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more than ten pigs at a litter. At three months each pig gels 2 quarts of milk in three feeds. 

 This is considered the profitable maximum. At this age 7 Ibs. of potatoes and 2 Ibs. of chop 

 are fed daily with the milk. This ratio is continued until the final month when the ratio of 

 grain to potatoes is turned about. Oat chop is highly valued at this period. At no time is 

 more than 3 Ibs. of grain fed per day. Pigs are finished at six months weighing 170 Ibs. 

 dressed, equal to 224 Ibs. alive. By this method of feeding it costs this feeder an average of 

 8 cents per day per pig. This herd owned by Mr. J. Willington won most of the prizes 

 for Yorkshires at the Dublin exhibition. 



A farmer on 70 acres feeds off 30 pigs per year. Litters are fed at 4 weeks and weaned 

 at 7 to 8 weeks. Until 1907 all grain feed was boiled but now soaking is considered just as 

 good. This feeder like previous ones visited does not consider it as profitable to buy as to 

 raise ones own stock. Pigs are fed twice daily on slop. In winter potatoes are cooked but 

 mangles are pulped and mixed with soaked grain chop. Young pigs in August were getting 

 skim milk, chopped cabbage and shorts. They were soon to be turned out to grow up on 

 cheap feed until five to six months old when they would be housed and put on a fattening 

 ration that would make them ready for the market at 8 to 9 months old. 



Another feeder Mr. Lyons was loud in his praise of Large Blacks as good doers. He owns 

 a nice herd that were in fine breeding or growing condition. Sows get no food for twelve 

 hours after farrowing; they then get light warm slop consisting of steeped bran sweetened 

 with treacle until in full milk. In ten days they get boiled potatoes, bran, and milk with a 

 light grain ration which is gradually increased. All food is fed cooked and warm. As 

 early as young pigs will eat they got a separate trough for such food as milk, potatoes and 

 shorts. The sows are spayed and the boars castrated at seven weeks and all are weaned a 

 week later. They are fed three times a day on milk and shorts. Good feeding is continued 

 until the pigs are sold. Mangels, turnips or potatoes are fed almost the year round and 

 cabbage is given in summer and fall. The first four months after weaning the ration is 

 two-thirds bulky food and one-third chop, the latter being shorts, bran, barley meal and 

 corn meal. The ration is during ten days changed to two-thirds grain and one-third bulky 

 food. During the last three weeks a feed of dry oats (1 to 1^ Ibs. for each pig) is given at 

 noon. Four litters a year from two sows are turned off. Many of the neighbouring farmers 

 feed in about the same way and all are endeavoring to avoid marketing at seasons of heavy 

 supply. One feeder visited would keep five or six sows and sell young pigs if he had more 

 milk, without which he does not consider pig feeding very profitable. 



Marketing. 



In the South of Ireland pigs are sold alive, whereas in the North they are disposed 

 of dressed. In the central and southern counties monthly pig fairs markets 

 are the medium of transfer, but in the neighbourhood of factories the rule is to sell at these 

 plants Because it is felt that buyers and curers work together to "fix" the price, there is 

 a strong tendency towards co-operative curing which already has a foothold in Roscrea 

 Tipperary County, while a large co-operative concern is soon to commence operations in 

 Wexford. The Commission spent an interesting day at Gorey pig fair. Early in the 

 morning pigs commenced to arrive in carts some hauled by donkeys and others by horses. 

 The carts lined the main streets backed up to the sidewalk. In a number of cases the pigs 

 were unloaded and penned on the sidewalk. The offering consisted of perhaps 800 head, 

 40 per cent being prime bacon hogs, the others chiefly stores. Buyers were on hand bright 

 and early and by nine o'clock a large number of the pigs had been sold. As a rule much 

 bantering was done before the bargain, which always took into account a "luck penny," was 

 announced by a slapping of the others hand. On that day the price was high but this did not 

 prevent perhaps three per cent of the pigs returning home unsold. This fair presented 

 the Commission with an excellent opportunity to see that old established packing houses 

 discriminate very carefully in selecting pigs for their plants. The price they were prepared 

 to pay for select pigs was announced and such pigs as suited them as they could buy were 

 purchased. Of course there was no bantering in the purchasing done by this firm. The 



