4o HIGGLE SWINE BOOK. 



made of two inch thick planks on one side of the feed- 

 ing pens with a board six inches wide along the side to 

 keep the bedding in place. The cement floor is easily 

 cleaned ; it does not rot and break away nor does it 

 offer a harbor for rats as a plank floor is apt to do ; 

 the urine and manure are not wasted. In summer the 

 coolness of the floor is appreciated by the hogs. It 

 should slope enough to carry off water. 



Be careful not to have the floor of the feeding and 

 sleeping pen much above the level of the yard, yet it 

 ought to be a few inches higher so that the water will 

 not run in. Some of my neighbors' runs are way below 

 the level of the pen so that the hogs have to scramble 

 up like mountain goats to get in. Have a comfortable 

 door into the pen so that a man can get in to clean out the 

 pens. If you have to climb over every time the pen will 

 not get cleaned often. It should be done frequently. 



Have a door between the feeding pen and the lots 

 that can be easily shut and opened. Mine slide up and 

 down and are worked by a pulley and a rope that ex- 

 tend to the entry so that it is not necessary to go into 

 the pen to open and shut them. 



There is a per cent, of gain in a good bed for hogs. 

 When hogs squeal all night with the cold, or for lack 

 of comfort, there is loss. Each squeal represents an 

 ear of corn and some of them a big ear. 



When hogs pile up on top of each other they are 

 apt to get sick. The under hogs get too hot and are 

 sure to catch cold. Either put fewer hogs together or 

 have the bed so large and dry that it will not be neces- 

 sary for its occupants to fight to get under to keep warm 

 or on top to keep dry. However, little bedding is best 



