SWINE FOR THE HOME MAKKET. 253 



There is just as much difterence in the meat or pork of a pig 

 that has been well fed and one that has been poorly fed, as 

 there is in milk from a cow that has been well fed and one 

 that has been kept on distillery slops. I know that an ex- 

 pert can tell the moment his knife touches a pig, when it is 

 ready for the bench, whether that pig has been well fat- 

 tened or not. 



Mr. Bill. At what age would you stop feeding skim 

 milk? 



Mr. BuRXETT. If I had to feed my skim milk or throw 

 it on the ground, I would feed some of it up to the time I 

 killed them. I think you can feed it four months to advan- 

 tage. There is a great deal of difference in feeding pigs. 

 Some men, even with skim milk, cannot make pork so read- 

 ily as other men without ; but the conclusion I have come 

 to, and it is backed up by the experience of careful breeders, 

 is that there is nothing like skim milk for young pigs, and it 

 can be fed with safety up to the time of killing. Some of 

 the poorest pork that I ever put my knife into had been fed 

 on the refuse of a cheese factory. 



In England, they are feeding pigs on nothing but barley, 

 and that pork is prescribed by physicians for consumptives. 

 A barley-fed pig is as different from a corn-fed pig as a 

 corn-fed pig is different from a slop-fed pig. The meat is 

 not oleaginous ; it is more like the fat on a pig's foot, — glut- 

 inous ; and that pork is considered very healthy, and is pre- 

 scribed for people with delicate lungs. Barley-fed pork is 

 sold in the London market at from four to six cents more a 

 pound than ordinary pork. That shows exactly what feed 

 will do in producing a given result. You all know, here in 

 this dairy region, what a difference the character of the feed 

 makes. in the milk of cows. I have made this assertion 

 many times, that I did not care what breed of cows you 

 gave me, unless you would give me the food to back the 

 breed up. I would not give a rap for the cows, whether 

 they were Channel Islands breed or any other. If you 

 have not got good butter feed you cannot make good butter. 



Mr. Bill. I am very glad I have drawn out the remarks 

 of the gentleman. Wc all know that pork has been consid- 

 ered an objectionable article of diet for the human family, 



