122 RUTA BAGA CULTURE. Part f. 



other food ; the working oxen a lock of hay twice 

 a day ; the Ewes an ear of Indian Corn each ; the 

 pigs nothing but the roots : the fowls and ducks 

 and turkeys are never fed in any other way, though 

 they know how to feed themselves whenever there 

 is any thing good to be found above ground. 



131. I am weanijig some pigs, which, as every 

 one knows, is an affair of milk and meal. I have 

 neither. I give about three buckets of boiled Ruta 

 Baga to seven pigs every day, not having any con- 

 venience for steaming ; and two baits of Indian Corn 

 in the ear. And, with this diet, increasing the 

 quantity with the growth of the pigs, I expect to 

 turn them out of the stye fatter (if that be possible) 

 than they entered it. Now, if this be so, every 

 farmer will say, that this is what never was done be- 

 fore in America. We all know how important a 

 thing it is to tl^•e«?^ a pig well. Any body can wean 

 them without inilk and meal ; but, then the pigs are 

 good for nothing. They remain three months after- 

 wards and never grow an inch ; and they are, in- 

 deed, not worth having. To have milk, you must 

 have cows, and cows are vast consumers ! To have 

 cows, you must have /ema/e labour, which, in Ame- 

 rica, is a very precious commodity. You cannot 

 have meal without sharing in kind prett}^ liberally 

 with the miller, besides bestowing labour, however 

 busy you may be, to carry the corn to mill and 

 bring the meal back. I am, however, speaking 

 here of the pigs from m}^ English breed ; though i 

 am far from supposing that the common pigs might 

 not be weaned in the same way. . 



132. Sows with young pigs I feed thus : boiled 

 Ruta Baga twice a day. About three ears of In- 

 dian Corn a piece twice a day. As much offal Ru- 

 ta Baga raw as they will eat. Amongst this boiled 

 Ruta Baga, the pot-liquor of the house goes, of 

 course ; but, then, the dogs, ! dare say, take care, 

 that the best shall fall to their lot : and as there are 



