CHAP. I. CALF-PENS AND PIGGERY. 



Calf-pens. In many parts of the country it is the practice to 

 appropriate a portion of the cow-house to the reception of the calves : 

 a measure which cannot fail in producing uneasiness among the cows, 

 who, when not sucked, often withhold their milk in consequence of the 

 bleating of the young animals. Hence, unless for the purpose of 

 suckling from the dam, it is obviously preferable to have the pens at 

 such a distance from the feeding-house that the cows cannot hear the 

 noise of the calves. 



The construction of these buildings is so simple and so well under- 

 stood, that a particular description is deemed unnecessary. They 

 should be latticed, so as to ensure ventilation and admit fresh air, as a 

 moderate and rather cool temperature should at all times prevail in the 

 calf-pens containing the animals that are to be reared. Those that 

 are destined for the butcher should be kept warmer. Light, too, 

 should be particularly excluded from the latter, as darkness inclines all 

 animals to rest, and the quieter calves are kept the better they will 

 thrive. The strictest cleanliness should also be observed, and every 

 effort made to promote dryness and sweetness ; the floors should be 

 boarded and perforated, so that the urine and excrement may pass into 

 a reservoir beneath ; and, if possible, the pens should open either into 

 the stack-yard, or the orchard, or some small and quiet enclosure, in 

 order to afford an opportunity of occasionally turning out calves that 

 are intended to be reared. Each calf, whether destined for rearing or 

 slaughter, should have a separate pen. 



When the profit arising from the rearing of swine is duly con- 

 sidered, and there is an opportunity of prosecuting this branch of rural 

 economy to any considerable extent, it will be admitted that the estab- 

 lishment of a Piggery demands nearly as much attention as a dairy. 



The piggery should be constructed with due regard to warmth and 

 dryness, and divided into various sections for the reception of the 

 swine, according to their age and breed. Each division should be six 

 or seven feet in width, of such a height that the largest pigs can 

 comfortably enter, and provided with a small yard or area sufficiently 

 capacious to hold the feeding troughs, so that the swine may be con- 

 veniently fed without any need for the attendant to go in amongst 

 them. The piggery of a small grazing farm, however, may consist of 

 a certain number of little sheds, opening to small yards, and disposed 

 of in any part of the range of buildings that may be most convenient. 

 Two details must not be forgotten, namety, that every sty should have 

 a rubbing-post, as few things contribute so much to the cleanliness and 

 thriving of the pigs, whilst from every sty a drain should communicate 

 with the manure pit or tank. Convenient troughs should be so 

 arranged that offal, milk, &c., may be conveyed into them from the 

 milk-house, or scalding-house, by means of pipes. Pigs often thrust 

 their feet into the troughs, and thus waste a considerable portion of 

 food, but this may be avoided by fixing some rods in a frame over the 

 troughs, not unlike a rack ; or a thin piece of plank may be nailed on 

 the back part of the troughs, and so project as to allow the heads only 

 of the animals to enter. 



