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THE ILLIISTOIS FARMER. 



231 



in a row adjoining each other, and cover 

 iham well with chipboards, then pile turf 

 round the sides to keep off the winds, and 

 keep the water from entering Leave a hole 

 for tlie hogs to enter. This is a most admir- 

 able house for hogs, and can be easily remov- 

 ed to otherlats. Another method is to place 

 your corn, or rye, or wheat straw stacks 

 a"-ainst the north side of the fence — then 

 cover the fence with poles and refuse straw 

 or fodder, so as to turn the rain-water off. 

 This makes a very good shelter for hogb, but 

 I prefer my own plan. 



Fattening. Hogs at all times should 

 have a water-tight trough, filled with wood- 

 ashes and salt in equal mixture. In twenty 

 years I have never lost twenty hogs by dis- 

 ease, sometimes having fatted hundreds a 

 a year for drovers. But when the hogs are 

 put up in a close pen to fatten, they require 

 especial care in reference to their health — 

 In the spring they should be put upon red 

 clover, and if convenient, have a little grain 

 fed them once a day. From the clover let 

 them go to early oats, or wheat, or rye, in 

 the field, then give them old corn in the pen 

 until the new is hard, as you save much by 

 not feeding the corn till it is perfectly ma- 

 tured. Corn should not be fed down in the 

 field, unless water is very convenient, and 

 then a few acres only should be accessible at 

 a time, to prevent them from breaking down 

 more corn than they will eat, before it sours. 

 It is a great advantage, however, to have the 

 manure from the hogs thus fed, and those 

 who have tried it a succession of years highly 

 approve the method, as it is alleged that 

 corn may be thus raised for an unlimited 

 number of years without grass crop or "ma- 

 nuring. When the hogs are penned, it 

 should be on good firm ground, the corn 

 should be scattered, and fed as often a day 

 as convenient, as the object is to "stuff" the 

 hogs as much as possible. I am greatly in 

 favor, therefore, of pumpkins in hog-feeding 

 for variety. Boiled potatoes, ripe apples, 

 and any refuse of wheat, oats, &c., are good 

 to keep up the hog's appetite. In addition 

 to the salt and ashes, every hog should have 

 during the time of pen-feeding about one- 

 half bushel of rotten wood or charcoal, or 

 scoriss from the blacksmith's shop. This is 

 absolutely necessary to their good condition 

 and health, as they are correctives to the ac- 

 cumulation of acid, which comes of much 

 grain and clasc feeding. The amount of 

 charcoal which liogs will eat will astonish 

 the novice; and they eat it as regularly as 

 the corn. The use of charcoal is a discovery 

 of my own. 



Killing. When hogs are to be killed 

 they are rarely all fat. The fat ones should 

 be carefully driven out from the rest, and 

 killed at a different place, as the alarm and 

 excitement gives the remaining hogs a great 

 back-set. The best method of killing here 

 where wood is plenty, is to sink a wooden 

 trough partly in the ground, and lay down 

 by it a platform of flat rails or plank, large 

 enough to hold four or six hogs,— build a 

 log pile and put upon it lime stones enough 

 to heat the water. The trough should be 

 long enough to allow the stones to lie at 

 both ends, and still leave space enough in 

 the middle for the hog to be scalded.'^ By 

 putting in an additional stone occasionally. 



the water can be kept all day at the proper 

 temperature. The hogs should be caught 

 and knocked in the head with a stone-ham- 

 mer, and then well bled wjth the knife. — 

 When scalded and cleaned, hung on a pole, 

 and well washed down bef. re and after sut- 

 ting, and when well cooled of the animal 

 heat, neatly cut up. 



Bacon ING. Baconing hogs is a great art, 

 but little understood. If a bird or fish is 

 salted, a few days it is unfit to eat; thoy 

 should be salted just before cooking; and be- 

 fore the juice can escape, prepared for eating. 

 The reason is, salt unites readily with water; 

 it not only lays hold upon the juices of the 

 meat, but absorbs moisture from the air, and 

 thus runs off all the most delicious essences 

 from the bird and the fish. The great se- 

 cret therefore, is to salt pork for bacon lightly 

 and in the light. Salt lightly the first day 

 — then overhaul and salt the second day ; then 

 salt aarain rather more heavilv the fourth 

 day, then let the meat lie a month, and then 

 hang it. The brine mast be allowed to pass 

 off from the meat. The object is to allow 

 the meat to take just salt enough to preserve 

 it, without extracting the juices. Light is 

 a great agent in cui-iug meat. 



Hams. Hams should be made of a hog 

 weighing about two hundred pounds, nett, 

 well fatted. The shanks should be cut off 

 rather closely; and all the fat, not mixed 

 with lean, well trimmed off, as that makes 

 good lard, and very poor bacon. To one 

 bushel of fine pure salt, put one table-spoon- 

 ful of saltpetre, two table-spoonsful of finely 

 powdered red pepper, a few spoonsful of su- 

 gar, and as many of good hickory ashes, and 

 then salt as directed. Smoke with sound 

 hickory wood, in cool, dry weather, and then 

 you wiL never want to eat a "sugar-cured 

 ham" again. 



Health. A foolish id-^a prevails that 

 hog-i.jeat is unJieaithy. Experience in the 

 army and navy, aiid the mercantile service, 

 prove that no meat is more healthy than salt 

 pork or bacon. The reason why people are 

 sick from eating pork is, because they eat 

 too much at once. Pork is highly nutritious, 

 and too jnuch is easily and too often eaten. 

 In hot enervating climates much meat of any 

 kind is unhealthy; majton among the least 

 so, because the least owiccntrated. The 

 Americans eat too muci« meat of all kinds. 

 I rejoice to see fruit, milk, and nuts coming 

 more and more into fashion. I think a 

 small slice of ham with lettuce, "greens," 

 turnips, beans, &c., &c., will never give one 

 the "scrofula," nor "tape- worm !" nor neces- 

 sary -'damnation I" 



C. M. CLAY. 

 White Hall, Ky., Latitude 38^ \ 

 December, 1858. j 



»• » 

 OcR National Star-h. — The act of Congress 



estal)lishinji the form and cbaranter of our 

 National Flag, pas-ed April 4, 1818, declares 

 that OP the admission of every new State into 

 the American Union, one s^ar shall he added j 

 to the cluiitre already gr'iuped upon the i 

 "Union' of the flajr, and that BUi-h a<id tion i 

 ^hall take place on the 4th of July ne.xt sue- \ 

 cftdinj; such admirsi^ioii. Let our &ag makers j 

 take notice. Thir y- three starK must adorn I 

 the National Banner from and after the 4th of j 

 July next Tiil then thirtj -two. ' 



Cheap Postage on Seeds, Scions, &:e an Element 

 of Prcduflive Progress. 



Editor of the Farmer — One element 

 of productive progress which seems to 

 have been overlooked, among the mnny 

 efforts hitherto made by our nation, to 

 facilitate the increase of our resources, 

 and also practically to push it forward 

 by important measures, prominent among 

 which is the Patent Office System, and 

 its collection and free diffusion of seeds, 

 scions and small plants, which might 

 pass through the mail from one place to 

 another, in that manner facilitating the 

 introduction and diffusion of plants im- 

 portant to the development of the coun- 

 try, and be of great bevicfit, while the 

 post office department would receive no 

 injury from the measure, but a positive 

 benefit, as quite or almost a new depart- 

 ment of postal matter would thereby 

 created, which would add much to the 

 means of that depart.nent. Horticultur- 

 ists and farmer.-*, as well as the press, 

 have often suggested the importance of 

 this matter ; but it does not appear to 

 have yet received the attention which it 

 deserves. Perhaps it would be well if 

 Congress would attend to the matter 

 soon, as it seems to be giving its atten- 

 tion to postal matters now. 



Samuel Jacob Wallace. 



A Suggestion. 

 The consumption of Rhubarb stalks for 

 pies and puddings, is fast increasing. Fam- 

 ilies who rent houses and live in towns, and 

 have even a small yard, can enjoy thi- luxu- 

 ry. Take a barrel, remove one head, put 

 into it some wet ashes with earth, take four 

 or five good rhubarb roots and plant in the 

 ! same. Set the barrel in a warm place — wa- 

 j ter the plants well, (the bottom of the bar- 

 { rel should not be tight,) and you can raise 

 ! good stalks, and by constantly enriching the 

 1 earth, you can have them early in the sca- 

 i son, and they will continue to grow until fall. 

 Then put the roots into the ground to rest, 

 : and take them up next spring to renew this 

 . process. - . 



These suggestions are from the Ccntralla 

 { Press, and we have no doubt will be found 

 good in practice. 



Editor Farmer: — What kind of white 

 beans is most profitable to raise, market 

 and crop considered? M. 



[The small white bean, if perfect, 

 meets with ready sale ; but it requires a 

 favorable season to get a fine article. 

 The white navy bean produces well, is a 

 handsome bean, and sells well. The 

 white cranberry makes better eating, but 

 your ground must not^be very rich, and 

 must be very clean. J 



