18 



can digest, bulky food is an objection. The prevalent custom of 

 deferring the fattening until cold weather is not good econom3^ Much 

 food might be saved and a hog's growth much increased, if this fatten- 

 ing process was well under vfa,y before cold weather comes on. Give 

 such animals a warm dry shelter, for warmth is equivalent to food, and 

 the comfort and quietude thus secured tends to the secretion of fat. 



HOG PENS. 



It is worse than folly to expect an animal of any breed to do well if 

 kept in small and filthy pens. .Farmers who cannot afford (?) to give 

 their pigs a diy place, but oblige them to live in a hole reeking with 

 filth and mire, eating out of a trough perhaps half full of the same 

 material, ought never to own or have the care of a hog of any kind, — 

 let alone an}' of the improved breeds. 



It is painful to see such stock, as is too often the case, deprived of 

 suitable shelter, their pens open to rain, snow and mud, the little straw 

 they chance to have as wet as rain and mud can make it, squealir^g 

 their discontent "in tones that drown the wintry blasts." For 

 shame on such neglect and abuse. Treat and let them live the very 

 aldermen of the farmer's stock, and then if they do not flourish and 

 grow fat under such easy circumstances, thej' are not worthy of their 

 name and breeding. However desirable it may be in point of conven- 

 ience to have the pens within easy range of the kitchen, yet it is a 

 barbarous custom and one which cannot be too severely censured. 

 Man}' an otherwise attractive farmer's buildings and home is made 

 unhealthy, besides being unsightly, in consequence of the offensive 

 smell and noise that penetrates the house because the owner must 

 needs give the hog house and yard a commanding position in the fore- 

 ground. If the pig-sty is placed where it properly belongs, it cer- 

 tainly will not form a part of or be closely connected with the dwelling 

 where the farmer and his family live. ' 



MAKING MANURE. 



If properly managed, the hog can be made of practical use in the 

 manufacture of a large amount of valuable manure. The excrements 

 of the hog, owing to the concentrated food upon which it is fed and 

 fattened, are among the most valuable manures upon the farm. The 



