THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



221 



been gnawed off by dogs while depredating on 

 corn fields. 



There are many disputes about the charac- 

 teristic forms of different breeds of hogs, but 

 about this there can be no dispute — the blood 

 speaks for itself. Just look at the magnificent 

 animal above, and say whether any one can be 

 so stupid as to confound it with the Berkshire or 

 any other living animal 1 The long, clean, 

 bony head — the thin, flat, lean body — the deli- 

 cate razor-blade legs — the remarkably small 

 hams — the straight tail, all bespeak genuine 

 blood; color in a hog is nothing; the form is 

 the thing we are all after. 



About the origin of this hog there is much 

 difference of opinion amongst naturalists; but 

 the most plausible opinion is, that it is descended 

 from what is called the " Sanglier," or wild 

 boar, in France. It is found still in many parts 

 of Europe, and is the hog from which the cele- 

 brated YVestphalia hams are made. The meat 

 of ours is quite as delicate, and never has that 

 gross, disgusting taste which our western bacon 

 has ; it is the only thing of the kind a gentle- 

 man should eat ; and, as you well know, it is 

 from this hog that the delicious hams of Caro- 

 lina are made. 



They require little or no feeding. On my 

 father's farm, (which was in the Sand Hills,) 

 my business was minding the hogs, when a 

 boy ; and I very well recollect that from two to 

 three shirt tails full of corn, was considered a 

 very liberal allowance a year, per head. They 

 have the rare talent of providing for themselves, 

 and if food is not to be found in the woods, they 

 are sure to find it in somebody's corn field — their 

 flatness giving them great facility in slipping 

 through fences. 



I have never seen the experiment tried my- 

 self, but I am informed by my friend, Col. John 

 Smith, (who has been extensively engaged in 

 stock breeding,) that a very remarkable, and in 

 fact almost incredible transmogrification is pro- 

 duced in the " Sand Hill Hog," by putting him 

 up when young, and feeding him bountifully on 

 corn. The form is made to assume a marvel- 

 lous resemblance to the Berkshire ! ! and the tail, 

 which is naturally straight, is made to curl as 

 beautifully as the ringlet of a young lady. 



But the most valuable and characteristic trait 

 remains still to be told, viz: his great activity 

 and speed! It is well known at the South that 

 the negro is the natural enemy of the whole 

 hog race — it is indispensably necessary that we 

 should have a hog that can out run a negro, fair 

 race, and, as they say in Kentucky, a negro 

 "can't hold a torch for a Sand Hill hog to run 

 by." This remarkable and important fact, was 

 first brought to my notice by Gen. Wade Hamp- 

 ton, who was a great connoisseur and had a 

 great fancy for all kinds of fine stock. As he 



expressed it, a duck-legged Berkshire stood no 

 chance on a cotton plantation. 



Yours, &c. N. 

 P. S. — If you or any of the breeders in your 

 section, wish to have some of the genuine 

 'Cotton Planter' stock, I shall be happy to supply 

 you, on reasonable terms. Prices from $100 to 

 $500, according to age and form. Breeders 

 cannot be too cautious about the character of 

 the person from whom they purchase. I be- 

 lieve I can conscientiously say, (and my neigh- 

 bors will bear me out,) that I never intention- 

 ally told a falsehood, when the truth would an- 

 swer my purpose ; and every body here knows 

 that my stock of hogs is unsurpassed. 



GOOCHLAND FAIR. 

 We take great pleasure in announcing to the 

 public that a fair will be held by the Agricul- 

 tural Society of Goochland at their Courthouse, 

 on the 9th day of November next, when the 

 usual premiums will be bestowed. We hope 

 the attendance may be full, as we are sure the 

 exhibition will be highly interesting. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 GAPES. 



Mr. Editor, — As you are fond of " fried chick- 

 ens," (Planter, page 186, August number,) and 

 correctly state the cause of a prevailing disease 

 among them, together with a remedy, but an 

 ineffectual one, in my opinion, I will give you 

 a theory of that cause, which will suggest a pre- 

 ventive of the disease. The worms in the lungs 

 of the chicken are produced from the inhalation 

 of the eggs of the hen lice. The minute eggs 

 are deposited on the feathers and down of the 

 hen, and the chicken being hovered over by the 

 hen, the eggs are drawn into the cells of the 

 lungs at each inspiration, which hatch and pro- 

 duce the worms, and the worms suffocate the 

 chicken. 



Sulphur and tobacco about the nest of the 

 hen, during incubation, and a perfectly clean 

 hen-house, with lime in abundance sprinkled on 

 the floor and roosts, will constitute an effectual 

 preventive of the gapes. These articles, you 

 perceive, are intended to destroy the lice of the 

 hen, which being done, the worms and the gapes 

 will never appear. 



A great variety of diseases in hogs and sheep, 

 particularly, as well as in other animals, arise 

 from a like cause. In fact, sir, this branch of 

 pathology, has been greatly overlooked by wri- 

 ters on the diseases of man and the inferior ani- 

 mals. Animalcules and their eggs, being inhaled 

 into the cells of the lungs, and often swallowed, 

 generate fatal diseases which are attributed to 



