106 Domerstio ANIMALS. 
than to leave the whole crop to ripen, unless they have a sup- 
ply of old corn to feed with. Even in the latter case, it is 
questionable whether hogs will not do better on corn some- 
what green than they would on hard corn, unground. True, 
it is not necessary that corn should be fed unground, but much 
is fed in this condition, no doubt at a loss. 
“Tn many parts of the country, swine are fed considerably 
on articles which are not readily marketable, as imperfect 
fruits, vegetables, etc. Where such articles are used, cooking 
them is generally economical. A mixture of squashes (either 
summer or winter squashes), pumpkins—the nearer ripe the 
better—potatoes, beets, and apples, boiled or steamed, and a 
fourth or an eighth of their bulk of meal stirred in while the 
mass is hot, forms a dish on which hogs will fatten fast. If 
skimmed milk or whey can be had, the cooked food may be 
put with it into a suitable tub or vat, and a slight degree of 
fermentation allowed to take place before the whole is fed out. 
The animals will eat it with avidity, and probably derive more 
benefit from it than if it had not been fermented. Articles 
which are of a perishable nature should be used first in fatten- 
ing swine, in order to prevent waste and turn all the products 
of the farm to the best account. 
* Another quite important advantage of early feeding is the 
less trouble in regard to cooking the food and keeping it in 
proper condition to feed out. The cooking may be done ont 
of doors, if convenience of feeding would be promoted by it, 
and there is no expense or trouble to guard the food against 
freezing.” 
The manner of fattening hogs, where Indian corn is used, as 
at the South and West, isto put them up in large, open pens 
on the ground, without litter and without shelter. Here they 
are left to burrow and sleep in mud and mire, exposed to all 
weathers, consuming, probably, before they get ‘ripe fat,” one 
third if not half more than would be necessary were they shel- 
tered in a warm pen, with clean litter, clean water, and rich 
food in abundance, free alike from exposure and excitement. 
