106 DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



than to leave the whole crop to ripen, unless they have a sup- 

 ply of old corn to feed with. Even in the latter case, it is 

 questionable whether hogs will not do better on corn some- 

 what green than they would on hard corn, unground. True, 

 it is not necessary that corn should be fed unground, but much 

 is fed in this condition, no doubt at a loss. 



" In many parts of the country, swine are fed considerably 

 on articles which are not readily marketable, as imperfect 

 fruits, vegetables, etc. Where such articles are used, cooking 

 them is generally economical. A mixture of squashes (either 

 summer or winter squashes), pumpkins the nearer ripe the 

 better potatoes, beets, and apples, boiled or steamed, and a 

 fourth or an eighth of their bulk of meal stirred in while the 

 mass is hot, forms a dish on which hogs will fatten fast. If 

 skimmed milk or whey can be had, the cooked food may be 

 put with it into a suitable tub or vat, and a slight degree of 

 fermentation allowed to take place before the whole is fed out. 

 The animals will eat it with avidity, and probably derive more 

 benefit from it than if it had not been fermented. Articles 

 which are of a perishable nature should be used first in fatten- 

 ing swine, in order to prevent waste and turn all the products 

 of the farm to the best account. 



" Another quite important advantage of early feeding is the 

 less trouble in regard to cooking the food and keeping it in 

 proper condition to feed out. The cooking may be done out 

 of doors, if convenience of feeding would be promoted by it, 

 and there is no expense or trouble to guard the food against 

 freezing." 



The manner of fattening hogs, where Indian corn is used, as 

 at the South and West, is to put them up in large, open pens 

 on the ground, without litter and without shelter. Here they 

 are left to burrow and sleep in mud and mire, exposed to all 

 weathers, consuming, probably, before they get "ripe fat," one 

 third if not half more than would be necessary were they shel- 

 tered in a warm pen, with clean litter, clean water, and rich 

 in abundance, free alike from exposure and excitement. 



