SWINE, FEEDING AND SHELTER. 
377 
Light vs. Heavy Hogs. 
Years ago, when lard and side pork were the principal hog products 
looked for, the heavier the hog, the better the price. We once sold a 
hog weighing 650 pounds for fifteen cents a pound. That was in war- 
times, and it brought one cent per pound over the price paid for light and 
Well fattened hogs. The same animal to-day, would not bring within a 
cent a pound, of what nice young nine and ten months, well fattened pigs 
would, in any of our principal markets. To get the weight named, the 
hog was fed two years and a half. Take three pigs against this one. 
The difference in the first cost of the three sucklings’ as against the one, 
would not exceed three dollars. The three pigs will be fed nine months, 
and weigh 600 pounds, — (we have made pigs farrowed in March and 
killed the next January, weigh dressed, up to 380 pounds, and have more 
than once turned off such pigs at ten months old weighing alive over 300 
pounds average) the other must be fed almost three years, and you must 
be a good feeder if you make him weigh 600 pounds. In the first case, 
you have fed nine months each, or twenty-seven months on the three pigs 
for 600 pounds, and in the other case, you have fed thirty-six months for 
the same weigl t. The one big hog has eaten more corn than the three 
pigs, and yet the three pigs weighing the same as the one will bring about 
six dollars more, giving you three dollars on the original purchase, as be- 
tween the three and ore. tnd a very considerable amount of com on the 
credit side of your account book. You don’t believe it? Examine the 
tables we have, given on feeding and turning off cattle young, as against 
feeding until they were mature. We could show many instances fully as 
convincing as this, in the case of hogs ; but why pile up testimony after 
the argument is conclusively established beyond controversy. 
