FEEDS AND FEEDING 57 



farrowing pens. We speak advisedly regarding this cooker for 

 the reason we formerly used two of them, but in later years thought 

 we needed a larger affair and purchased a ten-horse-power steam 

 boiler, which has proven a great success. 



There are other kinds of hot-water heaters made for this pur- 

 pose, as well as the old-fashioned kettle set in a stone arch, which 

 will do where but little water is needed, but it would be entirely 

 unfit for furnishing hot water for a large herd. 



The kind of steam generator or hot-water heater is immaterial 

 so long as it does the work and furnishes enough for mixing the 

 feed for the herd, but I must insist that, for young pigs before 

 and just after weaning, warm feed is necessary for best results 

 and is of equal value for young shotes. 



When the hogs are well matured it is not necessary to give 

 them this extra attention and they can make good growth and 

 development on dry feed, where plenty of pure water is supplied 

 for them. This saves much labor and prevents the freezing of swill 

 in troughs. 



Of course the breeders in the southern states and the warmer 

 countries are not supposed to have this extra expense in warming 

 feed, yet even in such states there are times when warm feed would 

 taste wonderfully good to a pig from a late fall litter. 



Soiling. Where large numbers of hogs are kept on a small 

 farm, it is sometimes quite convenient to have small plots of green 

 feed that can be cut and fed in the troughs or feed places where 

 the hogs are kept. This method of feeding green feed is known 

 as " soiling. " For instance, take a small patch of fall rye, which 

 is about the earliest green thing to be found in the spring, and 

 when it gets up a few inches high it can be mowed off in small 

 quantities daily and fed to the hogs in their regular feeding 

 places while fresh and green. A very small piece of ground in 

 this manner will furnish a large amount of green feed. While 

 the green rye is being cut off some other crop can be planted or 

 sown such as rape for feeding after the rye is gone and the clovers 

 are dried up. A small patch of alfalfa adjoining hog pastures 

 would also be of great value ; this could be cut and fed green, and 

 a very small patch would feed a large number of hogs, for some 

 time. By feeding it in racks such as described in this book, there 

 would be very little waste from soiling. 



Crops to Feed Green. After rape once gets a good start and 

 becomes large enough to mow and feed as in the above manner it 

 can be recut as fast as it grows up to the proper height, all through 

 the season until freezing weather comes. A small field of evergreen 

 sweet corn can be handled in the same way. As soon as the ears 

 are formed and are of proper size for roasting, this may be 

 cut and given to the pigs daily in small quantities at first, in- 

 creasing as they become used to it, until they can have all they 

 will eat up clean. I believe soiling can be practiced with economy, 



