324 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
She would starve on the buffalo grass which 
supports her half-wild sister, “ northers ” would 
freeze her, and the snow would bury her. She 
is a product of high cow-civilization, and as such 
she must have the intelligent care of man or she 
cannot do her best. With this care she is a mar- 
vellous machine for the making of the only article 
of food which in itself is competent to support 
life in man. If my Holsteins are not machines, 
they resemble them so closely that I will not 
quarrel with the name. 
What is true of the cow, is true also of the 
pork-making machine that we call the hog. His 
wild and savage progenitor is lost, and we have 
in his place a sluggish animal that is a very 
model as a food producer. His three pleasures 
are eating, sleeping, and growing fat. He fol- 
lows these pleasures with such persistence that 
250 days are enough to perfect him. It can cer- 
tainly be no hardship to a pig to encourage him 
in a life of sloth and gluttony which appeals to 
his taste and to my profit. 
Custom and interest make his life ephemeral ; 
I make it comfortable. From the day of his 
birth until we separate, I take watchful care of 
him. During infancy he is protected from cold 
and wet, and his mother is coddled by the most 
nourishing foods, that she may not fail in her 
duty to him. During childhood he is provided 
with a warm house, a clean bed, and a yard in 
which to disport himself, and is fed for growth 
