottom" cultivated in these 

 horses are just the qualities most valued 

 in horses for all purposes. 



But there is certainly something more 

 needed than most fast horses possess, 

 even admitting that these valuable points 

 of the fast horse are essential. A profit- 

 able horse for all purposes must have 

 size and woight. These are very essen- 

 tial when it comes to doing any kind of 

 teaming or hauling. While he should 

 not be so heavy as to be awkward and 

 cumbersome upon the road, he does 

 need enough weight and strength to easi- 



ly move along with a loaded wagon over 

 a good road. Fast horses are too nerv- 

 ous for general usefulness; too high- 

 strung, impatient, impulsive, unreliable 

 and untrustworthy. T'he horse for all 

 work must be so well balanced as to be 

 tractable, gentle, quiet and obedient un- 

 der all circumstances; not inclined to 

 jerk things and fret uuder restraint and 

 a load. There is altogether too much of 

 the fast horse mixed with the blood of 

 our common horses in California. We 

 have too many cheap and useless horses 

 — horses that are neither fit for the farm, 

 the road, nor the turf. They can be 

 found in great i^lenty; are generally held 

 at figures that few care to pay on ac- 

 count of their "good blood;" are kept 

 more for ornament than use ye.'ir .ifter 

 year, because nobody wants to buy them. 

 No wonder that many farmers declare 

 that there is more expense and less profit 

 iu raising horses than any other thing on 

 the farm. 



Now we know of but one remedy, and 

 that is to discard the race horse and 

 breed from the best breeds of work stock. 

 Never mind what the jockeys say. Their 

 interest all lies in one direction, and 

 their wisdom is too one-sided. Look 

 around you and pick out the teams that 

 are, on an average, worth the most 

 money, and are the most in demand, and 

 are most needed. You will find them 

 horses weighing from 1,100 to 1,300. 

 Say the standard will be 1,130 to 1,2.50 

 pounds each. Such horses will sell 

 readily every fall for $400 to StJOO per 

 span, for farm work, when lighter horses 

 will be left on your hands to "eat their 

 heads ott'. " 



The sensible farmer should study his 

 own interests iu this matter as in every 

 other, and not breed to suit the fancy of 

 jockeys and stud-horse owners. 



Experieuce has proved that valuaVile 

 colts can often be got from common light 

 mares by breeding to the heavy work 

 stock, either English or Scotch breeds. 

 The same mare bred to fast stock will 

 bring cheap colts of little use or value for 

 anything. The farmers in every town- 

 ship should club together and get a good 

 heavy stud, anil try to raise up a stock 

 of horses that u:'dl pay in money aud iu 

 useful returns — horses that can work on 

 the farm, haul your produce to market, 

 or take you to town in good shape before 

 a light wagon. Let the fast meu breed 

 their fast stock. Choose the best. 



Introduction of Thoeoughdreds in 

 Califoefia. — A writer in San ilateo, 

 California, to the A'aiiona! Live Stock 

 Journal, states the following: 



In the early days, and for about five 

 years after the .\merican possession of 

 this country, the horses consisted of the 

 Spanish mustang, reinforced by the few 

 American horses aud mares brought 

 across the plains by immigiants; and 

 these were a few of iJl sorts, among them 

 some well-bred and even thoroughbred 

 mares from Kentucky and the ^\'est. I 

 have certainly seen many that looked it, 

 although the pedigrees given often 

 sounded "rather "miscellaneous." Till 

 185:5 or 1854, nobody thought of improv- 

 iug the breed of horses, and the first jjer- 

 son I heard of attempting to do so was 

 William Hood, of Los Guilacos, Sonoma 

 county, then, as now, a rich land pro- 

 prietor, at whose place I happened to be 

 iu January, 1854, when he showed me a 

 two-year-old colt which he had purchased 

 iu Yorkshire, and which had just arrived 

 here. This was the thoroughbred im- 

 ported Lawyer, of whom more anon. 

 .\bout this time, or soon after, appeared 

 upon the scene the brothers WiUiamsou, 

 bringing with them the well-known and 

 highly-esteemed Belmont (grandsire of 



Thad Stevens), and several thoroughbred 1 

 mares, which at once established these 

 gentlemen as the founders of thorough- 

 bred-horse breeding in Cahfornia. After ? 

 another interval of time, Mr Combs ' 

 brought across Billy Cheatham and Ash- 

 laud, thoroughbred stallions; but I rath- ^ 

 er think he had not any thoroughbred 

 mares, calculating, like Mr. Hood, to 

 breed from such well-bred mares as were 

 here. There were also several trotting 

 stallions of more or less repute, among 

 which I may mention old Geueral Taylor 

 aud Black Hawk David Hill, and a horse 

 called Rattler, and a big English horse 

 known as Peacock, who was brought from 

 Sidney, Australia, aud worked iu Sau 

 Francisco as a dray horse, aud after- 

 wards made a couple of seasons, and got 

 many very excellent geuerally-useful 

 horses. 



Nailing on the Shoe. — No shoo 

 should ever be nailed to the foot until it 

 has been ascertained that the pressure of 

 the hands is sufficient to keep it steadily 

 in its place, aud preclude any appearance 

 of daylight between it and the foot. A 

 uotion prevails in many places that the 

 shoe gives the particular form to the foot. 

 This is a mistake, for uo foot can possi- 

 bly be aft'ectcd by any form of the shoe 

 it may stand upon. It is the situation 

 of the nails which alters the form of the 

 foot, by preventing its expansion, and 

 such prevention of expansion is the". 

 cause of much of the lameness atfecting 

 the foot. In putting on the shoe the 

 nails should be driven with a geutle 

 hand, and they ought not, by any means, 

 to be clinched very tight. Hard driving 

 and tight clinching will bend the hoof at 

 the place where the clinches arc turned, 

 inwards aud downwards towards the 

 shoe, in such a manner as to injure the 

 tender parts contained within the cavity 

 of the foot. Besides, it is not necessary 

 for a man to forget ho is working with 

 the foot of a living animal. The shoe 

 will remain on a sufficient length of time 

 with geutle driving and clinehiug, pro- 

 vided it is properly fitted to the foot. If 

 it has a thoroughly even bearing there 

 will be little stress on the nails. Coarse 

 nails often split the hoof, aud thus keep 

 it continually broken. A hue nail will 

 answer all the purposes required, if it is 

 made of the right material. The clinches 

 should not be rasped away too fine, nor 

 should the covering of the hoof be al- 

 lowed to be rasped away (as nearly every 

 smith seems to delight in doiug) ; it de- 

 stroys the covering provided by nature as 

 a protection against the too rajjid evapo- 

 ration of the moisture of the hoof, and 

 causes the horn to become too dry and 

 brittle. 



In connection with the application of 

 the shoe, we know of no worse fashion 

 than the one which the smith has of 

 forcibly taking hold with the thong and 

 hammering the shoe to the one side or 

 the other, after three or four nails have 

 been driven, for the purpose of putting 

 it straight on the foot, 'fhis is a speedy 

 method of making up for his w.ant of ac- 

 curacy in placing it at first; but it should 

 never be practiced. It strains all the 

 nails which have already been driven, 

 aud is calculated to do serious damap.e to 

 the foot. 



TuE agriculturist is taught to look 

 upon this lovely earth of ours as the 

 beautiful landscape of God's creation 

 whi<h is imbued with the powers of life, 

 to breathe and feed, and to yield its ele- 

 ments and products to the nursing and 

 deUeate operations of his hands. While 

 he follows the plow he perceives its use ; 

 he sees in it how the educated miud of 

 man has infused mechanical science into 



