312 The Farmstead 



farrowing during the winter months. Where 

 but one litter of pigs is raised annually, there 

 is little difficulty ; if two litters a year be 

 desired, the first one should be farrowed in 

 April or May, and the other in September or 

 October. In either case these cheap detached 

 pens may be not only satisfactory, but they will 

 serve to fit into a system of pig -raising which 

 may be carried on at the minimum of labor 

 and expense and supplementary foods. By 

 means of a tank or barrel mounted on wheels 

 the animals may be fed, either once or twice 

 daily, in large troughs placed in the pasture. 

 This system presupposes ample areas of grass 

 and woodland, which should furnish not only 

 a healthful run for the animals but much food 

 for them. 



Usually the mistake is made of confining 

 pigs in small pens, which may or may not have 

 attached to them small yards or runs. These 

 are always devoid of grass, and offensively 

 dusty and filthy a part of the year, and an 

 impassable mud hole at other times. Wherever 

 circumstances will permit, there should be al- 

 lotted to each brood animal and her offspring 

 one -fourth acre of land. Two small fields might 

 be provided, one of which would serve for pas- 

 ture ground for all the animals, while the other 

 would be used for raising crops for soiling 



