58 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
and the carcass shoved up, one side at a time; 
then the longer ones are employed until you 
reach the desired height, leaving the beef sus¬ 
pended as represented. Two men can butcher 
in this way without much trouble.”—When 
strung up it is comparatively easy to finish 
skinning, and to remove the vicera, after which 
the carcass may be allowed to cool, when it 
can he cut into quarters. A single man will 
have no difficulty in lifting a beef carcass if 
he uses a lever and simple sling, as shown in 
figure 3, to move up the crotched sticks, first 
on one side and then on the other. The lever 
being placed at right angles to the long poles. 
Care of Young Pigs in Winter. 
It seems to be generally admitted that the 
stock of pigs in the United States is unusually 
light. At any rate, pork brings a very high 
price, and this fact, in the face of a tight money 
market, is pretty conclusive evidence that the 
supply is not equal to the demand. It is not 
improbable that farmers will make, or have 
already made, an unusual effort to raise a large 
number of pigs next spring, and if we have a 
good corn crop next year, we may see a marked 
decline in the pork trade in the winter of 1870-1. 
But the indications now are that pork will be 
in demand through the coming summer, and 
early autumn, and we should make it a point 
to have our pigs in such high condition that we 
can avail ourselves of the high prices. Every 
farmer who has a litter of fall pigs should see 
to it that they are kept growing rapitfly through 
the present winter, and during next spring and 
summer. A well-bred fall pig can easily and 
profitably he made to dress 250 or 300 lbs. at 
ten months old. But to accomplish this it is 
absolutely essential that the pigs be provided 
Avith comfortable quarters through the winter, 
and are furnished with a liberal and regular 
supply of nutritious food. We do not advocate 
fattening pigs during our northern winters, but 
avc do most earnestly advocate keeping young 
pigs growing vigorously. So far as our observa¬ 
tion extends, half our farmers do little more 
than keep their young pigs alive during the 
Avinter. Whatever food the pigs eat is lost. 
They do not gain a pound, and they are so 
stunted that half the summer is past before 
they get into a thriving condition. No Avonder 
such farmers say “ pigs don’t pay.” Pigs kept 
warm, dry, and comfortable through the winter, 
Avith food enough to keep them nearly fat, will, 
Avhen spring comes, groAV Avith great rapidity 
on food but little better than that which is 
ordinarily given to store pigs at that season; 
and so all through the summer, the effect of the 
good food and treatment in the winter Avill be 
very decided. With the run of a good clover 
pasture, and the Avash from the house and 
dairy, Avith a pint or so of corn a day, these 
well-Avintered pigs Avill gain rapidly, and Avill 
at any time be ready for the butcher. No 
matter Avliat the price of pork may be, we are 
satisfied, from experience and observation, that 
if pigs are kept at all, the only profitable way 
is to keep them Avell. They may not always 
pay, but the liberal feeder has a better chance 
of getting his money back than the farmer Avho 
half starves his pigs. It is true that one of the 
objects of keeping pigs is, that they may eat 
food that Avould othenvise be Avasted, and avc 
Avould not be understood as advocating any¬ 
thing inconsistent-with this idea. If possible, 
however, the “scavengers of the barn-yard" 
should be full-grown breeding soavs. Young, 
growing pigs, whether intended for breeding 
purposes or for fattening for the butcher, should 
never he left entirely to chance food that they 
can pick up. Let them have the run of the 
yards in winter, and pick up all the food they 
can find, but never suffer them to depend on 
this alone, unless there is abundant evidence 
that they can find all they need. Farmers 
should have a pair of platform scales and Aveigh 
their pigs occasionally, and they would then 
ascertain Avhether their pigs Avere receiving 
good treatment and a proper amount of food. 
We have just weighed some, at four months 
old, that averaged 80 pounds each. They 
ought to be so fed through the winter as to gain 
25 pounds a month, and, as they get older, and 
the weather gets warmer, they should gain a 
pound a day; and when the summer comes, 
Avith milk and clover, and a little corn-meal, 
they should gain l 1 1 3 pounds a day; and for the 
last month or six Aveeks before killing, they 
should gain nearly 2 pounds a day. We know 
that this can be done, and we also feel cer¬ 
tain that, at the present price of pork and 
grain, no branch of farming affords a greater 
profit than liberal feeding of well-bred pigs. 
Next to liberal feeding, a dry, warm pen is 
of the greatest importance. Better have a good 
pen, so constructed that neither wind, nor rain, 
nor snow can enter; but, in the absence of 
such a pen, the farmer is inexcusable who does 
not contrive some plan for keeping his pigs 
warm and comfortable. If made of boards, a 
few laths can be used as battens to stop up the 
cracks. We have seen pigs shivering in a pen 
close to a heap of stable litter, Avhere half an 
hour’s labor with a fork would have made the 
pen comfortable. No matter liowthe snow and 
wind are kept out. Anything that will stop up 
the cracks will answer. With litter or corn-stalks 
a rail pen may easily be made comfortable. 
We repeat—feed the young pigs Avell this 
Avinter, keep them growing rapidly in spring, 
and then, next summer or autumn, you can 
avail yourselves of the unusual demand there 
will probably be for good pork. Neglect the 
pigs this winter, and the probabilities are that 
your pigs will not be ready to kill before the 
price has declined. Recollect that, in any case, 
Avhether prices decline or not, liberal feeding is 
more profitable than a starvation diet for six 
months, and afterAvards a surfeit of corn. 
“Can the United States raise its own 
Wool ?”—Why not ? Have Ave not land enough; 
have Ave not sufficient range of soil and climate? 
If avc can compete Avith other nations in raising 
wheat and corn, beef, pork and cheese, why 
cannot Ave raise avooI enough for home consump¬ 
tion? It requires less labor to raise avooI, in pro¬ 
portion to its value, than any other farm pro¬ 
duct. Peter Henderson cannot afford to raise 
Avheat on his laud, hut it Avould be absurd for 
him to assert, that Avheat cannot be raised Avith 
profit in the United States. There are farmers 
on high priced land that cannot afford to keep 
sheep for wool alone, but they should not assert 
that it cannot be raised in the United States. 
Do Pigs Pay? —A correspondent in N. J. 
Avrites : “I have just footed up the proceeds of 
one brood sow, kept during the past year, and 
find I have received $406.54, and have the soav 
still on hand. The pigs Avere kept and fed in 
an ordinary manner during the summer on milk, 
and aside from the poor corn, not more than 
100 bushels of ears of good corn were fed.” The 
pigs Avere sold at from 5 to 11 months old. 
Maple Sugar Making. 
BY A7. T. CHAMBERLAIN, HUDSON, O. 
During the last twenty-five years many im¬ 
provements have been made in the apparatus 
for, and methods of, making maple sugar. I 
give those now in use by the best sugar-makers 
of Northern Ohio. 
The Buckets are made of the best “ IX ” tin. 
They are straight, (not flaring) and are of three 
sizes—three buckets fitting together and form¬ 
ing a “ nest.” The nest occupies only the space 
of the largest bucket, thus securing convenience 
in handling, and economy in storing. The 
three sizes, too, permit the size of the bucket to 
be adapted to the floiving capacity of the tree. 
The dimensions are—Largest, circumference 
34 inches; depth, 9 in.; capacity, 15 quarts. 
Medium, circumference in.; depth, 9 in.; 
capacity, 13 1 1 3 quarts. Smallest, circumference 
30 in.; depth, 9 inches, capacity, 11 quarts. 
Three buckets require eight sheets of 10 x 14 
inch, and two sheets of 10 x 10-inch tin. The 
sides of each bucket re¬ 
quire tAvo 10 x 14 sheets 
and a piece. The piece 
in the largest is 7 r | 2 
inches Avide, and in the 
medium 6 inches. Both 
these pieces are made 
of the seventh sheet of 
10 x 14 tin. The bottoms 
of these buckets are 
made of the two 10 x 10 sheets. The piece in 
the smallest size is 3 1 inches Avide, and this, 
with the bottom, is made of the eight sheet of 
10 x 14 tin. Figure 1 shows the smallest of the 
three buckets; in the other two the piece is 
much Avider. Just below the wire rim an inch 
hole is punched, so as to hang the bucket on 
the “ spile.” The hole is in the middle of the 
piece above mentioned, as in fig. 1, as the seams 
strengthen the bucket, and prevent its bending 
Avhen it hangs full of sap. Such buckets cost 
now about $40 per hundred. The buckets 
should be painted outside Avith yelloAV ochre, or 
other durable paint, to protect them from rust. 
The sap does not rust the inside. The buckets 
will last thirty years or more. Tin is better 
than Avood, as it is more easily kept clean, does 
not sour the sap so much, and does not shrink, 
get leaky, and require hoop-driving every 
spring, when one is 
in haste to be tap- 
ping. It is also more Fig> g _ SPILE< 
easily handled, and 
stored. It is better than earthen-Avare, which is 
heavy to handle,and cracks Avhen the sap freezes. 
Hanging the bucket on the tree is preferable 
to setting it on the ground. It saves hunting 
for a block or stone; the bucket is more con¬ 
veniently emptied, as Avill be seen hereafter; 
the wind cannot bloAV the sap aAvayas it drops, 
nor bloAV the bucket aAvay; and, Avliat is of 
most importance, the bucket can be covered. 
The Spiles, fig. 2, are made of beech or maple, 
turned and bored by machinery. They -are 
better than elder Avith the pith punched out, be¬ 
cause they are not so liable to sour, and are 
stronger and more durable. They should be 7 [, 
of an inch in diameter, 3 or 4 inches long, taper¬ 
ing for an inch of the length, and only s | 8 of an 
inch Avhere they enter the tree. Each should 
have three notches turned around it, about an 
inch apart, to keep the bucket from sliding- 
off. There should be three notches, so that the 
bucket may be hung in one or the other of 
them, and be level, whatever way the tree may 
lean. The spiles cost about $1.25 per hundred. 
