PART 1 

 CHAPTER I 



THE IDEAL HOG FARM. 



The writer has never seen an ideal hog farm in every respect. 

 While many farms are almost ideal, usually they lack something. 

 My idea of an ideal hog farm is that it should first have a rich 

 soil, full of fertility to grow grasses and other forage, as well as the 

 grains needed for the best feeds for the proper development- of 

 hogs. After a good rich soil, the next thing is a slightly rolling 

 well-drained farm. If it is underlaid three or four feet with gravel, 

 as much of our soil in northern Illinois is, it will not require tiling 

 to carry off surplus water. I have often noticed that a farm that 

 lies quite level, and has a rich black soil, gets very muddy after 

 rains and during the coming out of the frost in the spring. This 

 kind of soil is not best for ideal hograising ; besides, being extremely 

 muddy at times, this class of soil does not come as near being ideal 

 as a dark sandy loam, well-drained with underground natural drain- 

 age. Such soil is also better even during dry weather for the feet 

 of pigs. They are rather more inclined to keep in shape and wear 

 down a little all the time instead of growing long and turning up 

 at the toes, as do many pigs kept on soft, mucky black soil. 



If one wishes a central hoghouse for general use, rather than a 

 feedhouse and half -acre lots in which individual houses are placed, 

 he should place his central house where pastures can be easily 

 reached from either side. The kind of house he should use is one 

 of the modern swine houses, described on page 12. It should be 

 situated so that a good pasture of well-set grass or mixture of 

 grasses can be reached from either side. Pastures before being 

 occupied in this manner should be well-set in grass at least a year 

 before being used as hog pasture. 



A small pen the same width as those on the inside of the hog- 

 house should extend outward from the pen 16 or more feet, just 

 for convenience, and gates opening from these to the regular pas- 

 ture, which may be acre lots, half -acre lots or much larger, accord- 

 ing to whether the breeder cares to keep each sow and litter separ- 

 ate after they go on grass. If half -acre lots are used, each should 

 have a sleeping house at the rear end, and artificial shade, if there 

 is not natural shade in each lot, for the comfort of the sow and 

 litter during hot weather. They should come to the general house 

 for feeding. 



Forage Crop Mixture. A mixture of clover, alfalfa, orchard 

 grass and other grasses makes ideal pasture. The lots should be 

 situated on either side of the general hoghouse. Arrangements for 



