52 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE BEST METHOD OF RAISING AND FATTENING 

 HOGS.* 



John Skaats, of Alexander, Genesee Co., N. Y., 

 raises the cheai)est pork and lieaviest pigs of any 

 man within my knowledge. His peculiarities are 

 somewhat as follows: 



1. Keep the breeding sow pork fat.t 



2. Begin to feed the pigs as soon as they 'will 

 eat; new milk at first, then slops, sour milk, apples, 

 cooked and bran shorts stirred in, etc. 



3. Never feed the pigs with the sow. Give them 

 an apartment with small openings, that they may 

 eat at their leisure, while the sow can enjoy her 

 own dish at leisure, and not root them out of the 

 trough. 



4. Never let them get hungry. At first, feed six 

 times a day, — never less than four. 



5. Feed regularly. First feeding at 4 A. M., and 

 last at 9 P. M. — punctually and exactly. 



6. Never legin to fatten, but always keep them 

 fat. 



7. Cook their food, or let it sour in the swill- 

 barrel, if given raw. Sour apples that have lain 

 in the swill forty-eight hours, they will relish, when 

 thQy would not touch a fresh one. 



8. He uses very little corn — sometimes none; 

 giving only coarse feed, such a» bran, shorts, etc. 



9. He uses a judicious cross between the Sufiblk 

 and By field breeds. 



10" He never keeps a pig till it is over a year 

 old, except for breeding purposes. 



11. He makes pigs, at ten months old, dress over 

 four hundred lbs., — four hundred being his average 

 mark. 



Sometimes he allows his swine a small range in 

 the best white clover pasture, and at other times 

 he keeps them close from pighood to porkhood. 



Atticu, K Y. *+ L. 8. Jj: 



We intend not to say how a few hogs can be 

 raised to an advantage, but how a man may raise 

 them as a business, with the least labor and expense, 

 and leave the land in the best condition. All 

 farming, in my opinion, ought to be conducted with 

 a reference to the continual improvement of the 

 soil. Present gain, by a deterioration of the soil, 

 will ultimately prove to be a loss. 



To succeed in raising hogs, as in other stock, we 

 sliould have a good breed. The Berkshire crossed 

 with our common hogs, constitutes a very good 

 stock. The Berkshire communicates its fattening 

 properties and early maturity, — two very desirable 

 qualities — and the common stock gives size. A 

 cross of the Berkshire on the Irish grazier makes a 

 very good stock. 



Say we have a good stock to begin with ; a stock 

 that matures early and fattens well. The pigs 

 should come from tlie middle of March to May. 

 There is great advantnge in pigs coming at this 

 time; as we can graze ihem through two summers, 

 and have them to keep only through one winter. 

 They come to be of fine size by the second fall or 

 winter. Hogs may be pushed into market younger, 



* Of the essays sent in on this subject, the committee recom- 

 mend the publication of the two here given, and we accordingly 

 award a prize to each of them. 



t Will they breed well when so fat ? eds. 



but at more expense in grain, and they will be ; 

 smaller at fattening time, which is a great disad- 

 vantage. 



The greatest profit in hogs is in grazing them, 

 and turning them upon grain fields, where they 

 can gather for themselves ; and having them large 

 and in good condition at fattening time. The sows 

 and pigs should be kept in good growing condition, 

 by feeding them on Indian corn, or corn-meal made 

 into slop. As soon as the clover begins to blossom, 

 or a little before, turn them upon it. Sows and 

 pigs should still be given some grain, while in the 

 clover. Have a field of oats early sown, — the size 

 of the field to be in proportion to the number of 

 hogs — and as soon as the oats are ripe, turn the 

 hogs upon them to gather for themselves. To pas- 

 ture hogs to the best advantage through the summer, 

 it will be necessary to sow a field of rye, as above, 

 and after they have eaten the oats, turn them upon 

 the rye. Though the rye will be ripe before the 

 oats, it is thought better to let rhe beards rot, and 

 it will keep good in the field until September; 

 whereas the oats will rot in a short time. After 

 the hogs have eaten the rye, they may go upon 

 the clover again. They then should have old corn 

 to keep them from being reduced in fiesh ; the 

 second crop of clover not being as good as the first. 

 This method may appear very wasteful to those 

 not familiar with it; but if a little grain is left on 

 the field, it will be an excellent fertilizer, and the 

 straw and everything that grew on the field is left 

 there, except the fat that is driven olt with the 

 hogs. This leaves the field in good condition for 

 the next year. 



The hogs should be kept in good condition 

 through the winter and spring. The best place to 

 winter them is m the woods, and let them have 

 low, long, dry shelters to sleep in. Let them be 

 turned on the clover the second year about the 

 time it blossoms, and I prefer to give them a little 

 grain. Then let them go on the oats and rye as 

 they did the first year. When they come off the 

 rye the second year, it is very important to grain 

 feed them while on clover, until they are put up to 

 fatten. It is a great advantage to have hogs large 

 and in good condition when fattening time com- 

 mences. A lot or small field of corn, early planted, 

 to turn on about the 15th or 20th of Sei)tember, 

 is an excellent plan ; or fence off, with a temporary 

 fence, a portion of a larger field. Continue the 

 hogs in the field until about the middle of October 

 or the first of November; tljen take them to a 

 field intended to be f)lowed for next season (a 

 clover field is best), and feed them plentifully until 

 about the first of December, at which time they" 

 will be fit for market or slaughtering. 



By feeding down upon the field, you save the 

 labor of gathering, and leave all that grew upon it, 

 except what is driven oft' in fat upon the hogs. 

 By sowing the field in rye a few days before the 

 hogs are taken off", a fine crop can be obtained. 

 The grain left upon the fields pastured during the 

 summer will soon spring up, and aft'ord a fine fall 

 and early winter pasture. If it be intended to sow 

 the oat and rye fields in clover, the pasturing down 

 of the grain makes no difference. Take off the 

 hogs as soon as they eat the grain. The decaying 

 straw and manure left upon the field will be an 

 1 advantage to the clover. 



