BREEDING AND BEARING PIGS. 190 



nothing more important than to have young pigs in a 

 healthy,vigorous, almost fat condition, before winter sets in. 



The pigs are now three months old, and should weigh 

 75 Ibs. to 80 Ibs. each. We have had grade Essex and 

 Berkshires (which are not as large as grade Essex and 

 Chester Whites) that weighed 88 Ibs, when three months 

 and four days old, And it should be remembered that, 

 during two months of the time, the pigs get most of 

 their food from the sow ; and during the next month, they 

 eat far less food than older pigs. 



During the winter, the pigs may be allowed the run of 

 the barn-yard, to pick up what they can find. If the cat- 

 tle are fed grain or oil-cake, a certain number of pigs will 

 keep in good condition on the droppings of the cattle, and 

 on food which would otherwise be wasted. Let the young 

 pigs, however, have a separate pen from the old ones, and 

 see to it that they have enough food to keep them in good 

 condition. By throwing them an ear or two of corn in 

 the pen, they will soon learn to be ready at the appoint- 

 ed time to enter the pen for the night, without trouble. 

 On no account let them go to bed hungry. Let their 

 stomachs be well filled say at five o'clock in the evening 

 and they will sleep quietly until eight o'clock the next 

 morning. In fact, a well-bred and well-fed pig will sleep 

 three-fourths of his time, during the winter. If not dis- 

 turbed, and tempted with fattening food, he will eat little 

 and gain little. And sometimes, like other hibernating 

 animals, he will live on his own fat. 



As spring approaches, the young pigs will need more 

 food, and fortunate is that farmer who has a liberal 

 supply of parsnips, sugar-beets, or mangel wurzel for 

 them. These roots, pulped or rasped in a cider-mill, mixed 

 with a little corn-meal, are a cheap and excellent food for 

 pigs in the spring. But, whatever the feed, let the pigs 

 have all they need to keep them in a good, thriving con- 

 dition. 



