448 



JASPER COUNTY, IOWA. 



stated. In the Fall I give them the run of the artichoke patch. 

 Quick returns are what all breeders should aim to make. I 

 never keep a pig but one Summer. If I can not make her then 

 weigh at twelve or fourteen months old from three hundred to 

 three hundred and fifty pounds, I consider no one to blame 

 but myself. 



SLEEPING AND BREEDING PENS. 



I herewith submit the best sleeping arrangement for hogs 

 that I know of. I have seen many, but prefer this as the result 

 of my experience. I make the pen face to the south, and have 

 the entire front open, as shown in the plan : 



Set four posts in the ground. The front posts should be 

 five feet above the surface, and eight feet apart; the rear posts 

 three feet above the level, and six feet to the rear. This makes 

 a floor six by eight feet. The roof will have a slope of two 

 feet. Cover as means will permit. Tin or iron makes the best 

 roof, shingles the next. Boards will, however, do. Board up 

 the ends and north side. Spike on in front a six-inch, and at 

 rear an eight-inch joist for floor. This will give a slope of 

 two inches to the front, so that the rains, if blown in, will run 

 out. I then fill with any earth convenient, pounding it in 

 solid, to top of front and rear joists, then cover with plank or 

 inch boards. There must not be any space or air chamber be- 

 neath the floor, or it will be too cold in Winter. A better floor 

 can be made by using stone chips, filling up with them as de- 

 scribed, and cementing them together with a cement mortar. 



