578 



F A U x\l E R S RE G I S T E K . 



[No. 10 



I have always been afraid to venture on keep- 

 ing -ci !arij;e quantity of potatoes in a cellar, as 

 seems to have been the [iractice of the writtTs of" 

 ilip comiiiunications nhove reicrre.l to; but do be- 

 lieve thi^ smoke (as reconiiiieuiled l)y tlirni) to ne 

 absolutely necepsary in preserviiiiT, even a pmail 

 quantity, any length of time; and the autliority is 

 very i^oud, that il will have the desired effect with 

 any quantity. 



i will only add in conclusion of the subject, 

 Cnend RulTiii, (and I consider you the best triend 

 of every liiriner,) that if any one of your leadi rs 

 ehould not have taith in the plan I have above at- 

 tempted to rpcommeiui. let him try it on a small 

 scale. And I am certain his liuth wdl be strength- 

 ened 'by works." 



As I have some room left, I will communicate 

 a fict to my brother farmers, the knowledge of 

 which (if acted on,) will, in my opinion, prove 

 highly advantageous to them, particularly those 

 in the soiuliern states that have no clover pasture 

 for their hogs to run on, at a season of the year 

 when food tor them is generally scarce; and where 

 stubble land should be at rest, instead of havinir 

 everything eaten off of it, and trod to death in 

 the bargain. But, to the fact; it is. that I am at 

 this time feeding to my hogs (a small siock,) two 

 hiishels of squaslies daily. This from a half acre 

 of poor land, manured in the hill with the scra- 

 pinffs about my pens, principally corn-cobs. Hav- 

 insT last sprinif, resolved on the experiment, I laid 

 off an acre of land for the purpose; but, could not 

 procure seed to plant so much. The half ihere- 

 ibre. that was intended tor the filter plantin<j. I 

 had planted in piuupkins; and althouirh the sea- 

 son had been unfavoralile to both, the yield has 

 been astonishin<j; and has convinced me, that 

 vines will amply pay a man lor the additional trou- 

 ble of cultivaiiiiii them to themselves; not lakir^g 

 into account the injury corn sustains by crowd- 

 iiiil them on the same ground with it. 



In gatheriniT my squashes (of which I have a 

 great variety) I have my patch gone regularly 

 over, so as to use them belbre they become too 

 hard; bu! if some should become so, they are not 

 lost; lor my hogs appear to be equally as fond of 

 them as the soft ones. 



As soon as ihey are penned, I intend to com- 

 mence leeding my fattening ho<rson the pu:npkins; 

 first boiling and mixing a small proporiion of corn 

 and cob-meal with them; and to continue that 

 food as louii us they last. Then with dough made 

 from llie meal, and to finish on. 



I have never known any person besides myself, 

 to raise the squHsh with the view only of feeding 

 hoCTg, thousrli it has in all probaliiliiy been done. 

 1 am very sanguine in the belief however, that il 

 the value of the article as food lijr hous, was gene- 

 rally known, the practice of raising them lor that 

 purpose would be. in the sou-ih, universally pursued. 



To conclmle, if by writing this communication, 

 I can succeeil ni introducing such practices as are 

 recommended. I shall be happv in believing that 

 I have not lived altogether lor myself. S 



From tlip lianklin Farmer. 



For economy, I would advise the farming com- 

 munity to select out of their herd of swine, everv 

 sprinL"", as many f(;'male pigs as they may think 



will produce them as many pigs as they may be 

 prepared to rear through the winter for fumily or 

 market use, and to have this lot of younir sows 

 kept in a lot sntficienlly close to prevent males 

 from gelling lo them. Should the grazing on the 

 blue grass or clover not be sufficient to keep them 

 in a jcrood healthy growing condition, I would ad- 

 vise a small [)roporiion of corn, given regularly 

 morn and noon, to ussisl their regular grovvlh. 

 Ami as I have, from my own experience with a 

 lot of eleven head, ha"ing only ordinary blue grass 

 woodland pastuie, made a regular practice morn 

 an.i noon, of giving them 8 or 10 ears of corn at a 

 leed, I can say with salety, by so doing you will be 

 well paid for your husbandry. Your sows will 

 have liealth, good sleek coats of hair and good 

 stamina, and they will not be hurried in their 

 growth, then the animals will be much more ca- 

 pable of propagating. Younii sows kept in ibis 

 way will weigh from 120 to 160 lbs. when about 8 

 months old. 



Sows are susceptible of conceiving when 4 or 5 

 months old; but for heller size and form, I would 

 reconmiend not lo breed them until they are about 

 8 months old, that their first litterinir will be when 

 ihey are about 12 months of age. Sows impreg- 

 nated from ihe 20th to the last of December will 

 brinu pii/s from Ihe lOih to the .30ih April, as the 

 period of gestation is about 112 days. I have a 

 number on record oi' ihe above age, and find their 

 produce to be from 8 to 13 pi^s a liller. I knowr 

 the usual wants of the firmers, by hearinj): them 

 frequently observe, by iheir fire side, ''lei me have 

 my Slock of pii£s to come the first o.'' March," and 

 at Ihe same time, unconsious ol the danger of 

 severe storms and bold blasts in March — and the 

 little economy they have in providing shelters lor 

 their sows — frequenily lose there entire stock of 

 piiTs, which is of no small value to a farmer that 

 has his plan laid out lo rear a great number of hogs, 

 corise(]iiently must buy a stock; or sell iheir grain 

 at reduced price. I have experienced the loss 

 more than once, to a considerable amount, conse- 

 quently I have postponed breeding as before 

 mentioned. Thus I have the security of better 

 weather and the benefit of vegetation, which has 

 a good tendency to correct any indisposition in 

 sows, which frequently occurs in animals as well 

 as human beings. They are subject to infiamma- 

 lory colds, and fever succecdins;, dries up their 

 miik, the pigs perish and death intervenes. To 

 insure Ihe firmer a quick and rapid grawih in his 

 lotofpiirs, let them come about ihe last of April, 

 (say20ih) which is far prelt'rable to March pigs, 

 v.'hich have sustained mnrh injury while very 

 young. Siun'ed by frost and huncrt r, they cannot be 

 well resusciiated by the best ofattention af erwards. 



In an ordinary way, sows suckle their young in 

 tlie spring from six to eight weeks, but in the fill 

 Ihe aoivs frequently wean tlieir young in about six 

 weeks. I would say to make your pigs thrive and 

 rrrow on without much injury in llieir looks from 

 weaning time, the better way is to prepare a cov- 

 ered pen liir your piirs, and have a hole sufficieiuly 

 ' larixe so they can go in and out at pleasure, and 

 i always keep shelled corn by ihem. Be particular 

 I to commence thus leedinii when ihey are about 

 three weeks old, and it will aid the sow in rearing 

 i ihem, consequently they will wean them kindly 

 ! and grow on wi! bout any ill effects which arecom- 

 \ mon to weaning. These pigs will have age and sul- 



