300 SWINE 



the tendency of which is to increase rather than to de- 

 crease. The pig then, when he is at liberty in a pasture, 

 will help himself to protein substances such as insects 

 and grubs of various forms, which are found in the soil, 

 even though he will have to root for them. These ma- 

 terials are the natural food for hogs and are much more 

 palatable than substances that are given him. Conse- 

 quently a hog will still be inclined to root more or less 

 even though he may be fed the proper quantity of protein 

 and sufficient mineral matter to supply the demands of 

 his system for substances of this nature. 



While rooting does not do any harm to the hog, it may 

 injure pastures to a considerable extent. If pastures are 

 not thus to be injured, artificial means must be adopted 

 to prevent the hog from rooting. Various means are at 

 hand to do this. Sometimes the cartilage at the end of the 

 hog's snout is cut with a knife, and at other times an in- 

 strument is used which will cut a slit in the center of the 

 snout and then cut the cartilage crosswise from this for 

 a considerable distance. This is quite an effective means 

 of preventing the hog from rooting, but is rather inhuman 

 treatment and will disfigure the snout of the hog consider- 

 ably. A better means to prevent rooting is by using an 

 ordinary ring. A single ring is considered better than a 

 double ring. These rings may be bought at any hardware 

 store together with the pliers with which they are in- 

 serted. They usually come in two sizes, for small pigs 

 and for large hogs. These rings are simply put into the 

 snout of the hog by means of the pliers and if one will 

 not answer the purpose, two or three may be used. A 

 single ring is considered better than a double ring be- 

 cause it. is less likely to get caught on various obstructions 

 and be pulled out, and less likely to have particles of feed 



