214 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



We are particularly anxious to call attention to this 

 matter, as we deem it one of the most important points 

 in the management of thorough-bred pigs. A litter of 

 ten pigs, at birth, weighs about 15 Ibs., and at six weeks 

 old, sometimes as much as 250 Ibs., or nearly or quite as 

 much as the mother herself weighs, in many cases. It is 

 evident that this enormous growth must require a large 

 amount of food from somewhere. From whence is it ob- 

 tained ? In thorough-bred pigs, we must have as rapid 

 growth as possible while young, or the breed deteriorates. 

 The offspring of pigs whose growth is checked while 

 young from want of food, will, in some degree, lose the 

 capacity of growth, even though abundance of food is 

 furnished. The sins of the owners of the parents are 

 visited on the owners of the children. The pigs have 

 been bred for the very purpose of growing rapidly, and 

 they cannot grow without food. To expect a thorough- 

 bred sow (refined down to the last degree,) to raise a lit- 

 ter of pigs (inheriting a tendency to rapid growth), with 

 no more food than a common sow with a litter of common 

 pigs, is unreasonable. The thorough-bred sow and pigs 

 require, and must have, better food, and more attention 

 than the common pigs. 



A first-class thorough-bred sow, that produces eight 

 or ten pigs at the first litter, and proves a good mother 

 and nurse, is a very valuable animal, and it will pay well 

 to take care of her. For the first two weeks after far- 

 rowing, little change will apparently take place in her 

 condition. The scales would doubtless show that she has 

 lost weight, but it is from the inside fat, which finds its 

 way into the milk for the nourishment of the young. 

 All animals lay up fat for this purpose, and it is not nec- 

 essary to furnish a large quantity of rich food for the 

 sow for the first week after farrowing. She should have 

 all the cooling drinks she requires, and food that is easily 

 digested, such as milk and bran mashes, and later, oat- 



