740 



Fopular Science Monthly 



Hog-Power in the Hog-Pen 



AN amusing sight can be witnessed on 

 . some of the large farms, where hogs 

 in large quantities are raised, in the 

 south and west. Large vertical gal- 



The hog smears himself with an insecti- 

 cide by rubbing against the roller 



vanized-iron cylinders may be seen to 

 revolve in the hog-pens, while the hogs, 

 in numbers of ten or 

 twelve at a time, trot 

 busily around a cylinder, 

 always in the same direc- 

 tion and sometimes at a 

 speed nearly approaching 

 a gallop. At first blush 

 this procedure may seem 

 like a recreation. But, 

 the hogs are not playing 

 at some new game; they 

 are preparing their meal of ground grain, 

 and the hog that is too lazy to trot 

 and grind goes hungry. 



In the upper part of this re- 

 volving cylinder is a hopper Or 

 compartment into which the 

 grain is poured. When the 

 cylinder is revolved, a grind- 

 ing mechanism chops the grain 

 into fine particles suited to the 

 palate of a well-bred hog. To 

 secure this prepared grain the 

 hogs must supply the motive 

 power for grinding; and they 

 supply it — with their snouts. 

 A ring-like trough is attached 

 to the bottom of the cylinder. 

 Short wooden paddles project 

 from the edge of the tank into 

 the trough, and when pressure 

 is applied to them they revolve 

 the tank, grinding the grain, so 

 that it flows in equal amounts 



Another apparatus by means of 



which the hogs apply insecticide 



to themselves and save time and 



trouble for the farmer 



into the spaces between the paddles. 

 This grain feeder is virtually a "one- 

 hog-power" machine as one energetic 

 hog can revolve it. 



Again, if you ever see a number of 

 hogs pushing and jostling about a small 

 device standing in the middle of a hog- 

 pen, the object of their attentions may 

 well be an apparatus which makes the 

 hogs work to rid themselves of vermin, 

 instead of forcing the farmer to spend 

 weary hours spraying them with an 

 insecticide. 



The device consists of a steel roller set 

 in a receptacle which is partially filled 

 with an oily insecticide. The pigs find 

 that when the vermin are troubling 

 them, it is only necessary to rub against 

 the roller, to end the trouble. 



The appreciation of the hogs for these 

 modern conveniences is absurdly com- 

 ical in its actual working out, but these 

 and similar hog inventions have done as 

 much to make farming 

 profitable in these mod- 

 ern days as many of the 

 much more pretentious 

 machines. The hog-pen 

 takes up the slack end of 

 the farm, and any de- 

 vices which make them 

 yet more independent of 

 attention are vitally im- 

 portant. These appli- 

 ances come the nearest to making hogs 

 work of anything yet discovered. 



The hogs prepare their own meals by revolving the 

 cylinder with their snouts. As the cylinder turns, it 

 grinds the grain to feed the hogs. Lazy hogs go hungry 



