THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



181 



Photograph from l£. Niebergall 



THEIR FULX DINNER-PAH, 



- Pigs are usually weaned when they are from 10 to 16 weeks old. Those weaned before 

 six weeks of age usually have dairy products to rely on. The only advantage of early wean- 

 ing is to enable the sow to raise two litters a year. 



something that he never knew before and 

 probably will never forget, because he 

 learned it by experience." 



PIGS RIVAL DOGS AND CATS AS PETS 



Many of the pig-club members write of 

 their pigs with the same affectionate in- 

 terest that other children speak of a pet 

 dog, a cat, or a canary. Here, for ex- 

 ample, is an extract from a letter by Earl 

 West, of Garland, Oklahoma: 



"Well, I shall tell you about my pig. 

 It is looking pretty dressy since I have 

 been feeding it digester tankage. It looks 

 like it were fixing up for a trip. It car- 

 ries its tail curled and walks as proud 

 as if it were expecting to see town. Now 

 I shall not disappoint him. I shall carry 

 him to our contest on the 18th. I tell 

 him to eat all I give him and I will do 

 my best to get a ride on the train for him. 



"He carries his fat nicely and walks up 

 to his meals like a little boy and eats all 



he can. I feed him corn, oats and tame 

 weeds, and the wastage from my father's 

 table since my digester tankage gave out. 

 He seems to think it is good. The fun- 

 niest thing is to see him eat and look at 

 me and grunt as if to say, 'Early, you are 

 so good to me — everything furnished. 

 All I have to do is to walk up and eat/ 

 "Now if he wins no prize I shall never 

 be sorry about feeding him, for he shall 

 help be a comfort for my mother and 

 little brother at home. Besides, I enjoy 

 his being here. While I am a member of 

 the pig club, I tell him he must not let me 

 get beat, for this is my first effort to do 

 anything in the club work. But if I do 

 get beat I shall only keep trying. My 

 two older brothers won valuable prizes 

 last year in the corn and cotton clubs. I 

 shall keep trying. I am sure I can win 

 something some day. I have one acre in 

 corn this year, one acre in kafir-corn, and 

 am preparing my exhibits, also my seed 



