1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3o3 
THE GRASS HOG. 
How Can we Make a “Grass” Breed? 
QUESTIONS. 
1. What breed of hogs do you consider best for pasturing 
and grazing ? 
2. What breeds are “sty pigs,” that is, are best suited to 
close confinement ? 
3. What are the exterior characteristics of a good “ grass 
hog ” without regard to breed ? 
4. Is the grass eating habit inbred or hereditary f Is It 
possible to produce by selection a strain of pigs pecu¬ 
liarly valuable as grazers ? 
Building a Grass Breed. 
1. The Duroc Jersey. 2. The Berkshire, Small York¬ 
shire and Essex. 3. Constitutional vigor, which carries 
with It more activity and stronger appetites. Breeds with 
more range in their build, muscle and bone and not so 
much Inclination to fat and helplessness, are the best 
“grassers.” 4. It is more hereditary than acquired. Pigs 
with this characteristic can be selected. The pig to select 
is the one opposite to the chunky type. Pigs with long 
bodies, strong legs and straight jaws are of the right kind. 
Those with stub noses and dished faces should be avoided, 
as they cannot graze well, and are not so Inclined. An 
active hog is the natural grazer. By selection on the 
above line and rearing them in the field, great improve¬ 
ment would be made towards securing a grazing strain, 
and in time, the grazing habit or quality would be well 
developed. Grazing Is the cheapest way in which to keep 
hogs or to rear pigs, with a supplement of other foods as 
occasion may require. This is the manner in which all my 
hogs are reared and it has resulted in a more muscular 
hog, and in making better hams and bacon. It is the sys¬ 
tem by which hogs may bs fattened lean—the true way. 
Saratoga Co., N. Y. F. d. curtis. 
The Grass Hog is an Athlete. 
From observation and experience in the rearing of hogs 
for the last 25 years I do not hesitate to say that the Berk¬ 
shire is the best for grazing and pasturing. The breeds 
best adapted to close confinement, or what we call “sty- 
pigs,” are the SmaJl Yorkshire and Essex, the former where 
a white pig is preferred, the latter for a black one. The 
external characteristics of a good “ grass hog” without 
regard to breed, are, good feet and limbs with a muscular 
system well developed. Head moderate in length, face not 
too much dished, ear thin and carried rather upright that 
the eyesight may not be obstructed. A good grazing hog 
may or may not have a broad back and thick hams. Ex¬ 
ercise in grazing is an invaluable help in the development 
of these, but cannot be relied on entirely for the higher 
production of muscle or lean meat and least proportion of 
fat. When more fatty pork is needed it can be had by 
the use of fat producing foods and by restricted exercise. 
When more lean is desired, a grazing hog should be 
chosen, his disposition to exercise be encouraged, and his 
diet, besides grass and clover, made to consist largely of 
flesh-forming foods. The grass eating habit is inbred or 
hereditary. It is certainly possible to produce, by selection 
and feeding, a strain of pigs peculiarly valuable as grazers. 
Sangamon-Co., 111. phil THlfroN. 
Hogs Need Grass. 
1. My experience has been mostly with Essex hogs, but I 
have bred some Berkshlres, Poland-Chinas and Small York¬ 
shires. As grazing hogs, I could not notice much differ¬ 
ence between the different breeds named. If any, it was 
in favor of the Berkshire. 2. So far as my experience has 
gone, the Essex and Small Yorkshires are the best “sty 
pigs,” as they are contented with close confinement If they 
have a comfortable bed and plenty of feed. 3. My experi¬ 
ence is that hogs with pretty good bone and muscular de¬ 
velopment are the best grazers, as they are more willing 
and able than other sorts to roam over the farm and get 
the best of the grass. 4. The natural food for hogs in 
their wild state is mast, roots and earth worms ; but our 
improved breeds are mostly works of art produced by care 
and abundance of food and the selection of breeding animals 
with a special object in view. By proper selection and 
care the grazing qualities of any breed can be greatly im¬ 
proved within a few years. I am convinced that it pays to 
give hogs all the grass possible at all times and also to 
feed a little grain and swill made of bran, shorts, rye 
meal, etc.; but at no time would I feed quite as much as 
the animals would eat, even when feeding them for the 
butcher. By acting in this way one gets the full benefit 
of the grain fed, while if the hogs are compelled to live on 
grass or clover alone through the summer and are then 
shut up in a filthy pen—as a great many are—and fed all 
the corn they will eat and nothing else, there will be consid¬ 
erable loss of grain, as they will eat more than they can 
digest and assimilate, and are also more liable to disease. 
Secretary Essex Breeders’ Association, w. w. wiley. 
Breeding the “Grass Hog.” 
If one wanted a hog to live on grass alone, I doubt if 
anything better could be found than the original wild 
animal. It had lived on grass, roots, etc., for generations, 
and the best characteristics for such a method of life had 
been developed during untold ages. In short, I do not 
believe in making pork on grass alone. On the other hand, 
I do believe that a part of a hog’s feed should be grass 
through the summer. The hog, like man, is omnivorous. 
To do his best he must have a variety. A man likes a 
mess of greens occasionally, but confine him to that diet 
and he would not have much energy. For healthy, well 
developed breeding stock it is of the highest importance 
that they should run at pasture a part of the time. Grown 
breeding sows will do well on plenty of of grass, though 
they will do better and produce better offspring if they 
have just a little grain with it. In winter it is just as 
important that breeding sows be fed a part of the time oq 
jB&pgqldjs ss tbat they should have grass in summer. 
Young pigs, either for breeding or fattening, should be 
managed for the first three months much alike. They 
should be allowed a run at pasture for a short time every 
day when the weather will permit. After that for pork pur¬ 
poses a different management for the East and West will, 
in a majority of cases, be best. At the West where land is 
unlimited, clover and Timothy pasture mixed would be 
best, supplemented with all the corn the animals would 
eat. At the East we cannot well devote so much land to 
pasturing hogs. Here, on the majority of farms, certain 
lands are used for tillage, while other parts of the farm 
are necessarily devoted to pasturage. The orchard should 
be used for a hog pasture every time. That will make an 
excellent place for the breeding stock, while for the most 
“Softening the Harness.” Fig."105. 
part it will be more profitable to keep the fattening hogs 
in pens. At the East the manure question is all-important. 
Fattening hogs should be turned to pasture for a few 
hours every week, but it is better to cut the grass for 
them than to devote the land to pasture. The pens should 
be liberally supplied with bedding ; muck is wonderfully 
good for the purpose, a nest of straw being used therewith. 
In this way enough manure can be made almost to pay 
for keeping the hogs. To make profitable pork the animal 
must be pushed right along from the day of its birth (be¬ 
fore Its birth for that matter) till the day of slaughter. To 
produce the best meat, fattening hogs need exercise, 
though not nearly so much as those intended for breeding 
stock. They should have nitrogenous food, the object be¬ 
ing to grow the best of meat and not much fat. The live, 
Kansas Fodder Cutter—Runner. Fig. 106. 
energetic Yankee must have lean meat; fat will not an¬ 
swer. The kind of food has much to do with the result; 
so likewise has the breed. Put an animal whose ancestors 
for several generations have been fed for fat with one 
whose ancestors for a like period have been fed for meat, 
and though fed in the same trough, one will have much 
more lean meat than the other. The influence of heredity 
will be seen in both. If one has plenty of pasture and does 
not care to save the manure for cultivated fields, he should 
let the pigs run at pasture and give them plenty of grain. 
They will not, however, grow as fast as those confined in 
suitable quarters the greater part of the time, but one 
must be careful not to keep them confined all the time. 
Remember a hog needs exercise, but if allowed to run at 
pasture all the while, he will take more exercise than is 
necessary for health and so will not grow as fast as the one 
allowed only needed exercise. 
A good sized, strong, well-developed animal, with a 
good-sized stomach, is better for grass feeding than any of 
an opposite type. The nose should be straight. I notice 
that the fish-hook nosed hogs at the fairs have the jaws so 
misformed that they do not meet properly; hence such a 
hog can not feed on or chew grass as well as hogs whose 
jaws have not been deformed to gain a fancy breeding 
point. In short, I would advise people to care for swine in a 
common-sense way, and let hobbies, either grass or anti¬ 
grass, or any others, severely alone. People should study 
the nature of the animal and use strong, healthy breeding 
stock. A good constitution should never be sacrificed or 
endangered for a fancy point. Grass should be largely 
used in summer and mangolds in winter, but none should 
depend on grass alone for fattening hogs. The healthiest, 
best-developed animal that will grow the fastest and give 
the £est jneat is tb@ hog of the future, Such a bog can not 
get nourishment enough out of grass alone to do his best, 
and give the most profit Always remember, however, 
that the hog likes “ a lot of grass.” E w. DAVIS. 
Madison Co., N. Y. 
, WISDOM FROM A CALF’S HEAD. 
A friend in Nebraska sends the little sketch shown at 
Fig. 105. The title he gives his picture is : “ I’ll Chew on 
this Line if it Takes all Summer.” The Nebraska calf 
is a persistent animal, and an intelligent, good-natured 
beast, withal. He is not “limbering up” that harness 
simply to exercise his teeth or to make mischief—he has a 
higher and nobler aim In life. Let us assume that his 
master is one of those unfortunate men who cannot realize 
the great virtue of a little oil. Such people believe only 
in brute force. They want to grind work out of their 
helpers, and make them squeeze and jam through life 
when a little oil would slide things along so nicely. Now, 
this calf has heard the horses tell how hard and rough the 
harness is, how It is wearing off their skin and making 
them sore and sick. Soon it will be torture for them to 
throw their weight into the collar. When they flinch, the 
whip will come cutting over their backs. So our little 
friend, the calf, has gone to the rescue, and, If he has time 
enough, he will show that careless farmer how to soften 
up a harness. Do you need a calf’s head to point out your 
duty ? 
A KANSAS FODDER CUTTER. 
Every one here makes fodder cutters, and all are differ¬ 
ent. I inclose a sketch, Figs. 106 and 107, of the best one 
I have used and also the easiest made. One man can cut 
more than half as much as two on a double knife sled, as 
with the latter men are in each others way. One horse 
can pull it on a slow trot all day, and a man can take the 
corn if it is not too heavy. The runners, Fig. 106, are two by 
six inches, and six feet long, with a hickory runner pegged 
on the one next to the corn. The floor is of Inch boards 
nailed solidly; the seat of two-by-four inch stuff, bolted 
on. The knife, Fig. 107, is a railroad scythe, three feet 
long, set as sloplngly as possible, with the edge slightly 
raised, and bolted on solidly with iron straps below and 
above. Holes should be drilled in the scythe. There should 
be shafts to it to keep the horse from running back on to 
the knife, if It should get frightened or in turning around. 
It will not run sidewise as a person would think, and it 
can be made to run the right distance from the corn by 
changing the singletree on the chain. Grab the corn on 
the outside with both hands, and let it fall and lie across 
the knee. M. w. B. 
Alta Vista, Kan._ 
NEW JERSEY VS. NORTH DAKOTA. 
Another One-horse Jerseyman Talks. 
On page 2431 read a North Dakota farmer’s crop story, and 
the writer wants to hear from some Eastern farmers who 
have done better. Here Is an account of the results of my 
farm work, and I submit it to the readers of The Rural 
as to who Is ahead. In the following, corn, rye, fodder 
and eggs are not included. My farm is only a garden 
patch compared with Mr. S. C. Carpenter’s, as it contains 
only 21 acres. I sold during the season of 1890 as follows : 
CREDIT. 
Hotbed plants. $553.19 i Sweet corn-. 
Early tomatoes. 313.40 | Potatoes. 
Late tomatoes. 250.00 ] Pears. . 
Peppers. 145.26 i 12 pigs.. 
Melons. . 425.16 | Wax beans. 
Strawberries. 78.16 Squash. 
Peas. 70 26 
Egg-plants. 61.75 1 Total. 
EXPENSES. 
Interest on value of farm, 5 I Hired help. 
percent.$150 00 Manure and fertilizer. 
Taxes. .. 25.05 | 
Total... 
Net total. 
$35.00 
50.24 
32.06 
80.00 
12.25 
39.84 
$2,094.17 
..$160.00 
... 200.00 
..$535.05 
.$1,559.12 
The above was all sold in Washington Market, New 
York city, (hot bed plants excepted) and all charges have 
been deducted. The work was done by one horse and one 
man besides myself." My hot bed plants consisted of toma¬ 
toes, egg-plants and peppers in the order named. I raise 
to order only. My orders for 1891 exceed those for last year, 
and I could get more, but I can’t handle the plants in time. 
They must all be alike when they are set in the field. My 
customers all come here for their plants. I don’t deliver 
any unless I am paid extra for the trouble. 
Propagation and Handling of Plants.—I sow my 
tomato seeds on March 10, the bed having been made 
several days in advance to insure its being in proper con¬ 
dition ; that is, at a temperature of from 60 to 70 degrees. 
About April 10, when the seedling plants are about three 
inches high, I transplant into other beds which are first 
made as follows : First comes about one inch of old coin 
stalks or any other coarse litter that may be at hand; then 
come four inches of new, hot horse manure fresh from New 
York city, and, next, six inches of soil in which has been 
thoroughly incorporated a quarter of its bulk of old fine 
horse manure. This gives the plants a good, healthy look, 
and plenty of vigor. After they have been transplanted 
4x4 inches, they are covered with regular hot-bed sashes 
3x6 feet and salt marsh hay or straw mats at night. Dur¬ 
ing the daytime when the weather is good they get plenty 
of air. After May 1, on all fine days the sashes are taken 
entirely off during the daytime. This is to harden off the 
plants preparatory to putting them in the field, which is 
usually done from May 7 to 10. 
Starting Peppers —Peppers are propagated in the same 
way as tomatoes with two exceptions: First, they must 
not be sown as soon as the latter by 10 days, and, second, 
they must have a bed whose temperature is not less than 
80 degrees Fahr., to insure a good stand. A great deal 
depends on the seeds. I never had a good start from seeds 
bought from the seedsmen. I almost invariably save my 
owu seeds, ftnd they have never yet failed, I transplant 
