SWINE. 105 



as they are apt to gorge themselves ; or, if any be left in the 

 trough, to return to it frequently till it is all gone. In both 

 cases their digestive organs, and consequently their ability to 

 fatten, are impaired. 



Swine will eat animal food, but it is not favorable to the 

 flavor of their flesh, and should always be withheld while they 

 are fattening. 



Pigs always eat more when first put up to fatten than they 

 do afterward, therefore the most nutritious food should be re- 

 served till they are getting pretty fat. 



In reference to fattening the hog, a writer in the Boston 

 Cultivator remarks : 



u If circumstances are favorable, he is inclined to lay up such 

 a supply of fat during antumn as would render it unnecessary 

 for him to undergo much exercise or exposure during inclement 

 weather. With plenty of lard oil to keep his lamp burning, 

 he would prefer dozing in a bed of leaves in the forest while 

 the ground is covered with snow, rather than to grub daily for 

 a living. He fattens most rapidly in such a state of the atmo- 

 sphere as is most congenial to his comfort neither too hot nor 

 too cold; hence the months of September and October are 

 best fbr making pork. The more agreeable the weather, the 

 less is the amount of food required to supply the waste of life. 



" Against fattening hogs so early in the season, it may bo 

 objected that Indian corn, the crop chiefly depended on for the 

 purpose, is not matured. Taking everything into considera- 

 tion, it may be better to begin to feed corn before it is ripe, or 

 even at the stage of considerable greenness. After the plant 

 has blossomed it possesses a considerable degree of sweetness ; 

 hogs will chew it, swallow the juice, and leave nothing but the 

 dry fibrous matter, which they eject from their mouths when 

 no more sweetness can be extracted. They thrive on this 

 fodder, and will continue. to eat it till the nutriment is concen- 

 trated in the ear, and then they will eat the cofr and grain 

 together till the cob gets hard and dry. Farmers who have 

 practiced this mode of feeding consider it more advantageous 



5* 



