580 



i' A 11 JVl E K S ' K iS (I I S T E H . 



[iNo. 10 



commend one bear to every ten sow's; where you 

 want all your jiigs of one age and of jjood size. 

 Of all ihe aijiniai crealion that I have any acquain- 

 tance wiih, ihe boar and ram will lose their jui- 

 Cf s taster liom •.londt^riniz- f ^vill aver that a buar 

 may l>e in good health atjd high condition of ani- 

 mal spirit.--, and just let him with a lot ot sows 

 twenty or thirty ui numher, and m four weeks time 

 he will lose one hundred pounds weight, and you 

 may ieed him with what corn he may want to eat. 



A]y young nciiden sows, 1 hardly ever permit 

 to be served tiut one lime; my reason lljr this is 

 that the old boars are too heavy and strong for 

 them; he mashes them down when they are Wil- 

 ling; il not, he hunches them wiih his nose, and 

 bruises them so much, that it impedes tlieir growth 

 forever alterwards. It is asionishingto ihinic how 

 they lr-c(]ue!iiiy support them. 1 disapprove under 

 any circumstance ol'lesthiglhe male to a sow more 

 than once wlien he is in good order. I recon)mend 

 an aged male to maiden sows in all cases lo secure 

 larcre, sprightly, and well formed pigs, and more 

 prolific. 1 have kept a true accouut heretolbre of 

 this practice. I let a lot of seven sows run witli 

 the boar until ihey have done with him and kept 

 their several dales. I also had a lot of young and 

 old sows. [ let ihe boar out ol' his pound and let 

 him serve them once a piece and kept iheirseveral 

 dates. There was hut one out of six that did not 

 stand, anil out of 'he ioi of seven, (here were two 

 which did not stanih The lot of six produced 

 from six to eleven pigs a piece, and the lot of 

 seven did not produce as many pigs by lour as the 

 six. Ikept boiii lots in the same manner with 

 care, and they answered their several dales in lit- 

 tering, the period of gestation being about sixteen 

 weeks. If yuu stint your sows to the boar only 

 one time and you keep her in aiot to prevent other 

 males, and stie stands, she will be very sure to 

 bring lorlh from 111 to 113 days; but if permitted 

 to rmi with the buar when she is in season until 

 she is done, I have recorded a number of instances 

 and dates where they liave varied from the set 

 lime of 111 to IIG days. This convinces me of the 

 injurr the boar sustains, and (he sows receive no 

 benelit. From his masterly strength she is con- 

 strained to do what natureiloes not desire, then-- 

 fbre the great discrepancy in the supposed period of 

 gestation. 



Particular feeding. — I always give niy sows 

 dish-waler slo[>s when practicable through the 

 winter, in a trough, sufficiently long that they may 

 all Ieed out of it without scutfling, with a pole con- 

 fined on each end of the irouah, and also to keep 

 their (i;et out of the slop and keep ihem fi-om fight- 

 ing and slippii.t; over the rotundity ofihe trough, 

 Ttie antmonia in the dish water will suit impreg- 

 nated sows much better than strong salt. 1 had 

 twelve head lasi winter in the severest weather 

 and deep snows; I never gave but three, ears of 

 corn to each head, morning and evening, and when 

 the snow was off, my ihed waa from one to two^ 

 ears to each head, morning and evening. 



Ticalmant. — Wlien in some two or three days 

 of their liiK'i^iuLr, T alvvays separate my sows and 

 put them in sheds or houses by themselves; ! 

 prepare leaves ['ov their beds (if practicable) as I 

 prelor ihem lo straw or hay; liiey are light and 

 vvaim and tliere is no danger of the young pigs 

 getting entangled, as they do sometimes in straw; 

 being very weak, they die belbie they get to the 



teat; now whilst confined before jittering, giveihem 

 two ears of corn morning and evening, and a plen- 

 ty of water until ihey liave li'.rrou;ed. Ader they 

 have littered, give nothing bin water for 24 hours; 

 then give two or ihtee ears cfcorn nifihl anil morn- 

 ing, tor some lisur or five days, never give rich 

 slops fur some lour or five days before iUid after 

 littering, lor iliey are not in good liealih, tint (evrr- 

 ish, &c., and rich Ibod will. increase the li'\er, swell 

 ttie feiilp, so tliai the piirs cannot .draw thmi. niore 

 especially in .warm weather. I liave known in- 

 stances of'the milk entirely drying up from tf>ver, 

 and the! pigs die lor the want of it. Our afiection 

 frequently takes precedent of reason, t)y giviiiir in 

 lo supposed calls ol" natute. iherelore many li'ed 

 their sows on t'lie richest fi'od immediaiely after 

 litttring. It also produces that veiy injurious dis- 

 ease among the [)igs — scours. 



'Treatmerd after ihe pigs are scmejive rr ten days 

 old. — The sows should tie kept i;e| araie iicm each 

 other at least len days after littering to secure tf.e 

 rigs ati'ections to their own n)other, and lo prevent 

 them in large herds of pijis from tliis evil, vvhicli i.'' 

 so common 'when the sows are pern)itied to run 

 and litter together. The strong pigs will suckle 

 ail the sows, (or their superior strength will iurce 

 the weaker and younger from their teaiS; and con- 

 sequently soon become puny and weak, wiiich if 

 kept as 3 have described, has a good bearing lo pre- 

 ^ventitiein. I ctinsay from exfierience ihai every 

 pig will have their own tear, and regularly as the 

 sow calisor permits ihem to suckle, ihey will return 

 to their own, unless fitived away by ihe stronger. 

 My practice is, aller they have arrived at ihe age 

 belore mentioned, to put ihern in a (ot of urti^s suf- 

 ficienl for their grazinir and exercise, wiifi a plenty 

 ofshade and wa'er, if practicable, and alwa\skeep 

 other slocks of hogs away from ihem of any- size, 

 for ihe purpose of keeping: the sows from fiiihnnof, 

 and running over and ciippling the young figs, 

 which is pretty generally the case if tfiey are per- 

 mitted to feed with the sows and pigs. I teed my 

 sows while suckling wiih as much corn as they 

 will eat up clean, and always it possible put the 

 corn on smooth and dry ground for them. As for' 

 economy, trcm experience, I can say I am well 

 paid lor my husbandry, lo have houses and sheds 

 ,tbr winter feeding. My summer and tall li'eding 

 of slops to my sows while suckling their pirs is 

 done in the Ibllowing described manner: — Have 

 two barrels or tubs placed convenient lo the 

 troughs, then put into each barrel two pecks of rye 

 and one peck of corn meal, one of wheat bran, then 

 fid the barrels with kilchen slops and soi:p-suds, 

 when not enough of this, make up the deficiency 

 with water, frt-qoently stirring it With a paddle, 

 and in 24 hours by a summer heat it will he about 

 as acid as common siill beer. Commence slopping 

 cut of one tub ihe first day, leaving some of the 

 slop in the tub to retain the acid tor quick fermen- 

 tation; the same evening fill up this lub agiiiii for 

 the lliird day; now commence s'oppinu the second 

 day out of ihe tub, and.re-fili in the evenins as you 

 did the first ; i;ow youhave bothyour tubs ferment- 

 ed and it body of acid in thtm, you must keep if 

 up by filling one every day; renew the meal and 

 bran every two or three ti-ays by putting in one 

 peck of the three kinds mixed together in each 

 tub, in the same proportion to the first put in. 

 Fixim this quantify 1 led five aged sows and thir- 

 ty-one nig:3 three t:mes every day, which took 



