CARi: AXD ma.\A(jI':mI':x I oi- suixi:. isa 



The young pigs should he weaned wlieii ahoul six weeks old, allowing them 

 plenty of skimmed milk and buttermilk, mixing at seven or eight weeks old a fair 

 portion of corn-meal mush, or, better still, light wheat and rye screenings ground 

 together. Give them grass also as soon as they will eat it, and at three ntonths old 

 they may be put on clover. In addition to clover, give the young pigs all the milk 

 and other slops of the house, and also give wdiat corn they will eat. The older pigs 

 will do well on clover and corn without the slops. The sumaier and early fall is 

 the best season for fattening hogs. The gain during this time will be more rapid 

 than at any other season. In the late fall, winter and spring the hogs should be 

 housed in dry, warm sheds or barns. 



The fact should never be overlooked that it requires a certain percentage of the 

 food to supply daily animal waste. The young animal converts into flesh more of 

 the food given than a full grown one; no matter how long the animal is kept, the 

 daily waste goes on constantly. True economy is therefore to feed strong from 

 birth and keep them growing as fast as possible. In this way you shorten the feed- 

 ing period and get them to market quickly. Do not neglect the hogs. Feed them 

 regularly and often enough so that they will not overeat, as this is apt to cause 

 trouble with the hog as with the human being. 



Further, see that they have plenty to drink. Neglect to furnish abundance of 

 pure water is a conunon source of loss and fa\'ors the outbreak of disease. Impure 

 and germ laden water invites disease. 



Hogs which are being fattened are not given their natural exercise, neither arc 

 they at liberty to root in the ground, wdiere they could ,get the roots and herbs neces- 

 sary to their digestion. They are, therefore, on account of their confined condition, 

 liable to contract disease. To aid their digestive organs and supply tliem with the 

 proper ingredients to aid in digesting and assimilating their food, they should be 

 .given a small amount of stock tonic each day by mixing Dr. David Roberts' Stok- 

 vigor with ground oil cake, and giving this to them in their feed. 



HOW TO GET BEST RESULTS. 



The care of young hogs is important in getting the results, ;ind "best results" are 

 what every one is striving for. .After you have used care in selecting and feeding 

 your hogs, do not lose the benefit of it by not properly caring for them. 



A boar will be ready for service when six or eight months old, but it is better to 

 wait until he is about ten months of age at least. The sow is capable of breeding at 

 seven or eight months old. However, it is better to wait until she is ten or twelve. 

 One litter of pigs per year is enough for the a\'erage sow, although some will raise 

 two. If the sow has a warm place for farrowing, the earlier in the season the pigs 

 are produced the greater will be the profit from them. 



SPAYING SOWS. 



The necessity of castrating the boar pigs, for pork-making purposes, is gen- 

 erally admitted, but the importance of spaying such sow pigs on the farm or in the 

 herd, as are not designed for breeders, has never been appreciated as it should, 

 or as it is likely to be, when the rearing of swine is conducted on such business 

 principles as its importance dernands. 



The sows that \#ere not intended to be kept as brood sows on the Roberts' 

 Stock Farm, at Racine, Wisconsin, and owned by the father of the writer, were 

 spayed. The writer had a splendid opportunity of watching this little operation, 

 considered so simple, yet requirin.g a thorougli knowdedge of the anatoniN- of the 

 hog, as well as some skill. 



Open sows running with other hogs are a source of great annoyance, and wdiere 

 :nore than two or three are kept, there is scarcely a time when one of their number 

 is not in heat, and continually chasing others, thus keeping them in a worried, 

 fevered condition, extremely detrimental to their growth or fattening. 



If all sows are trimmed, this annoyance is avoided, the hogs are quiet and rest- 

 ful, and much time, trouble and feed are saved. 



It was very noticeable on the old stock farm that sows thus spayed fed more„ 

 kindly and profitably than those that were not, and the butchers or buyers preferred 

 suayed sows to barrows, claiming that their meat had a sweeter taste than that of 

 other pigs. 



