218 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



be their weight and condition, yet, when slaughtered immediately, or 

 before having several weeks of substantial food, to harden their flesh, 

 they are always found inferior to corn-fed pork and bacon, the fat hav- 

 ing'a tallowy appearance, of an insipid taste, and shrinking for want of 

 firmness ; whereas, when boiled, it should be transparently hard, with a 

 tinge of pink in its color ; the flavor should be good, and the meat should 

 swell in the pot. Potatoes, therefore, though fine food for stores, should 

 never be used alone as sustenance in the fatting of bacon hogs; for, in 

 proportion to the quantity employed, it will render the flesh and conse- 

 quently the price, inferior to that of hogs which have been properly 

 fed. They are, however, frequently employed, when steamed, in con- 

 junction with either tail or stained barley, coarsely ground ; and farmers 

 who grow potatoes for the market may thus profitably dispose of the 

 chats along with their unmarketable corn ; but those persons who wish 

 to acquire a reputation for producing fine bacon, should never use any 

 thing for fatting but hard meat, together with skim-milk, if it can be 

 procured. 



When swine are not of very large size, and it is desirable to raise 

 pork rather than bacon, a very economical mode of feeding may be 

 advantageously employed : — it consists of equal parts of boiled Swedish 

 turnips or potatoes, and bran. If it be desirable to render the accumu- 

 lation of fat more rapid, let Indian meal be substituted for the bran, and 

 in flax-growing countries, the seed prepared as already directed. 



A hog washed weekly with soap and a brush will be fountl to thrive, 

 and put up flesh in a ratio of at least five to three, in comparison to a 

 pig not so treated. This fact has been well tried, there can be no pos- 

 sible question about its correctness, and the duty is not a very difficult 

 matter to perform, for the swine, as soon as they discover the real char- 

 acter of the operation, are far from being disposed to object, and after 

 a couple of washings, submit with the best grace imaginable. 



Beware not to Surfeit your hogs. It is quite possible to give too 

 much even to them, and to produce disease by over-feeding. 



Many examples of great weights, produced by judicious feeding and 

 management, are upon record. Mr. Crockford's Sufl'olk hog, at two 

 years old, weighed nine hundred and eighty pounds ; but I scarcely 

 think it could have been true Suffolk, that being a small breed. Mr. 

 Ivory's Shropshire hog weighed fourteen hundred, when killed and 

 dressed, and there was, a short time since, a specimen of the improved 

 Irish breed of hog exhibited in Dublin, at the Portobello Gardens, which 

 weighed upward of twelve hundred weight; this, when killed, would 

 have amounted to something over half a ton. 



In conclusion, observe caution in conjunction with the directions already 

 given relative to feeding. 



1. Avoid foul feeding. 



2. Do NOT omit adding salt in moderate quantities to the mess 

 given ; you will find your account in attending to this. 



3. Feed at regular intervals. 



4. Cleanse the troughs previous to feeding. 



5. Do not over-feed ; give only as much as will be consumed at 

 the meal. 



