323 



to wallow or wash themselves in ; and that they by no means 

 do so well without it. On this point I have had no trial further 

 than to satisfy myself that fatting hogs are sometimes injured 

 by being suffered to root in the earth. 



With respect to the age at which it is advantageous to put 

 up swine to fatten, I have only to remark, that it is with swine 

 as with other animals, there are some breeds which come much 

 sooner to maturity than others. A successful farmer in Sarato- 

 ga county, N. Y., says that March pigs, killed about Christmas, 

 are the most profitable for pork. Four pigs of what is called 

 the Grass breed, were slaughtered at Greenfield, N. Y., which 

 weighed 348 lbs. 318 lbs. 310 lbs. and 306 lbs. at nine months 

 and seventeen days old. 



On this point, I present a letter with which I was honored 

 by the late John Lowell, whose authority in the agricultural 

 community is justly estimated. 



" Dear Sir, — 



" I have been prevented answering your inquiries as to my 

 experience in raising old or young pigs. I may say that I have 

 fully and clearly ascertained, from a trial of 20 years, that young 

 pigs of from 25 to 30 lbs. will give nearly double, in some re- 

 markable cases three times, as many lbs. as shoats of 6 months 

 weighing from 100 to 150. I have taken two pigs of 100 lbs. 

 each, age six months, and never was able between May and 

 November, to get them above ISO, rarely above 170. I have 

 taken three pigs of about 30 lbs. each, and on the same food 

 which I gave to the two, they would weigh from 170 to 180 

 each in the same period ; — nay I have taken pigs of 200, and 

 never could get them to weigh more than 300 in 7 months on 

 my food. The way I ascertain the quantity of food is, that I 

 never give any thing but the produce of my dairy, and the ref- 

 use of the garden, peaches, apples, and cabbage, which are 

 uniform generally, 



" 3 pigs of 90 wt. or 30 wt. each, will give ordinarily 510 lbs. 



less original wt. 90 often 



not more than 60. 



gain 420 lbs. 



