Shipping Crates. 115 



original number purchased by us, after a year or two, were 

 all lost by not being returned. However, we decided to try 

 tihem again and ordered a new lot, only to find that the 

 party making them had gone out of business and he replied 

 that he was unable to make any more. If his patent could 

 be secured by some enterprising company and the crates 

 made in large numbers, I think they would prove very 

 profitable to the manufacturer, as they are the most satis- 

 factory shipping crates that can be conceived of for hogs 

 of all ages. 



There should be a manufacturing company somewhere 

 that would get together all these conveniences for the equip- 

 ment of the swine breeding farm. 



Preparing the Pig for Shipment in Crate. 



Some men think that when a pig is to be shipped some dis- 

 tance he must be stuffed with an unusually large feed the 

 morning he is to leave. This is a, mistake. We had rather 

 the pig would not be fed the morning he is to be shipped, 

 as he will ship better and arrive at destination in better 

 condition without his morning feed, unless it is a distance 

 that will require more than t|wo days. This may look 

 strange to a beginner but an old breeder generally prefers 

 to ship his pigs on an empty stomach. Particularly is this 

 true when pigs are shipped during the hot months, as they 

 will ship cooler by simply having what water they will drink 

 and no feed. 



It is well to brush the pig and make him thoroughly clean 

 before he is crated ; then he should be sprayed with a disin- 

 fectant giving him a nice clean finish. A little dry clean 

 bedding of some kind should be placed in the crate. If the 

 pig is going a distance that will require four or five days 

 to make the trip, then it is best to put a little feed in 

 a smaU sack and tie it to the crate with instructions to feed 

 a very little once daily. A five-cent tin basin wired in one 

 corner of the crate on the floor will serve as a place to 

 water and give a little feed if it is necessary. A notice 

 should be placed on the crate, if it is during the summer 

 months^ — ^"See that the crate is kept near an open door in 

 the car, facing the way the train is going, that the pig may 

 get the benefit of the breeze." Should the pig, by any 



