most of the hulls sieved out, and a little linseed-meal is good. Corn and barley meal 

 may also be used with the milk. If thus treated they do not receive a check when 

 weaned. In fact, they will wean themselves at about seven weeks. The males 

 should be castrated at three or four weeks of age. Y<auug pigs must be fed often 

 four or five times a day. Green feed or roots should be given them. At weaiiing- 

 time the sow's feed must be gradually decreased to dry her up. If the sow is a 

 heavy milker, allow her in to the pigs only once a day for a while, and she will 

 soon be drv. 



The type of pig the butcher wants. These are young Yorkshire Sows. They show quality 



and uniformity. 



Breeding. A sow should have her first litter at about one year old. The period 

 of gestation is sixteen weeks. If in thin condition after weaning, a rest should be 

 given before breeding again, but a sow should produce two litter? a year, if possible. 



A boar is ready for service at seven or eight months. He should get the same 

 food as a brood sow, with lots of exercise in a large yard by himself. 



Breeding-crate. A breeding-crate will soon make its usefulness known, and a 

 simple one similar to the one illustrated can be easily knocked together. It will 

 obviate many difficulties connected with mating unequal-sized or refractory animals. 



:ii be made of 2- x 4-inch pteea - Dipped through the holes in the 



hinder part above the - ~ u the inclined strip?. 



These can be made wider if desired by attaching a flap by hinges to them. A good 

 size for such a crate is 6 feet in length. 2 feet 4 inches inside width, and 3 feet high. 



FEEDS AND FEEDING. 



The hog yields over 75 per cent, of dressed carcass over 10 per cent, more 

 than the sheep or ox. The digestive organs of the pig. when full, are only T 1 ^ per 

 cent, of its total weight, compared to over 14 per cent, in the case of the ox. This 

 explains "why the hog's stomach cannot handle as large quantitii - K fibrous 



food. The pig's alimentary tract is similar to the human, and is adapted to a 

 similarly concentrated and omnivorous diet. It is an interesting fact that domestica- 

 tion has increased the length of the intestinal tract of the hog to twice the length 

 of that of the wild hog. In nature the hog lives close to the earth, and in gathering 

 roots and grubs a good deal of earthy matter is swallowed. The intelligent swine- 

 breeder takes note of this fact. Hogs need mineral matter. A mixture of ashes, 

 charcoal, and bone-meal will supply this need, and will be appreciated by the 

 hogs. 



NOTES ON FEEDS. 



Oats. Oats have a very nutritious inner kernel, but the outer hull is fibrous and 

 indigestible. The hulls should be sifted out when feeding ground oats to young pigs. 

 Oats may be fed whole to breeding stock amongst the litter, but are more digestible 



Ued forty-eight hours before feeding. 



Barley. Barley produces a fine quality of bacon, but is not so suitable for young 

 pigs as the more nitrogenous middlings or sifted oats. 



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