130 Pork Production 



more a question of the quality of bacon which they will 

 produce than the result of any seasonal fluctuation in the 

 niunber supplied. 



GENERAL SYSTEMS OF HANDLING AND FEEDING 



One system of feeding the spring pigs intended for mar- 

 ket is to grow them rather slowly during the summer by 

 the maximum use of forage crops and a minimum of grain, 

 finishing them late the following winter or spring. An- 

 other practice of handling is that of feeding practically 

 full rations from start to finish and having them ready 

 for market by fall or early winter. The bulk of the hogs 

 sold at the great central markets is produced by systems 

 between these two extremes. 



The most profitable system to follow as a policy on 

 any particular farm must be determined by the conditions. 

 There are many types of farming where hogs are produced, 

 and the method of feeding should be in harmony with the 

 plan of management of the farm, in accord with the pur- 

 pose for which the hogs are produced. On many farms 

 hogs are raised for home consumption only, in which case 

 the problem is to have the pigs at the condition and 

 weight when it is most appropriate and convenient for 

 farm butchering. The most economical method of 

 procedure imder these conditions, no doubt, is to depend 

 chiefly on forage crops, kitchen and farm wastes, reducing 

 largely the use of grain until the last month or six weeks 

 of feeding. 



On other farms, pigs are produced mainly for the purpose 

 of following cattle during the winter, to save the wastes 

 of the feed yard by converting them into pork. For this 

 use the pigs should be vigorous and growthy, and inclined 



