206 



AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTUBE. 



shown pushed inwards, so 



that feed may be pnt 

 into the trough (B). As 

 the pigs get their heads 

 into the trough they 

 push the swing out- 

 wards, where it is 

 stopped, so that they 

 cannot get out. Modi- 

 fications of these devices 

 will suggest themselves 

 to the many who like to 

 have even their pig- 

 geries convenient and 

 comfortable ; the latter 

 Peed Trough Arrangement. feature is all important. 



As a Farm Helper. There are opportunities for his 

 capabilities in this country. He harvests corn in Al style, 

 and in a manner that as a rule pays as well as shelling it 

 and sending it to the grain markets. For fertilising the 

 land and exterminating weeds, then pigs come very near 

 perfection. They utilise the grass and coarse feed quite as 

 well as sheep, and perform a work in stirring the soil that 

 sheep cannot do. The nose of the pig is made for rooting, 

 and we follow nature's hint by giving him a job on the 

 soil. A moveable yard, large enough to keep two or three 

 pigs, can be made of strong hurdles or of stout inch 

 boards, say 14 feet long and 6 inches wide Split stuff 

 will do, though it is heavier to move. A barded wire at 

 the bottom prevents pigs from shifting a fence. For the 

 corners use heavy posts. Nail the boards or palings to the 

 posts about 6 inches apart, making four lengths or panels 

 4 feet high. Fasten the corners with stout hooks and 

 staples, and we have a pen or yard 14 feet square, which is 

 easily moved by two men. When we place two 50-pound 

 pigs into this yard they use up all the weeds and other 

 vegetation in it in three or four days, and thoroughly 

 disturb the soil several inches in depth. The great 

 agricultural enemy, sorrel, soon disappears before them ; 

 so does nut-grass, that terrible pest of the coast farmers. 

 Corn and other feed can be given when necessary. When 



