44 



sharp and are lacerating the cheek snip off the top with a pair of 

 sharp pincers. 



A healthy sow can well produce two litters a year though there 

 is not as much j^rofit in the second as the spring litter, but a little 

 attention should be given to time of their coming. It is well, if 

 the quarters are warm, to have the early litter come the very first 

 of March and then breed the sow again five days after removing 

 her from the pigs. This would allow for them to run with her six 

 to eight weeks, and have the second litter come the last of August. 



Success Dependent on Type of Man. 



There is no chance for a shiftless man to win success in this 

 business, for the details, while not burdensome, are exacting and 

 will not permit of neglect. No man should attempt to keep hogs 

 who does not visit his paddocks or pens daily, who cannot find the 

 right side of a hog and be on friendly terms with every one, and 

 who does not see in the business full scope for all the skill, thought 

 and application at his command. It is a good business for any 

 live man, but one not to be neglected. The measure of profit will 

 depend upon the energy and watchfulness as well as appreciation 

 of the master. From a purely business standpoint pork produc- 

 tion may well be urged upon Massachusetts farmers, for, scattered 

 all over the State, there are skilled breeders, of all representative 

 breeds, and full advantage can easUy be taken of all expense, 

 study and experience expended by these specialists in building up 

 their strains. 



Especially should this business appeal to the man of moderate 

 means, for it is not a difficult proposition for one ton of pork to be 

 produced from the offspring of a single sow in one season, and 

 surely, following the hints here given for production of home-gTOwn 

 food, it comes pretty near a case where a man has his cake and 

 eats it also, for he has his brood sow left for further production, 

 his farm is being improved, and a substantial sum is yeai'ly being 

 added to his net income. Rightly fed and properly treated there 

 is no animal so free from disease as the hog. 



Prevention of Disease. 

 If by any cause disease gets a foothold, radical measures should 

 be restored to at once to prevent a spread, and to cure the sick. 

 Isolation is the first step to be insisted upon, and that in dry, 

 clean, well-ventilated pens. Then will come the specific treatment 

 given in the bulletins published by the government. Recognizing 

 fully the importance of prompt and thorough measures, it is yet 

 necessary to empihasize again and again the supreme value of pre- 



