40 HIGGLE SWINE BOOK. 



(no matter what), it is only necessary to properly 

 balance such rations, either by use of what is already 

 on hand or by the purchase of whatever may be lack- 

 ing. It is high time, however, for everybody to realize 

 that corn is not a perfect food for hogs, and must not 

 be used alone, except for finishing. 



I have no notion of allowing pigs to root up new 

 clover sod, for that is trespassing on next year's food 

 supply, but otherwise I am in some doubt about the 

 necessity for rings. It is the nature of the beast to 

 root, and perhaps it can be broken up in no manner 

 except by the use of a piece of iron in the snout. But I 

 am forced to think that perhaps the pig roots in the 

 ground to satisfy certain cravings for food which would 

 otherwise remain unsatisfied. A smoothing harrow 

 and some grass seed will repair damage caused by 

 rooting, especially if there is more than one pasture, 

 so as to make it possible for the grass to grow. Each 

 swine raiser must decide for himself whether or not to 

 use rings. My western friend tells me that rings are 

 never necessary in the noses of hogs fed salt and char- 

 coal ; that a pig roots simply because there is a lack of 

 phosphoric acid for bone growth. 



There are both iron and copper rings on the mar- 

 ket, but I do not like the latter. The ring must not 

 be set in so deeply as to wound the bone, and never 

 through the partition between the nostrils. In my 

 opinion much evil has come from putting rings in the 

 snouts of hogs. 



There is perhaps no better system of hog pastur- 

 ing than a series of long narrow fields. Here the hogs 

 may eat grass, and the cultivation of forage crops in 



