DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 749 



&e buildings a large amount of corn was consumed. To this burnt an6 par- 

 tially burnt corn the hogs had access at will, and Che sick commenced recover- 

 ing at ouce, and a large proportion of them got well. Many farmers have 

 practiced feeding scorched corn, putting it into a stove, or building a lire upon 

 the ground, placing the ears upon it, leaving them till pretty well cliarred. 

 Hogs fed on still slops are liable to be attacked by irritation of the stomach 

 and bowels, coming from too free generation of acid, from fermentation of 

 food after eaten. Charcoal, whether it be produced by burning corn or wood, 

 will neutralize the acid, in this way removing the irritating cause. The char- 

 coal will be relished to the extent of getting rid of the acid, and beyond that 

 It may not be. Hence it 13 well to let the wants of the hog be settled by the 

 hog himself." 



Mineral Coal for Hogs. — The following is from -Tudge Katon, in 

 Prairie Farmer, He says: 



"The hog seems to crave carbon in a concfentrated form, and hence we 

 may conclude it is necessary to his well-being. He will eat charcoal freely, 

 which ts tasteless and not nutritious. From the same natural prompting we 

 see them eat wood when so decayed that they can do so. 



"For myself I have for many years been in the habit of feeding my hogs 

 with an abundance of our common bituminous (soft) coal, preferring the poor- 

 est, or that which contains a large amount of sulphur and iron, and, I think, 

 with the happiest results. [Where iron is needed see those recipes containing 

 copperas, which is the sulphate of iron — a good remedy for me.] Let a 

 farmer who has never tried it throw in a lump of coal as large as his fist, and 

 he will be surprised to see the hog leave the corn and crunch the coal, as if it 

 ;o^ere the most luscious morsel. Sulphur has long been known as a valuable 

 •emedial agent for hogs, and iron is a well-known tonic, acting specifically 

 upon the blood, thickening and strengthening it. Here, then the hog, by 

 iating the coal, gets other important elements besides the carbon. 



"I have never known a hog well supplied with this coal, to be sick, or off 

 Ms feed for a single day, and although I cannot give figures showing actual 

 results of careful experiments to prove it, I believe hogs ilius supplied will eat 

 more and assimilate their food better, will make appreciably more pork, with 

 a given amount of corn, than those which are without it. At least, I am well 

 satisfied with the way in which my hogs llnive— grow and fatten — under this 

 treatment. Coal is cheap, and others, it tluy have not done so, may try it 

 it little expense." 



Remarks. — It can tlius be seen not only how generj»^l the opinion is, that 

 carbon — charcoal, soft, or bituminous— mineral — coal, or properly and thor- 

 oughly burned com are carbon — is almost, if not absolutely necessary for hogs 

 Vvhile fattening ; aud it is as well known also, that wheu they are pretty well 

 fattened is the time when their stomachs are the most likelv to get out of order 

 from the over-feeding, or perhaps, more properly speaking, long and constant 

 feeding. They refuse their food, become dumpish, and perhaps scours or diar- 

 rhoia sets in, and all the labor of feeding, and the value of the hog is lost by 

 neglect to see that charcoal, soft or mineral coal, with plenty of sulphur in it 

 or the burnt com has been fed, or kept where the hogs could have free access 

 to them ; and salt and wood ashes mixed and kept also where they can partake 

 of them as they like, should be attended to early in the fattenmg if you would 

 avoid loss in the end. These more simple remedies will be found all-sufficient 

 when cholera is not prevailing ; when it is, then prepare a/so some of the pre- 

 ventives against that disease, which see above, which always means givsi 

 before in this book. 



