FARMERS' REGISTER. 



135 



Euro|)e in 1838, at 150,000,000 of Ibe.; and it is 

 confidently expected tlial the crap ol" 1839 will 

 reacli 200,000,000 ot'lbs., or two hundred tlioupand 

 hhds. which is nearly (bur times the averaj^e crop 

 of Louisiana. Indeed, the manuliiciure of PUiX'ir 

 fi-om the beet has not lor a long time been consi- 

 dered a matier of speculation or experiment in 

 Europe, but a subject oC very sure and profitable 

 investment ol'capiial. The manufacture of suijar 

 from the beet however, is but a S7nall portion ol 

 the advantage arising from its culture. As winter 

 Ibod for stock, particularly milch cows, it is un- 

 questionably the 7nosi profitable crop the fiirmer 

 can raise; and its meliorating effects upon the 

 soil, and the increased quantity of manure, wher- 

 ever the beet has been cultivated in Europe, iiave, 

 it is well known, more ihan doubled the produce of 

 the soil, and in many cases, more than trebled the 

 price of the lands. — Jour. Com. 



TREATMENT AND FOOD OF YOUNG PIGS. 



From the American Swine Breeder. 



In the second chapter of this work, we have al- 

 ready alluded to this subject, — and it is certainly 

 one deserving the most careful consideration, — 

 care and attention to these animals at this ten- 

 der age is of liir greater importance than the 

 practice of many would lead us to suppose and 

 upon their treatment during the i'ew first weeks 

 depends the ease and rapidity with which they 

 can be subsequently reared and Ihtfened. To 

 wean young pigs in such a maimer, that they 

 may lose no fiesli during the process, and may 

 rernain at iis close in a healthy and growing con- 

 diiion is an undertaking attended with considerable 

 difficulty. Their Ibod should in general be given 

 moderately warm, and milk is undoubtedly o7ie of 

 the best articles which can be ofi^iired at lhi> period. 

 The produce of the dairy should, therefore, be used 

 frequently and freely. JNl any judicious liirmers 

 have asserted, as the result of experi<^nce on this 

 subject, that cows may be kept, for the exclusive 

 nourishment oi'young pigs, wiih great economy. 

 That this will be the case, when the proceeils of 

 the dairy are given, no one who has tried it will 

 dispute. Several instances are recorded of hoirs 

 that have been/aliened! entirely on this article (br 

 liie purpose of experiment ; and the result has 

 Bhown, iltat no pork is superior in point of weight 

 and substance. O/' the astonishing rapidity vvith 

 which animals will thrive and increase while usinir 

 it, wo have ourselves seen abundant proof, in the 

 growth of an improv(>d Jlerkshirc boar, which was 

 weaned under the direciion of a highly intelligent 

 agriculturist, Solomon Porier, Esq., ofConnecli(Mit, 

 and afterwards fed almost en;irely on this article, 

 and which attained, at the age of three months, 

 the great weight of one hundred and forty pounds. 



The practice of mixing milk with other articles 

 for Ibod of young pigs, is highly recommended by 

 many farmers. >Says a judicious breeder, in a 

 letler to the Hon H. L, Eilsworlh, " From actual 

 experience, I have come to the conclusion, and 

 practised upon it for the last twelve or fourteen 

 years, of having as many spring pigs (that come 

 say in March) as I have cows lor the siimmpr, 

 and feeding the pigs on milk or'whey, mixed with 

 provender, ground from corn, rye, oats, larley, or 

 buckwheat, and prepared in the li.rm of a pudding, 



in which way the pigs will eat it best. If they 

 appear lo be clogged with one kind of grain, I try 

 another, and ofien mix different kinds lotrether." 



The author of the 'Practical Elements of Airri- 

 rulture,' suggests that pigs should be weanefFat. 

 the end ofibe first six or eight weeks ; and be fed 

 three times daily wjih wheat bran, barley dust, or 

 by tijrinaceous Ibod mixed with water warmed to 

 the temperature of the mother milk, and with 

 whey, or other refuse of the dairy or kitclien. 

 Young pigs, he remarks, are sometimes disposed 

 of when sucking the dam. In other cases, they 

 are sold when weaned, to persons who design to 

 feed them, and in other cases they are (t;d by the 

 breeder himself! 



" When they are fattened by the breeder, two 

 modes of feeding may be adopted. They may 

 either be suffered to go at large, or they may be 

 kept in pens and houses; by the first of these 

 methods after being weaned and fed for a period 

 until they are able to shift for themselves, they 

 are turned abroad to pick up what they can in the 

 straw yard, a little green food, as tares or clover 

 during summer, and turnips or potatoes during the 

 winter being supplied to ihem. They do not, un- 

 der this management, receive any more expensive 

 feeding until they are put up finally lo be fat- 

 tened, when they are confined lor a few weeks 

 and fed on farinaceous and other food. The pigs 

 intended for this species of management should be 

 the best of the smaller varieties, and they may be 

 killed for domestic use or disposed of when seven or 

 eight stones weight. All the accommodation re- 

 quired underlhis system of management, is a few 

 pens with sheds : first, for the breeding swine 

 when nursing their young, and second, for lh(3 

 pig.-? which are in the course of being fattened. 



In all cases upon a farm, a certain number of 

 pigs may be kept at large in this manner, for pick- 

 ing up the waste of the firm yards. But the re- 

 gular course ofmanagement and ihat best adapted, 

 where the ft'edini; of the animals is carried on 

 upon a large scale is where separate feeding-houses 

 lor the pigs in which a greater or lesser number 

 can be kept.* 



"Weanlings," remarks Mowbray, "should have 

 at least one month of delicate feedino-, warm lodg- 

 ing, and care. The same kind of food should be 

 continued to (hem three times a day, to which 

 they were at first accustomed with the sow. The 

 first food should consist of warm and nourishin<r 

 wash, whether from the kitchen ordairy, thickened 

 wiih fine pollard or barley meal. A portion of 

 stroni; beer may be added as a cordial, should cir- 

 cumstances render it necessary. The common 

 wash, pollard or meal mixed wiih water, if scalded 

 the better. The same diet is proper for the piirs to 

 partake of whilst suckincr. Very young pigs 

 ouulu not lo be left abroad in continual rains, and 

 will always pay fi^r a daily moderate feed of old 

 beans with clover." 



" W'eanlings are fattened for delicate pork chiefly 

 in the dairies, where they are made ripe in a lew 

 weeks. Generally a pig of five or six months old 

 will be fattened in seven, or eight, or twelve weeks, 

 dependent on his condition." 



AnEnirli?h writer remarks, "Swine will fatten 

 much faster on xoarm than cold Ibod. Corn and 

 cold water will make them heabhy, but warm bc- 



Vide Elements of Practical Agriculture, p. 601. 



