LIYE STOCK. 409 



the consumption of grain, roots, etc., which would otherwise be 

 unsalable at remunerative rates ; second^ the consumption of refuse, 

 which, but for them, would be wasted ; third^ the production and 

 preparation of manure. In all cases, where manure is used at 

 all, the last of these is one of the most important of their advan- 

 tages. In those almost mythically large grain-fields of the West, 

 where the crop is said to be harvested mainly by droves of cattle 

 whose gleaners are herds of swine, it is not to be expected, — 

 perhaps it is hardly possible, — that much system should be intro- 

 duced. It is one of those cases where unavoidable waste can only 

 be mitigated, and where the amount lost is considerably less than 

 would be the cost of more systematic harvesting. On the small 

 farms of the poorer regions of New England, where nearly every 

 crop requires its yearly application of manure, the services of 

 swine become important, chiefly in the manipulation and increase 

 of this article. In the wide range of districts lying between these 

 two extremes, they are more or less important according to the sys- 

 tem of cultivation pursued. The extent to which it is profitable 

 to feed swine solely for the production of pork, and the value to 

 be attached to their influence on the dung-heap, must be regulated 

 according to the circumstances of each district, and almost of 

 each farmer. All that can be done in this connection is to state 

 a few well-known facts concerning their care, treatment, and 

 varieties. 



On butter-farms, where there is a large quantity of skimmed 

 milk that it is not considered worth while to make into cheese, 

 almost the only means for disposing of this valuable material is to 

 feed it to swine. And it should be the care of the farmer to 

 regulate the number kept as closely as possible by the quantity of 

 milk that can be supplied to them, unless his circumstances would 

 justify his feeding them largely with grain, or purchased food, 

 which is not always the case. 



Where the supply of skimmed milk is depended upon as the 

 chief food of these animals, it will be better to keep breeding 

 sows, coming in at different times, so that, for as large a part of 

 the year as possible, there may be young pigs to be fed, as these 



