SWi 



SWI 



445 



It would far exceed our limits to 

 give a description of the diff^rMi! 

 breeds of this animal. Among (tie 

 best are the B) tield breed, the Bed- 

 ford breed, and the recent impor- 

 tations from England, whicti seem 

 to be a cross of the Chinese breed, 

 with the larger and coarser breeds 

 of Great Britain. 



In the breeding of swine care 

 should be taken to have them pig- 

 ged in the right season, about 

 March or April. These will bear 

 the rigour of the following wiiiter, 

 much better than those which come 

 later : Though a sow will farrow 

 three times in a year, it is better 

 that they should do it only twice. 



The above mentioned writers 

 say, " It is common for sows to 

 have thirteerPor fourteen pigs at a 

 litter: But the sow can rear no 

 more than she has teats to suckle 

 them with : the rest must therefore 

 be destroyed, or put to other sows. 

 If a sow miss the time of going to 

 boar, that she might in course have 

 done, give her some oats parched 

 in a pan, in her wash, or the small 

 end of a runnet bag, and it will 

 cause her quickly to go to boar. 

 The pigs which you rear, after you 

 have chosen out the best for boars 

 and sows, the males must be gelt, 

 and th:; sows spayed." 



The most eligible food for store 

 hogs in winter ought to be known, 

 regard being had to the cost of the 

 food, and the advantage gained in 

 the growth of the swine. Raw 

 potatoes seem to be the most fash- 

 ionable food in the northern parts 

 of New England. But if swine 

 are wholly confined to this food, 

 they will but just live, without in- 



creasing much in their growth. 

 Ivjt boiled potatoes will make them 

 grow and even fatten them. Roast- 

 ed potatoes are still better for 

 them than boiled, as they are less 

 watery. 



From some late experience I 

 have had of feeding them with raw 

 carrots, 1 judge them to be a more 

 fattening food than even boiled po- 

 tatoes. The swine are exceed- 

 ingly fond of them, sometimes pre- 

 ferring them to Indian corn. And 

 I think the cost of raising carrots 

 will not be found greater on the 

 whole, where the soil is suitable 

 for them, than that of raising pota- 

 toes. 



The feeding of store swine con- 

 stantly with any kind of corn, 

 seems to be too expensive. Possi- 

 bly it will be found, upon further 

 trial, that carrots are the best sub- 

 stitute. Red beets are also a good 

 food for them, and parsneps excel- 

 lent : But turnips at'.d cabbage are 

 improper. 



Mr. Young made many accurate 

 experimei ts in order to find out 

 the cheapest and best method of 

 feeding swine in sties. The result 

 of the whole was, that boiled car- 

 rots had the preference. 



Sows and pigs on a farm, as he 

 justly observes, should have the 

 benefit that arises to swine from 

 the dairy. The rest of the swine 

 may be fed chiefly on clover in 

 the summer, and on roots in the 

 winter, if this rule be observed, 

 the dairy farmer may keep a 

 very great number of swine to ad- 

 vantage. 



But it should not be forgotten, 

 that swine are, in one respect at 



