CHAPTER VI. 



SHOTEHOOD. 



A good start with pigs is more than half the race, for a well- 

 started pig is nearly sure to be healthy. Tim. 



The treatment 

 of shotes, or young 

 hogs, is a matter of 

 moment, for profits 

 d e p e n cl upon it. 

 Shall we feed for 

 I bacon or for lard? 

 WHERE is OUR MOTHER? Is the aim an ani- 



mal weighing 200 pounds or 400 pounds ? Is reliance 

 to be placed wholly on home-produced stuffs or par- 

 tially upon purchased foods? 



I think most of my readers must have recognized 

 the general tendency toward smaller and lighter hogs, 

 as compared with old-fashioned customs. Many mar- 

 kets will now take 2oo-pound animals in preference to 

 3oo-pound animals. The meat of the smaller animal is 

 certainly better and more palatable, and there can be no 

 doubt that it is more cheaply produced, for pigs gain in 

 weight much more rapidly during the first six months 

 of their growth than during the second six months. 



Local conditions must govern local practices, but 



wherever the light hog will sell let him be thus sold. 



When it comes to the food question, and economy 



demands the consumption of home-grown products 



