THE ILLIl^OIS FA^RMER. 



359 



two to four dollars per bushel as an 

 average since railroads have afforded 

 facilities for sending them to those parts 

 of the country where they are not pro- 

 duced; and it is not unlikely that sim- 

 ilar causes will continue to increase the 

 demand for many years to come. 



The Hog— Its History, etc. 



All the varieties of this animal originated 

 in the Wild Boar; which is considerad the 

 root of the domestic hog. It is found in 

 most of the temperate regions of Europe, 

 Aisa and Africa, 



In England snd Scotland, a few centuries 

 since, the Wild Boar chase was a sport in 

 great repute with the nobles. Shakespeare 

 describes it with graphic accuracy. And if 

 in those countries men are now better em- 

 ployed, the sport has now become obsolete. 

 It is still practiced in India, and in those dis- 

 tricts of Europe in which the animal still 

 maintains his hold. He is now common in 

 the extensive forests of France, Germany, 

 Prussia and Hungary, as well as in Spain 

 and some other countries. 



The hog is the only domestic animal, seem- 

 ingly of no use to man when alive, and was 

 therefore, as may be presumed, designed for 

 food. The Jews, however, the Egyptians and 

 other inhabitants of warm counrries, and all 

 the Mahometans at present, reject the use of 

 pork for food. The Greeks gave great com- 

 mendation to the flesh of swine, and their 

 Athleta! were fed with it. The Romans 

 considered it one of their delicacies. No 

 proper experiments have been made in re- 

 gard to alkaline tendency ; but as it is of a 

 gelatinous and succulent nature, it is proba- 

 bly less so than many others. Upon the 

 whole it appears to be a very valuable untri- 

 ment. 



The hog does not appear to have been in- 

 digenous to our country ; but was taken 

 hither by the early voyagers from the Old 

 Woild ; each bringing them from their own 

 country ; and in the Eastern States espe- 

 cially, it is said a few of the breeds still re- 

 tain traces of the old English character. 

 From its nature and habits, the hog was the 

 most useful and profitable of all animals bred 

 by the early settlers. It was their surest 

 resource during the first years of toil and 

 hardship. It arrived earlier to maturity, re- 

 quired less care, sought out, for the most 

 part, its own food, was the least subject to 

 accidents and diseases in a new situation, 

 and therefore, best repaid any portion of at- 

 tention bestowed on the breeding ond rear- 

 ing it. 



Until within a few years, very little atten- 

 tion has been paid to the breeds of our farm 

 stock J and hogs being considered an inferior 

 species of domestic animals, have been the 

 last to engage the attention of the farmer ; 

 and even at the present day in many dis- 

 tricts of our country, the old unprofitable 

 kinds of this on imal continue to prevail. In- 

 deed, systematic breeding with a view to 

 improve the form and value of the animal, 

 may be said to have hardly commenced 

 among us, the improvements which are per- 

 ceptible, being rather the fruits of European 

 than American skill. 



A common error in this country has been 



to regard more the size of the animal, than 

 its symmetry or good points — to estimate a 

 breed according to the great weight which it 

 could be made to attain — rather than the 

 profit with which it would be fitted to the 

 hands of the butcher — the most material 

 point to the farmer. But experience is teach- 

 ing us a new lesson on this head. Butchers 

 now judge of an animal according to the good 

 points, or most valuable meat, which it car- 

 ries. Breeders have learned to prefer those 

 which with a given quantity of food, will lay 

 on the mest meat. And the consumer has 

 learned too, that meat that shows the most 

 solid fat, is neither the most healthy, the 

 most savory, nor the most economical. It is 

 the due admixture of fat and lean, or the 

 prevalence of what it termed fat-lean — 

 such as is seen in the Devonshire ox and the 

 South Down sheep — that gives the greatest 

 value to the butcher's meat. 



We are perfectly satisfied from long ex- 

 perience, that the best and most profitable 

 swine for the farmer, is that breed which 

 will nearly mature at eight to twelve months 

 old, and then weigh, when well fatted and 

 dressed from 250 to 300 pounds. A pig 

 that has to be wintered and kept till sixteen 

 or eighteen months old before fatted, rarely 

 pays for itself at the ordinary price of pork ; 

 and the average weight of these, in the 

 United States, even at a year and a half old, 

 we do not believe exceeds 300 pounds. 



In order to get pigs to weigh well, they 

 must come early. February in the South- 

 ern, March in the Middle, and April in the 

 Northern States, are the best months, to 

 drop pigs. Feed them from start, all they 

 will eat, and they will be ready to kill in 

 November and December ; and thus you 

 will dispense with wintering any except 

 those reserved for breeding. 



Few animals yield less waste matter, after 

 being dressed for market, than the pig ; 

 every part is useful, as a sailor would say; 

 from stem to stern ; the head for baking, the 

 tail for roasting. Every part is made palat- 

 able and useful — feet, face and shanks are 

 admired, when properly "soused" and cooked. 

 The rich and the poor alike admire a meal 

 from portions of the loin ; the intestines 

 make excellent envelopes for sausage meat ; 

 the bristles a brush for purposes ''too nu- 

 merous to mention." The pig is a short- 

 lived but useful animal, and "works his own 

 passage" tlirough life by mixing muck and 

 making manure for his owner. At death he 

 invariably goes squealing out of his pen into 

 "lard, and pork, and bacon," and is soon off 

 on a voyage at sea in pursuit of a whale. 



We never liked the long-legged, slab-si- 

 ded, lop-eared, razor-backed grunters, except 

 for the race-eourse, for the reason that they 

 eat too much food to keep them in "good 

 working order." For porkers, give us the 

 short-legged, small-boned, small-headed, 

 round bodied, quiet, contented, hearty pig, 

 with sufficient good sense to know when he 

 has eat enough and when to go and lay down 

 to be rubbed or curried ; and withal, a hog 

 with a remarkably good disposition — in short 

 a hog ; such an one as is figured at the head 

 of this article — a real Suffolk- 



The Suffolk is a hearty, quiet and thrifty 

 breed ; they grow rapidly, are docile, con- 

 tented and good looking. They are well 



formed, campact, short-legged, hardly ani- 

 mals, equal in point of valne_^to the best. 



In our cities and villages an immense 

 amount of pork is consumed in a fresh state, 

 and for this purpose small hogs are much 

 better adapted than large ones. They 

 should be small boned, not over fat, but 

 meaty, plump, fine grained pigs, weighing 

 when dressed, from fifty to a hundred pounds. 

 It is of great consequence, also, that they 

 should be varieties which give good flavored, 

 or well tasted meat. There is a vast differ- 

 ence in swine in this respect, though some 

 persons will not acknowledge it. For the 

 above purpose, the Sufiblk is undoubtedly 



the hog. 



C. N. Bement. 



Washington County Fair. 

 Ashley, Illinois, Oct., 16, 1859. 



It was my fortune to be here at the Fair 

 of the Washington County Agricultural So- 

 ciety. The exhibition embrased the usual 

 articles seen at the fairs. The fair and at- 

 tendance were good. I shall not attemhtto 

 give particulars. Southern Illinois in a few 

 years will not be behind any portion of the 

 State, for agricultural improvements. The 

 most important staple I saw — at least it 

 struck me as being so, was the specimens of 

 corn on exhibition, belonging to C. B. Ma- 

 son, a farmer living in the vicinity of this 

 place. He has christened it the "Douglas 

 Corn." The specimens are collossal, the 

 ears measuring from 12 to 15 inches in 

 length; there are 12 rows of kernels on each 

 ear, counting 50 lar<j:e kernels to the row ! 

 Mr. Mason has five acres of the corn. The 

 sample exhibited, was but a chance selection 

 from his crop. Samples of this corn may be 

 obtained froraL. C. Tucker, of Ashley, who 

 has a limited quantity for sale. This is June 

 planted corn of the white variety. 



J. H. B. 



SouTHER>f Illinois. — A letter from 

 Crawford County, of the 10th ult., says : 



"We had no frost here until the 6th, and 

 7th inst. Consequently the corn crop's have 

 matured well, and potatoes are good, where 

 the potato-bug did not destroy them. We 

 have had a fine fall for putting in small 

 grain and there is a large quantity of wheat 

 and rye sown, and it looks very fine. Win- 

 ter feed for stock, is quite plenty, but the 

 price of grain and live stock is so low, that 

 there will be more than the usual quantity 

 of stock wintered on the Wabash the coming 

 winter. Money matters are tight and like 

 to remain so, for last year we had nothing to 

 sell and got in debt, and now we have a sur- 

 plus.s, we can get nothing for it. 



This county fair for this county goes off 

 this week, after which we may report to you 



again. 



Yours, 



S. Park. 



Agricultural Periodicals for Pre- 

 miums. — This new practice of Agricultural 

 Societies, seems to meet with general appro- 

 bation. We hope the practice will be 

 greatly extended the coming year. A small 

 effort on the part of farmers, or their boys or 

 girls, will secure them a capital fund of read- 

 ing for the year. Fayette County has set a 

 noble example. 



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