HOGS AND THEIR FEED. 15 



pounds of pork, from ten to twenty thousand pounds of beef, 

 both live weight, the products of an average flock of two hun- 

 dred sheep, and a dairy of about sixteen cows. 



HOGS. 



The best grade of hogs I ever raised, is a cross of the 

 Poland China and the Berkshire. I regard them as the best 

 feeders and shippers, and the best in the market. With my 

 herd of sows, I use the full blood Poland and Berkshire sires, 

 selected alternately with much care from remote herds and 

 showing indications of perfect health. 



The Berkshire is noted for its muscle, endurance, com- 

 pactness, and strength, while the Polands give the size, the 

 fat, and the quiet habits, with very uniform results. 



For the last twelve years, I have pursued this system 

 invariably, and while the cholera has raged fearfully all around 

 me, decimating, and even destroying many herds, — one of 

 which was my nearest neighbor's, and within forty rods of my 

 own hog barn, — I have not loSt a hog nor pig with any disease, 

 nor has disease appeared upon my farm in any shape. 



The hog house is so arranged that I give each brood sow 

 a separate stall at least a week before her time, and at the age 

 of three or four weeks her family is turned into a clover field 

 with ample shelter to protect it from storms or cold. My 

 hog house is large enough to accommodate the feeding of 

 seventy-five full grown hogs, with warm, dry quarters for 

 sleeping, and pure fresh water, accessible at all times. 



THE FEED. 



The offal from the dairy and kitchen, with corn and oat- 

 meal, are my principal feed for growing the pig. A good 

 clover pasture I regard as indispensable for shoats and older 

 hogs during that period of their lives when bone and muscle 

 are required. Oats, and perhaps some corn or other grain, are 

 also necessary for this purpose. But for fattening and prepar- 

 ing the animal for market, I believe that corn has no equal. 

 I have secured the best results by feeding it in the meal well 



