PIGGEKIES.J 



PIGS, 



[PIGQEEIES. 



quality: the blue spots of Neapolitan; the 

 white, if small, of Chinese ; if large, of the old 

 English ; if black, of Berkshire, &c. ; but be- 

 yond this, it is neither politic nor reasonable 



to go." 



PIGGERIES. 



For general purposes, an inclosure which 

 allows sufficient space for the number of swine 

 to be kept, with the means of extending it, if 

 necessary, will be found the best ; for there are 

 few things which conduce more to the health 

 of the pig family, than spacious, airy, well-con- 

 structed, cleanly kept accommodation. At one 

 time, swine were imagined to be far happier 

 when kept in a continual state of filthiness ; any 

 place was then deemed good enough for them ; 

 and the consequence was, that the poor despised 

 animals were housed in dirty, damp, close sheds 

 or sties, without the smallest atteation to com- 

 fort or cleanliness being bestowed upon them. 

 In such places who could expect the blood of 

 any animal to be preserved lor any length of 

 time in a healthy state ? 



" The blood, the fountain whence the spirits flow ; 

 The generous stream that waters every part, 

 And motion, vigour, and warm hfe conveys 

 To every moving, breathing particle." 

 A proper piggery should have a range of 

 sheds, so situated as to be quite sheltered from 

 the north and east winds ; from snow and rain ; 

 and it should be paved or flagged at the bot- 

 tom, with an outward slope. To insure clean- 

 liness and dryness, very efficient drainage is 

 absolutely necessary ; and it will be advan- 

 tageous if the bottom be of concrete, as well as 

 drained. " The whole pig-cote should slope 

 towards one corner, and be intersected by chan- 

 nels in the flagstone or pavement : the former 

 is by far the best ; and to this a common metal 

 stench-trap should be placed. This is, in every 

 respect, the best. Connected with this drain 

 fchould be a tank ; or it might communicate 

 with the drainage of the rest of the buildings. 

 The interior, or covered shed, should be kept 

 constantly littered ; and so, indeed, should the 

 court-yard, if the object of the pig-keeper be to 

 convert his straw into manure. If not, it 

 should be swept and washed clean, and occa- 

 sionally sprinkled witli fresh sawdust. Thero 

 is no better absorbent — no cleaulier material 

 than this — and it is cheaper than straw, when 

 both have to be purchased ; much more por- 

 774 



table, easier obtained, carried, or stowed away, 

 and should be the sheet-anchor of the amateur 

 pig-keeper." 



Mr. Henderson recommends a house on an 

 entirely different plan. " Have a house," he 

 says, " thirty feet by fifteen, with four doors, 

 all opening outwards, and three partition-walls 

 through the house, by a wall between each of 

 the doors, dividing the house into four com- 

 partments — the two middle ones for eating, 

 and the others for sleeping apartments, having 

 an inner door between each eating and sleep- 

 ing apartment. By this plan, the keeper is 

 enabled to get the eating chambers swept out, 

 and troughs cleaned, and the food put into 

 them, without disturbing the swine, or being 

 disturbed by them. There should be a divi- 

 sion-wall through each sleeping apartment. In 

 the hinder part should be the litters ; and the 

 front and smaller compartments, through 

 which the animals pass to their food, may be 

 used by them as a kind of necessary; for these 

 animals will never defile their beds, if they can 

 avoid it. 



" The manger should be as long as the house 

 is wide, and fixed against the middle wall ; in 

 form similar to a horse manger — wide at the top, 

 narrow at the bottom, but not so deep. It 

 must be divided into compartments by par- 

 tition-boards four feet in length or height, and 

 a little broader than the manger is wide. At 

 such a trough a number of pigs will feed as 

 quietly, and as well, as two or three. Before 

 every meal the trough should be well washed, 

 and the place swept; and once every day a 

 little fresh litter should be placed in the sleep- 

 ing chambers. Each of the eating and sleep- 

 ing rooms should be divided into two. The 

 sleeping rooms should be dark, as animals 

 fatten more rapidly when they can quietly lie 

 down and sleep after each meal." — Mr. Par- 

 kinson suggests, that in the yard, or inclosure 

 before every piggery, there should be "a rub- 

 bing-post, or, what is still more beneficial, 

 two posts, having a hole between them, similar 

 to a horse's leaping-bar, but not revolving; 

 this pole should be raised or let down to the 

 height of the pigs, as the rubbing of the ani- 

 mals against it causes a freer circulation of 

 blood, the same as the flesh-brush does to 

 human bodies." All these plans, however, 

 are suitable only for large farm-yards. Por 



