A MANUAL ON THE HOG. 61 



feed them, and keep them for the second year. By plant- 

 ing crops for their consumption during the summer, and 

 plenty of peas, potatoes, chufas, &c., for fall, there is no 

 difficulty in making good porkers of the spring pigs by 

 the following December just such as is best suited for 

 family use. Hogs intended for the butcher pen should be 

 fat before cold weather, as less food is required to fatten 

 in moderately warm weather, than when a large part of 

 it is required to keep up the normal animal heat, to com- 

 pensate for the loss occasioned by low temperature. 



This was thoroughly tested by a practical farmer in 

 1870. A young hog was put up, and fed liberally three 

 times a day, giving the same quantity each day. Every 

 Saturday morning he was weighed. During a pleasant 

 week he gained seven pounds, the next week the weather 

 was freezing and windy, and, though consuming the same 

 quantity of food daily, he did not gain an ounce during 

 the week, the whole food having been required to keep 

 up the animal heat. 



This experiment illustrates the necessity of increasing 

 the quantity of food given to animals in cold weather. 



A certain quantity of food is required to keep up the 

 animal heat, and supply the natural waste of the system. 

 If less is supplied, a portion of the flesh and fat is re- 

 converted into blood to supply the deficiency; hence, neg- 

 lected animals grow thin in the winter, and fat in spring, 

 when the food supply exceeds the demand for the 

 above requirements. 



Mr. W. P. Orme, of Atlanta, Ga., a practical and suc- 

 cessful farmer, plants alternate plats of peas, potatoes, and 

 sorghum in the same field, and turns his hogs upon them 

 in September. This is an admirable plan, but the 

 list might, with propriety, be increased by the addi- 

 tion of corn, ground peas, and chufas, and planted in 

 the following ratio, viz : Corn, with speckled peas between 

 the rows, four acres ; sweet potatoes, two acres ; chufas, 



