Suggestions for Pig-Feeders. 



[dec, 



valuable to farmers who cannot grow the usual cultivated 

 clovers successfully, and also for laying down hay or pasture 

 for several years or permanently. 



In Bailey and Culley's Agriculture of Northumberland 

 (third edition, 1805), it is stated that white clover, being a 

 true perennial, was always sown in that county for permanent 

 pasture, but that the cultivated red clover was only biennial. 

 An instance is given, however, where seeds of native red 

 clover were gathered from an old meadow and sown in a 

 garden. The plants produced lived at least five or six years, 

 and the writers suggested that such seed should be produced 

 for sale, so as to get perennial plants. White clover had not 

 then been so long under cultivation as red clover, and this 

 probably explains why the white clover seed of commerce 

 produced more lasting plants at that time than it does now. 



The question arises as to how long the wild forms of white 

 and red clover may be cultivated before they lose their hardy 

 and perennial characters. Probably it would require a con- 

 siderable number of generations to have any effect on these 

 characters. If either of these clovers were sown by them- 

 selves under favourable conditions for producing seed, and 

 if no seed were taken till at least the third year after sowing, 

 the hardiness and perennial character of the plants should 

 be safeguarded. A similar practice is followed in some parts 

 of the West of Scotland so as to obtain more permanent seed 

 of perennial rye-grass. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR PIG-FEEDERS. 



Pig-breeding in Great Britain is an industry of great 

 importance, but it is one which has shown little tendency to 

 develop. The number of pigs kept fluctuates from year to 

 year, but, without actually decreasing, it has shown no 

 permanent signs of growth during the past thirty years. 

 There would seem, however, to be no reason why a consider- 

 able increase should not take place. The breeding and feed- 

 ing of pigs offers a fair profit in most years, and the fact that 

 this country pays huge sums annually for imported pig- 

 meats suggests that a proportion of the demand might, with 

 advantage, be supplied by the home producer. The fall in 



