NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Vol.. If 



BOSTON. SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1824. 



C!'orvrs45onI>riirc. 



ENGLISH BREED OF SWINE. 

 '» lilt Editor of Iht ^Vtic England Farmer, 



Sir. --In a note appended to a communication 

 y >' A Farmer," you have referred to a paper 

 rittiMi ':v mo, and originally' puldished in tlie 

 [)V, rcriMinienciina^ the lireed of" hogs known 



llie r.,iglish IVhitcs, English Broad Backs — or 

 om the nobleman who introduced them in 



tn'llLlSllEU liV WILLIAM NICHOLS, KOGERy' liUlLUlNG-S COXGRESS STREET, (FOURTH D OOR F1^0^^S^^^I?i^:•^:li^^.- =^ 



No. -J7. 



be another kind undJ7~ihi7"denomi7^^,~br 

 this I am ignorant. If s.j, the writer, after 

 havmg seen your editorial remark would have 

 adverted to the ftct ; and probaldy softened hi-i 

 malediction But however great his prejudice, 

 should he chance to have an interview with my 

 family of this descriplicn, I doubt not he will iVtil 

 impelled to give them gentlemanly satisfnction 

 lor having publicly traduced their character. 



I have given n;unes and facts ft) substantiule 

 my statemetil. If " A Farmer" will do (hi?, 

 and therely^dcmonstrale that his " old sort" is 

 best, I shall very readily yield to the evidence ; 

 as I have no predilection for any kind but the 

 most profitable. 1 have however never yet 

 seen the equal of the "English breed" for 

 their propensity to fatten— but particularly for 

 their great excellence in the pro[iorlion of "flesh 

 to offal and hone. We doubtless have as gccul 

 native hogs, and they might be as valuable with 

 the sapoe care as has been bestowed on this race. 

 Respectfully yours, 



O. FISKE. 

 Worcester, June, 1824. 



Committee on swine, to whom "much credit! 

 dre for their decision," were the on'spring of 

 an " English" boar. The pigs exhibited by 

 Messrs. Ward & Rice, of this tovvn, which gain- 

 ed the premium, were in part of this breed. — 

 The largest and best formed fat hog ever seen in 

 (he pens was of this clear breed. He was the 

 produce of my animal, which a Committee, as 

 above stated, advised to he crossed with a 

 coarser kind. This hog was exhibited by Ma- 



ngland, the Bedford breed. Their qualities un- jor Burt, and weighed a few weeks after at two 



r these diflerent denominations being so much 

 e same, induces the belief that they are all ol 

 le kind. 



From m}' agency in obtaining them; and as 

 y opinion of their superior value has been 

 'nfirmed rather than diminished, I feel it a dii- 



to attempt to justify my former statement ; 

 id to protect a meritorious class of animals 

 3m an exterminating reprobation 



years old, a icw pounds short of 600 weight. 

 Will your correspondent engage to make one 

 of his " old sort" weigh 100 lbs. more than this ? 

 Thus far for their credit at our public exhibi- 

 tion. 



I will now state the practical opinion of some 

 of our best farmers on the subject. Mr. R. 

 Porter who rears more hogs with less expense 

 'han any other farmer in town, is wholly confined 

 Having viewed Jlr. Reed's piggery in Roxbu-! 'o ""e "English breed," which he originally 

 ■j a few years since, and seeing this breed of! *>■"' "'^ ue. S. Flagg, Esq. informs me that the 

 Igs in ail stages of their growth, and learning! ''^st and most prolitable hogs he has ever fat- 

 ieir character, I was satialied that I should do I 'ened are the descendants of my stock. He is 

 ! e-sential benefit to the farming interest in careful to obtain his pigs of this kind and mar- 

 I s section of the country by having this kind ''^ts them at from 9 to 12 months old, when they 

 J r.icluced. For this purpose I made a pur- r^'^'?'' '^foii 240 to 350 lbs. He has never kept 



At about a year old they were exhih 

 J d at our Cattle Show. As they had been 

 Ipt low for breeders, they did not show to the 

 1 -t advantage. The Committee commended 

 ' 1 lorm and proportion; but expressed a 

 uhether, in their native state, they woulJ 



any after a year old, as they fat so fast and easy, 

 that at this age they are as large as his custom- 

 ers wish ; and he is unwilling to incur the risk of 

 keeping them, particularly through the hot 

 season. Major Burt had three slaughtered last 

 jr.ir at eleven months old, two of which weio-h 



the most profitable size. Under this "^'^ ^ '^ pounds each — the other 329 pounds. — 



' inolher of the same lilter, sold to a neighbor, 

 weighed at the same age, 323 lbs. Mr. liut- 

 maii, another of our intelligent and attentive 

 farmers was among the first to procure (his 

 breed from my pen. He continues the kind 

 and thinks then.'' superior to any he has ever 

 before raised. He has had three slaugh- 

 tered at 11 months, which weighed upon an 

 average 335 lbs. He has taken three from my 

 pen this spring, less < than he would, but all "l 

 could spare. 



The above are some of the notorious facts 

 respecting this breed of hogs which I very ea- 

 sily obtained. In view of them, is it credible, 

 that " a farmer can obtain, with the same ex- 

 pense of keeping, " five dollars" advantage, al 

 any age he chooses, in favor of his " old sort?" 

 I am confident of the fact, that there will be 

 fve dollars difference — but the odds will be a- 

 gainst him. 



I have been more particular on this subject 

 from the consideration, that the greatest profit 

 which accrues to a farmer in obtaining a neces- 

 sary article for his family and the market, is de- 

 rived from a judicious selection. The kind of 

 hog seems to be as various as the canine race — 

 and most of them as unprofitable. What runts 

 have been imposed on your correspondent and 

 his neighbors under the denomination of the 

 '• English breed," it is diflkult to conjecture. — 

 They may be hogs ; but from his description of 

 them they have no affinity with (hose which 1 

 have the satisfaction of having introduced as this 

 breed ; and whose value, with our best farmers, 

 is increasing in their estimation. There may 



Mon they recommended crossing witn a 



-or breed." To ascertain this importnnt 



11 Toto to Mr. Reed. He was theu lirge- 



i>.;ed in supplying the market with pork : 



nbtless Tvas conducting this busicess with 



L -; economy as to cheapness and qtwlitj'. An 



i: r.ict from his letter I subjoined to my publi- 



e i' 11 in the Spy, which, as republished in your 



appears as the result of my experience. 



ict is, 1 have never raised one to maturi- 



lieir fame has been so great, that my pe- 



il supply has always fallen short of the 



kI. The present season I could have dis- 



p eel of more than double the number on hand. 



.^ fibject in having them extensively spread 



- '■ ' now obtained, I shall be able to give the 



of my own experience ; as I have two 



I 1 have reserved for fattening, which pro- 



II - to corroborate, if not to exceed Mr. Reed"s 



s lament. 



Flip following facts will show how highly 

 tir '• fimous bre^ of hogs" has been estimat- 

 « and how far nccording to the statement of 

 ar correspondent, '• their credit is sinking in 

 3 vicinity." At our Cattle Show in 1822, 

 year after mine were exhibited, the two 

 it boars in the pens were of this commixed 

 ed. Both would have obtained a premium 

 lit been within the rules of the Society to 

 mtone for the best and next best. A native 

 :eding sow, ordinary in herself, received the 

 imium on account of her fine, half Hood, pigs. 

 le boar and breeding sow which obtained the 

 |jmium last year, from the judgment of the 



THE SEASON. 

 To the Editor of the -Ktw England Farmer, 



Sir, — It may be beneficial to agriculture if 

 the subscribers in diflerent parts would, gener- 

 ally, comrriunicate their observations on (be sea- 

 sons and the effects on produce, &c. 1 may be- 

 gin by staling that, at this place, we had a mild, 

 open winier, but little snow, the least ice in the 

 river evev known, and the snow gradually wast- 

 ed wilhoi'^ much rise of the waters. 



During the month of Ajirilthe season .-jppear- 

 ed very forward, and the weather mild and pio- 

 inising; only the winter grain, in general, very 

 much hove out and dead. Many farmers plough- 

 ed up their rye and sowed oats. 



May was colder than April— -we had a suffi- 

 ciency of rains ; they were of the cold easterly 

 kind. Al! kinds of vegetation appeared suspend- 

 ed until about the 20th, when it moderated so 

 that the fruit trees began to put out, as also the 

 forest trees. The mornings of the 24(h and 

 25(h, we had some little frost that was general- 

 ly taken oft" with the fog before the sun shone. 

 Our orchards and fruit trees in full bloom. In 

 (he afternoon 1 could not perceive the blossoms 

 to be damaged. In the night there came a 

 cold squall from the north, and in the morning 

 of the 2Gth the ground was white v»ith frost ; 

 1 could perceive the top of mellow ground to 

 be frozen, and found ice as thick as window 

 glass. The frost lay some time after the sifti 

 shone out. Next day the blossoms on the ap- 

 ple trees appeared all wilted, and turned of a 

 brown color. I think that our fruit of all 

 kinds is entirely killed for the frost wa-s so se- 

 vere as to kill all the leaves and buds on the 

 white oak and chesnut, but not on the maples. 

 It also killed such flax as was up hut not the 

 oats. My garden was not up except peas, sal- 

 lad, radishes and cabbages. Those it did not 

 hurt unless by giving the ground such a chill as 

 to check the growth of every kind of vegeta- 

 tion. My situation, say ten miles S. of N. latU 



