38 



THE FARMER AT HOME. 



it is provided by the employer. The greater part o/ the barley grown 

 in this country, as well as in England, is made into beer, though the 

 establishments for the manufacture here are on a small scale, com- 

 pared with the magnificent and expensive ones of that country. If 

 the good old home-brewed beer, from malt and hops, could be substi- 

 tuted for strong beer, or whiskey arid rum, among the classes that con- 

 sume the most of these drinks, the health and morals of the country 

 would receive a decided improvement. 



BERKSHIRE HOG. 



BERKSHIRE HOGS. This breed of swine has been generally 

 considered to be one of the best in England, on account of its small- 

 ness of bone, early maturity, aptitude to fatten on little food, hardi- 

 hood, and the females being such good breeders. Those of the pure 

 original breed have been known to attain an immense size, and weigh 

 from eight to ten hundred pounds. One bred at Petworth measured 

 seven feet seven inches from the tip of his snout to the root of his 

 tail, and seven feet ten inches in girth round the centre ; five feet 

 round the neck, ten inches round the thinnest part of his hind leg, and 

 two feet across the widest part of his back. He stood three feet nine 

 inches high ; and, what was most remarkable in this monstrous hog, 

 he did not consume more than two bushels and six gallons of ground 

 oats, peas, and barley, per week. 



BEET. A common vegetable, of which there are several varieties, 

 such as the common beet of our gardens, the mangel wurtzel, or field 

 beet, cultivated for cattle, and the vhite Siberian beet, grown pcinci- 



