110 



N E W ENGLAND F A R M E R , 



Mli)l)LIO.SKX .\i;illC!j!, Uilv]. nOCIKTY 



Ri/iort of Vie Cum, nil Ice mi Swim;. 



TIlO (.'oMMllilll'O "11 S'VIIIP ll 

 dlllV, :<lrl SIlljHHl Illi' l..lii>" lii^r !•■ p'Ml : 



'I'liev I'uinid Hii niin-iii \y iijiL'i! riiiMilior of rn- 

 trics fir llii; il U.TiMil infinniii s nl tin' Sim-k'Tj.^ 



liis ii(i.-v like a |)ick;ixe; and his luck sliiiip as a 



cross (.- lit saw. ami able t" }rii llii"iiij;li » i\||itp cmk 



I'liil at a siii;;lt" pass. We h .ve sfiii sii:iie iini'iiilii- 



alli'ii(l>'(l lo their ^ ""'^ '''"^ (iiiich t"-br-[iilii (i iiidivuliial iiiiiU'rlalii' id 



I (Irivp t'lc (M-caliirc, and kiinw lliat iuiImkIv, i-xct'pl 



I llie ilriiei', ran help tnniiiltiKiiis laii;;hler. W'f 



' h ive lic-nrd his luelodiniis voire of' noii^, and know 



I that at it no oiie c.in lielp >liiiddi"rin;i. ^\Ve hiive 



Ol asH .i„i ,'uu a |.i HP ,„ ilie >cm f exrel- ' "'"■'-"'■P'l <" '"^ appetite, and know ihat we cu.ild 



lenre. wheiv there were so „i,,nv ex>.-el:e,i. pomis— j ""' '"''l' f-"-"'vm!r at the insnffici-ncy of ail hninaii 

 was a di({i.-ull one. Vunr eonnnitlec do not ..xk^.Tlinns to satisfy an appetite that nevr ceases 

 pe<t thai tlievc.n have friven p-ifect satisf.elion '■'■"^■"'-- Now compirc this aninial-wonlo tiiat 



bvih-irawa'id, aith..ii-h Ihev have striven to be | "''^ '-""''" "^'^ """ ""- '"'^ "'"'^ ' ^ i'^^'""'' — 



aeenn.te and jn-l. It was inatler of yieit renP't \ '-'""P^'re this so, t of creature with one ..f the h.st 

 O.ai thefi,n,!s»f theS.ciity would not alhiw „f , '"•'^"•'■•^" """' '" 1'"''''^ lavor_the Berkshire, or 



' Markay, or Ciiina. tlie Moco or the liyheld. Liid; 



I I at thi' sliort, sh'iidei leijs, the smili hr n 'sj ;he well 



I pi iced h' ad, tlie deep cliest, the sliai;,fhl, broad, 



' flat back, the foil ipiarlers, the fine !rrai;ied (lesli. 



th" }jri at aptitude lo htlten, the cleanliness of his 



habits, the ahsenco of noise, the increased wei:;ht 



j;iven liiin at a less expense Htnl in shorter time. 



In point of tact, swine are like all I'tlier animals 

 in this respect. Within 100 years past, horses, 

 cows, oxen and sleep, have been donlile<l in size, 

 ill benntv and in value. As far as the matter has 



many ■liiiiials pieseiit ijeservin.' id' preiiiiiims. 

 Cominitlec have a\v;ii(led as lollows, vi/ ; 

 To Iloral io (> .\i''iriain, of 'I'euksbnrv, for 



!lie liesl hoar, tlie Hrst piemloin of .OQ 



To .lohii Leiihe, of Wohiin, for the n' xt he-t, 5 

 'J <i l.contird Hoar, Jr , of I, licolii, for the best 



breedinir sow, i 



To Ah(;l Whe.der, of Lincoln, for llic> next best, 5 | 

 To .losepli Darby, id Cioicind, for the best pi;;.-i | 



S'X iiiontlis old, 4 I 



To .'Vbej Uleasoii, ol \\ aylanil, for the next best, :{ j 1^' 



been liVtended to, the same thing holdi tine of 

 Good farnierR — scientific men — have bet- 

 tered the race. It lias bei n done by jiidicions 

 crossin;; of different breeds, by careful nnrturo, by 

 nianaijem'nt, by attention to their food ami their 

 pens and yards. No niiin need now have a bad 

 or poor hoir. He may obtain a pood animal of a 

 cliidco breed. He may produce more pmk, of » 

 better quality, and at a. less expense tliini foroierly. 

 (iood economy now reipiires him to look iis cure 

 fully at the animal he is pnrchasini;, as he «oiild 

 look at any other class of iitock ; and with refi^reoce 

 to seinetbinir like the firllowinij class ot' poinis: 

 1st. The purchaser shinild look for a breed ot pii 

 rity of blood, which fattens readily on little food, 

 matures early. 2. 'I he head should be small, and 

 short, and .spri;:iilly ; the chest deep and broid ; 

 the ribs arched ; the neck short and tliick, well set 

 with bristles; the limbs Sii ill and line bone'!; the 

 bristles soft like hair: the ears trenerally small 

 and erect; the legs short ; the (piaiters full; the 

 skin soft and elastic. ;J. The carcase should be 

 ronnd, full and compact, possessinu lateral exten- 

 sion and a lenjith in proportion to this. 



Unt the selection ol animals accordinjf to these 

 or other eipially eood rules, is not all. It is in 



fact but a s II paitof the battle. Next cones 



for our consideration, in order to u'ain the end at 

 which we aim, the whole matter of economic irian- 

 aori'inent. There is a matter of food ; whether it 

 shall be cooked by steaimm.'' ; of what it shall iron- 

 sist ; and what particular articles of food make the 

 animals thrive most. Then again how ninch w irk 

 shall they be rcipiired to do ; what time should be 

 spent in llie f.itteniiig. anil at what season of the 

 year should it commence. Shou d oiir swine In- 

 kept in pens or yards; and in "hit kind of pens or 

 yards, and >'liat is the most econonucal jjlan of a 

 pi^i'pery ? In whit way c:in these ammils miike 

 tiie 1. ost manure, and ^\lJ.t substances should be 

 inost ridiculous, most laiigoter moving of all tue | jriven ihem on m Inch t'- work .= And what number 

 einbts Ihit are ever .-eeii on the tice of the earth— i of ji„i,„ii|M shoiihl a liinner raise,' ' Upon tliese 



« common sw.ne of the ohl-fashii d breed, and topics your c mittee do not disigii to enlarge at 



Bee what has been jMiie with bin. Consider the ! [hj.,; n,,,,,. 'I'liero is a vast anii.ont "if inforoiation 

 animal an instant — view Iiis legs as long as a | cxistuii! all around ns, which any one so di.-|)osed 



crane's, and as large as go.nl sized merchantible hkiv eas'ilv leani. The mailer of manag ent is 



birch wood, and as lleet as tho.-e of a yreyliouml ; belter nnderslo.id than any nther part ol the siib- 



Iii some instinces the cuuimi'tee were preclndei] 

 from awn.iiling pieiniuins to cerl.iin animals, from 

 the fict that the >aine iininn. Is h.id heietnloie re- 

 ceived the -Society's prei; liiin, to winch they would 

 Otherwise have lieen now oiiiith d. 



■ Several specimens wfre sent in for exhiliilion, 

 ivliich the committee regret they ,are m.t able to 

 notice as their iii"rits desmve. 



Yinir coiieniltee further desire to call the atten- 

 tion of tlie Society, very lirK'fly, to the subject of 

 t.e rearing of swine by the larmers of .Middesex. 

 'I by regard the matter as of high iin[iortance. 

 They tliink it worthy of serious attention, and they 

 are constrained to believe that this larmiiig com- 

 11. unity generally is not possessed of such accu- 

 rate jnfonnation and conhrmed details of experi- 

 ment as it po.ssesses on all the oilier iiiatters of 

 daily occurrence in a farmers iile. 



This is regarded as the funny cnmroittee of our 

 dhow. Your (■|iairman of llie Hog Commitlee is 

 expected to give a funny toast at the dinner table, 

 and to excite tin? risibles ol all the n embers of the 

 Society ill his annual report of liie award of preiiii- 

 Ums, and by a lecture on pigs and hogs, lo casti 

 gate ail the vices of the community, soiial, politi- 

 cal, irofessional and religious. All this has been 

 of course exceedniL'ly pleasant, and doubtless the 

 most agreeable nuthod of s[iending a 'iiiw nioinents 

 vif (Uir d'y. The elTect of the matter has been, to 

 make of subordiiiale, that whicli yuur committee 

 think of the very first importance, viz: the true 

 value of this branch of practical husbandry. 



An old maxim says, ''a hog is a Iiols and you 

 can't change the nature of the Iwast." Now, 

 thouL'h maxiniB are generally the expressed and 

 compressed " isdoiii of ages of experience, we yet 

 beg leave to dilfi.'r Ironi this pailiciihir one. You 

 can chanife the beast. lake that most absurd. 



ject. Y'lur conniiillee «jll only say in reginl t 

 lli>' last Item, ihil toe bi'st rule they cm I iv '!o\^ 

 lor deleimiiiing 'be number of swiue .;ny larul 

 should ki ep, IS the following: ihe poorer the Ian, 

 the firmer the number of hojs ; becansi- ihe poor^ 

 Ihe larin is, tile greater need is there of the le^jei 



I riling power of the [<ig-sty. 



; he imporlant part of the subject yet reiiaii 

 brhiiid ; and the one "hichyoiir Co .imiiiee mo 

 desire lo urge upon the attention of the S'"iei 

 and all the firn.ers of Middlese.x ; they me in tl 

 great ailvahtige of the rearing of hogs as a nie 

 age'it in the ciiltiv iiion of the larm. We ar'i 

 sitiiat -d that ihe laising of pork as a staple pr 

 duce is noi i.r iiiiicii consequence in ilscll. W 

 are near the gie.it mark' t of New Kn.'lao'l ; v 



II ive extensive iiiark'ls in our midst, so ih.i;. all il 

 surplus produce which we can raise, of wImi si. 

 or iMliire soever, cvn be once and easilv ilispos', 

 of. We are highly t'lvoreil in this n's|iecl. 11 

 problem of a Mi.iillesex farmer is how he can rat 

 the greatest (juantity of siirphis produce ; how 1 

 call make his land nio-t productive: how hv c. 

 lertilize his steriie iiphiiids, and bring into ine I 

 w et lo" lands. 



It has been said, time and again, and always a 



comnanied by some expressmn of re ; ret, lli it v 



havi; not so productive lands as the fertile |iiani 



ot the West. Y'our committee do not agref ui 



tills. Our lands may not be so ea.-ily ciillivat 



as these same jirairie and meadow lands. I. 



they are as productive. 'J'lie rough, rocky hills 



New England, tilled ny Ihud knoLks and hard di; 



and by ihe [/ouriiig s«eai of an energetic loai 



brow, cannot be beat in ipi -iitity of pio.iiice. T 



largest crops ol any and every kind of proiliice ra 



ed ill the two .'■ections, i.ave been raised her'' on< 



liil.s and in our sw.mps. We have mucli pi 



land that may be made good, and much good la 



that is t..onght to be floor. Tiie problem i.-, In 



to render both as productive as they may bo inai 



We all undeist and tin; agents to be used 



! working nut the problem. We must manure ( 



uplands a'ld drain our -iwanip-. How shall »e 



this .' The farmers iry out, " We c iii't maiiiii 



j »e don't 111. ike enongli, .unl vie are nntaliie topi 



chase." Fiiends, you can manure: you hive ea 



one of yon peat bi i;s and pig styes, or if you lia 



! not pe.u bogs, you have swamp mud. which answi 



I e(|ii ,lly well, Vuiir co-iuiiitlee are linn in t 



o|aiiio:i tli.it these are the two agen's by vvlii 



I our hill sides and our valleys are to he made gt 



: liens, and lo wave with the luxuriant grain, or 



] pour tourth in prid'iisioii the succulent and nouris 



ing root. 



The great value of peal is just beginning to 

 nnder.-loiid by u.s. It li.is long existed in profiisi 

 on our farms. V-'e have begun to find out its v 

 ne as a fuel, and in getting it out of its mti. 

 swamps for that (mrposo, we have been .siirpji- 

 to liiid the iiiisi.:hily aiel sterile swuinp st.iri ii 

 lilv, and poiir into our granaries and barns gre.. 

 ipianiities of produce Iran n single acr-', ihuii 

 li.ive been able to raise on any other land. i : 

 ol corns'- suggests an analysis of the mud i.f ulm 

 the snainp IS composod ; and on such analysis i 

 tind th it lliere is m ne fertilizing vegeLihli \\'< 

 ishuiei.t III this than in any other soil, Il lia.-> In i 

 (Ir.iincd fioiii the lill s. 1 s through a long sm i ■ 

 si III o yeuis: it is, in f ct, so to speak, the r. • 

 eentrati'd essence of Ine fertilizing qualiiiL'S f . 

 soils. Now as It has beer, drained from tin; .n. 

 lands we seek lo re.-.t'iie it to the same jilace fr i 



