2G 



DOMESTIC ANMALS. 



[Chap. I 



it, for she had so little to feed it with, ixnd could not aiford to buy feed. 

 One of tlio little fellows promjitly answered tiiat lie knew wliat would be 

 good to feed piggy witli, and of which they had plenty. 



" AVhat is it, my son ?" 



" Greens, mother — boiled ijreens. Tiicy are good for ns, wliy not for 

 })igs ? And we can gather them, and pick up wood and boil them in the 

 big kettle out doors, and it will be real fun." 



So it was settled tliut jiig sliould eat greens — all sorts of weeds boiled ; 

 and cat them he did, and liked them, and fatted on them, with the small 

 addition that could be made of bran and house-slops, mixing the slops and 

 greens together. 



Tliis is a hint worth remembering and acting upon. Tlie weeds w«re 

 destroyed, the boys employed, the pig kept growing, and the boys had the 

 satisfaction of feeling that tliey liad l)een usefully employed. 



7. Hog Fastiires. — It being generally understood that hogs live by " special 

 providences" until it is time to fat them, there is little attention ])aid to 

 the most economical way of growing them up. Certain it is that a good, 

 easy -keeping variety will make commendaljle progress on grass. 



It may be safe to calculate that a good-sized, thrifty pig will gain in six 

 montlis, on gra«s, 100 lbs. or more. If an acre of grass would keei) three 

 hogs and add 100 lbs. to the weight of each, tliat would be $12 for the acre 

 of pasture, reckoning the 300 lbs. gain at four cents a pound, live weight. 

 Instead of being forced to bite twice at a sliort, dirty, dried, and battered 

 spear of Juno grass by the roadside before getting any off, imagine a clean 

 and comely Suifolk in a fresh, green pasture of clover, four inches high, filling 

 himself with evident relish. 



S. Tlie Fig-Pen and its Value. — As a manure-maker, there is no animal 

 equal to the hog, provided lie is furnished with suitable facilities. The 

 eating and sleeping ai)artmenls of Mr. Pig should always be a good frame 

 building, with a plank floor and shingle roof, and it will in many places be 

 found economical to give him an iron eating trough. His house should 

 be cleaned out every day, and washed as often as necessary to keep it clean. 

 All the washings and cleanings should go into an adjoining pen, which may 

 as well bo made of fence rails, on account of cheapness and convenience of 

 removal, into which the tenants of the hog-house must be invited by a little 

 corn, scattered in every day, to induce them to mix up a compost of tlieir 

 own offal with sods, mold, leaves, weeds, and all sorts of trash. This pen 

 should be equal to ten feet square for every two hogs, and so long as it is 

 worked every day it will not much injure by exposure to the weather ; but 

 it should afterward be covered, and it should always have stuff enough put 

 in it to kec)-) the hogs from getting into a very muddy condition. If you 

 have not mold enough to entirely absorb the ammonia, you must use j)laster 

 or ciiarcoal dust. It must be kept sweet, or you will lose much of its value ; 

 and where manure is valuable, if you neglect to use your swine for the 

 purpose of increasing it, you will lose about all the profit of making your 



