604 



FARxMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 10 



cred be/ore they are fully ripened, as being less 

 subject to laiiure, or to disease. But we have 

 never known in this country any thing to justify 

 such a course, and beeides, it'is, we thiii'U, contrary 

 to the course pointed out by nature hersell! The 

 average crop of potatoes per acre in the states is 

 not large, owing to the imperliict and careless 

 method oCculture. In Susquehannah county, Pa. 

 in 1838, the average of 2,400 acres, was 170 bush- 

 els per acre, which we presume exceeded the ave- 

 rage of many other sections of our country. Now, 

 in ordinary seasons, and with decent culture, the 

 average should not be less than 300 bushels per 

 acre ; and when we remember that many instances 

 have occurred of from 500 to 1000 bushels per 

 acre, sych an average could not be deemed ex- 

 travagant. More manure and less land, would 

 doubtless increase our potato crops, as well as 

 most others. 



BREEDING SWINE. 



From the Franlclin Farmer. 



Buffalo, N. Y. yJugust Slst, 1839. 



S'tr.— Agreeable to the intimations in my last, I 

 now come to the rules adopted by the most suc- 

 cessful breeders of JBerkshires in this vicinity. Your 

 readers will excuse my particularity in statinir them 

 for the reason that the article of pork, as betore as- 

 serted, is the most important item of western a-)-- 

 ricultural production, and that I am writing To 

 those who are not above th^ir business, but Tvho 

 take the same pride and pleasure in raisinir a fine 

 race of hogs, as they would in that of blooded 

 horses or Durham cattle. 



A boar should never be permitted to be used 

 till seven months old at least, and it would be 

 much better that he were allowed to run till nine 

 months. But if commencinji at seven months, 

 he should cover sparingly, sav not more than fil- 

 teen or twenty sows till a year old, and these as 

 distant apart as possible— one or two only in a single 

 week. From this time till he has attained preTty 

 liill vigor, which should take place at about eigh- 

 teen months age,he may be used a little more freely. 

 His spring seasons might then vary (i-om twenty- 

 five to thirty sows, and his fall nearly double this 

 number. In the meanwhile he should'be kept with 

 care, A strong door may open from his pen into 

 another, to which the sow is introduced, the boar 

 ie then let in and allowed one coitus only, immedi- 

 ately after which he must be turned back, and the 

 eow taken away. It has generally been noted that 

 one covering produces a greater number and stron- 

 ger offspring than two or three, and that an ad Ub- 

 ttum service, is likely pernicious to all parties. 



The best food for the boar dnring ihe season, is 

 boiled or soaked corn, with plenty of pure fresii wa- 

 ter, and for a variety, some swill from the house 

 with meal in it (oat is the best) and a raw or boiled 

 vegtable root or two, and as an antidote of disease 

 and to give tone to the appetite, and assist diges- 

 tion, a tattle spoonful or so of sulphur is occasio°nlly 

 put in his food. Salt is also placed whore he cn\\ 

 get at it when he pleases, and charcoal or small 

 chunks of rotten wood, together with a handful of 

 crushed bones, if convenient, is thrown. He must 

 be kept up alone in his stye under close cover with 

 a plank floor and plenty of dry litter, thesleepinrr 

 apartment communicating with a good yard to ex'^ 



ercise and root and wallow in, and .a strong post 

 placed upright near the centre for him to rub 



against. 



During the interim between the spring and fall 

 seasons, it would be jxreatly conduciv^e to the 

 health, vigor and longevity of the boar, il'he could 

 have a run in a cool grass pasture, with clearsvveet 

 water passing through it, and take lighter Ibod 

 than when in service, but yet sufFaJpntly nutritious 

 to keep him in fair store order. A good animal 

 thus treated, may last ten to twelve years, and ^et 

 excellent stock from first to last. But great care 

 must be taken that he be not over-icorkcd; this is 

 deemed very essential. It is the great lault of us 

 Americans, that when we have obtained a male 

 that has any way distinguished itselt; instead of 

 husbanding its resources, we use it too much, and 

 this is one great reason why the slock of such an- 

 imal so often disappoints the public. I under- 

 stand that particular English breeders limit their 

 best horses and bulls to about thirty females, and- 

 often as low as twenty or five and twenty. What 

 their usage is for boars I do not know, but suspect 

 that it would be less than here allowed. It will be 

 admitted however, that individual males may serve 

 well a greater number than limited above, but my 

 principle is, not to work them up to their full ca- 

 pacity; if error must be committed, it is better that 

 it be on the safe side. 



Unless a sow were very coarse, and the object 

 was to fine her, I vvould not allow her to breed at 

 eighteen months old; and if something extra was 

 desired, she ought not to come in under two years 

 there is then no check in growth, and the first lit- 

 ter is usually as good as any subsequent one. She 

 ought to be taken up and occupy a place alone 

 either in a pasture or a pen similar to that des- 

 cribed for the boar, one month previous to farrcw- 

 infj, her condition kept good and strictly watched 

 when expected to bring forth. As soon as drop- 

 ped, see that the pigs are cleaned and take the 

 teat, and the dam rid of the placenta, and that 

 carried ofl"and buried. The watching should con- 

 tinue a day or two longer, till the piirs get a little 

 stronger and lively, as the sows of this breed are 

 so heavy as to endanger their being lain or trod 

 upon and killed. One pig more saved, than leav- 

 ing the sow to herself, amply repays all this extra 

 attention. Althouirh objections are made to ffiv- 

 f^iving fciod immediately after farrowing, I can'^see 

 no reason in them; the poor animals is faint and dry, 

 and requires nourishment, and my rule is to feed 

 them swill in a moderate quantity, a little more 

 than blood warm, as soon as it will get up and eat 

 it. This is gradually thickened the next day. and 

 by the time the \)\'js are a week old, (he dam is 

 allowed to eat all it will v;ithout cloying. A mix- 

 ture of oat and pea or Indian meal,'of'one part of 

 either of the latter to three parts of the former, is 

 highly recommended for nursing, together with 

 an equal quantity of steamed vegetables. As soon 

 as the pigs will eat, a small open door should be 

 placed in the pen under which they could run and 

 be separate from the sows, a trough set in, and 

 milk with a liaht mixture of oat meal poured out 

 for them. This greatly relieves the ^ow, and adds 

 much to the growth of the pics; they wean then 

 without scouring, losing condition in the least, or 

 being checked in their growth. It is generally 

 thought that pi^s do as well to be weaned at six 

 weeks old as later, as the little milk each then 



