226 HARRIS ON THE PIG. 



their pigs during the summer and autumn, while at pas- 

 ture. It is not uncommon to furnish the pigs nothing but 

 grass and the slops from the house until the time the corn 

 crop is ready to husk. They are then shut up in a pen, 

 and thrown whole corn on the ear. The pigs have been 

 accustomed to a bulky food, from which they can extract 

 little more than sufficient nutriment to keep them alive, 

 when, suddenly, they are shut up, and allowed nothing 

 but food containing, in a given bulk, three or four times 

 as much nutriment. What wonder if a portion of it is 

 voided in an undigested state ? If the pig fills his 

 stomach, what else can he do with it ? His powers of 

 digestion and assimilation are not three times as great 

 to-day as they were yesterday, when he had. nothing but 

 grass. How much more reasonable it would be to feed 

 him a little corn when at grass, and a little grass, or other 

 succulent food, when shut up to fatten ! 



The corn fed to a pig while at grass increases his pow- 

 ers of digestion and assimilation, and as he approaches 

 maturity, he will be able to digest and assimilate more 

 concentrated food. The aim must be to furnish him all 

 he can possibly eat, digest, and assimilate. It is here that 

 cooking comes to our aid. It enables us to " crowd " the 

 fattening pigs forward rapidly to maturity. It is a costly 

 process, feeding pigs wholly on grain, and we must shorten 

 the time as much as possible. The pigs should be kept 

 growing rapidly during the summer, increasing the sup- 

 ply of grain as the pigs get older, and when shut up to 

 fatten, four or five weeks feeding on rich, cooked food, 

 should fill them up with lard. 



By looking at our market reports, it will be seen that 

 there is a difference of two or three cents per pound in 

 the price of pigs, according to their condition and quality. 

 And, in point of fact, there is even a still greater differ- 

 ence in the intrinsic value of the pork and lard to the 

 consumers. 



