450 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



Pigs and pork^ Breeds of the hog — Denominations — Breed- 

 ing sows — Period of gestation — Farrowing — Produce — 

 Weaning — Rearing — Porkers and store-pigs — Feeding — 

 Weight at different ages — Cost and value. 



It is worthy of remark that Divine Provi- 

 dence has taken especial care in the creation 

 of animals, that those which are the most 

 necessary to supply the wants of man, are 

 not only the most easy to rear, but the best 

 for constant consumption ; and it is, indeed, 

 a gratifying reflection, that if we look around 

 we shall see that those articles of food which 

 are most easily obtainable, and which the poor 

 consume in common with the rich, are far 

 preferable to those which are termed deli- 

 cacies. Among the former, perhaps no ani- 

 mal furnishes us with more food, or of a 

 better quality, than the hog, for he supplies 

 not only the long list of niceties for the rich, 

 enumerated by our friend Sturgeon, in his 

 'Essays on Good Living,' but also plain, 



