Vol. XLY. No. 1926. 
NEW YORK. DECEMBER 25, 1S86. 
PRICE WYB CENTS. 
SiiO PER YEAS. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
WINTER TREATMENT OF SWINE. 
A. B. ALLEN, 
General Directions.— The best food for 
swine after half to full growth, with the ex¬ 
ception of breeding sows, is a mixture of In¬ 
dian meal, oat meal and wheat bran, in equal 
proportions, with a pint to a quart of oil or 
cotton-seed meal added to every four quarts 
of the above. Dissolve an even tablespoonful 
of hue salt in warm water enough to make a 
thick gruel of this provender, and feed regu¬ 
larly morning, noon and night, sufficient to 
keep the stock in good condition, avoiding the 
extremes of over fat or lean. One week add 
a gill of clean wood ashes to this ration, and 
the next week, a tablespoonful of fine sulphur, 
,nd so alternate weekly. These and salt help 
to keep off cholera and other ailments. Water 
regularly either before or after feeding—the 
former is best—and see that this is also warm. 
Food with drink given warm assists the diges¬ 
tion much better than if cold, and enables it to 
go farther iu support of all kinds of domestic 
animals. Late experiments in feeding cooked 
food instead of raw prove that there is no 
economy in it; the trouble aud expense theu of 
doing this may be avoided. 
Instead of oat meal with the ludian meal, 
barley, rye, wheat, or buckwheat may be sub¬ 
stituted, most valuable iu the order here stated; 
or, iu some instances, wheat is considered su- 
l>erior to rye. Pea and bean meal may also 
be substituted, but never having fed them to 
swine, I do not know the exact proportion to 
add of both or each to Indian or other meal to 
make the best provender. This can be ascer¬ 
tained only by careful experiments. Either 
of the above sorts, if preferred, can be ground 
with the corn, half and half, and if oil or cot¬ 
ton-seed meal is not to be had, flax seed or 
hulled cotton seed may also be ground with 
them in the requisite proportion. Then take 
two parts of this provender aud mix it with 
one part of wheat bran for feeding the swine. 
If they are confined iu pens or yards, some 
charcoal, or hard, or bituminous coal cinders 
and ashes, or a chunk of rotton wood to gnaw 
is necessary to keep them in good health aud 
condition. Hay, of which clover is much the 
best, may be chopped up iu the straw cutter 
into pieces of an inch or less in length; then 
soaked a little iu warm water, aud fed as 
much os the animals will eat at noon or night. 
Raw roots, aud pumpkins iu moderate quanti¬ 
ty also can be profitably fed at noon. They 
should never be frozen, but must be taken 
from u warm cellar or pit, cut iuto suitable 
pieces to be easily seized by the mouth, aud 
placed in troughs, or ou hard, dry, grassy 
grouud. Wet or soft ground should be uvoid¬ 
ed ou which to scatter these for eating. The 
best roots I have used for this purpose are su¬ 
gar beets, carrots, parsnips, mangels aud 
swedes, preferred iu the order here uarned. 
Potatoes are better than either of these if 
newly aud properly boiled, and the water 
poured off so as to leave them to dry a while. 
Mash them and salt as if for one’s-solf. Raw 
potatoes are apt to scour the swine, and I have 
found them quite unprofitable for their suste¬ 
nance. 
Feed ok Sows. —If a good improved breed 
when pregnant, special care must be taken to 
prevent them from getting too fat, especially 
if contlued in a pen where they cannot have 
sufficient exercise. If over-fat, they are likely 
to become barren or give birth to small or 
weakly pigs, or are liable to overlie and smoth¬ 
er them, or tread ou aud wound, or even kill 
the little litter till some weeks old. I have 
wintered breeding sows on raw pumpkins 
when the weather was mild, and changed to 
roots as it grew colder, with a mess of wheat 
bran aud a pint of oat meal at night, and they 
kept in just the right condition. Their flesh 
was looser and softer than when fed on grain, 
and they were quicker and more active in 
movement, aud, what is very desirable, they 
never manifested any desire to then devour 
their offspring, this ration keeping their appetite 
from becoming morbid and unnatural. A few 
weeks before farrowing, each sow should be 
putin a warm pen by herself and.tlien she will 
give birth to her young much more safely. 
Pios— Make, iu the dam’s pen, a partition 
large enough to accommodate the litter in¬ 
side of it, of strong upright slats, wide 
enough apart for them to run through; place 
a small trough here, ami as soou as they will 
eat oats or take other grain put all iu it 
which they will consume through the day. 
The sow thus cauuot rob them of their ration, 
aud by having it always at command they do 
not pull so hard upon her, aud still they get 
food enough to keep thou growing well. Af¬ 
ter weaning—say when two months old—feed 
them provender the same as directed above 
for grown swine, and if this can be made into 
a gruel wit h some skim-milk or buttermilk in¬ 
stead of water, it will assist them to thrive all 
the faster. If they commence scouring at auy 
time, or even get somewhat loose, stop their 
gruel instantly and feed them dry oats or 
other grain till this ceases. Wheat flour fed 
dry is also excellent to stop scouring. In 
weauiug pigs place them in a warm pen some 
little distance from their dam, aud theu they 
will not worry to get to her. It" vigorous aud 
of equal size LO or 12 may be peuued together: 
if not, then fewer, as the larger ones are liable 
to overlie the smaller as they huddle together 
to sleep, aud thus smother them. Too many 
half to full-growu swiue herding iu pens, sheds 
or yards, ure liable to the same casualty. 
Shelter.—I f warmly sheltered, swine will 
grow or fatten much faster ou the same quan¬ 
tity of food than if exposed to the weather, so 
that, generally speaking, unless they have 
thick woods bedded with abundant leaves to 
retire to for protection, it is a matter of econ¬ 
omy to house them in a warm piggery, or at 
least iu a tight shed opening only to the south: 
and this should have a board floor, aud the 
yard surrounding it should be so well bedded 
with leaves, straw, or coarse hay, as to keep 
their feet out of mud. Wet feet are almost as 
hurtful to animal comfort aud thrift as a wet 
body. If peuned a yard should bo attached 
to each with a door to pass out and iu for ex¬ 
ercise at pleasure, except at night or in very 
cold or stormy weather: theu it is best also to 
confine them closely. Proper shelter will not 
only keep the auimals iu better condition and 
guard them from disease, but will also greatly 
economize feed. 
The Roar ought to be always kept in 
a pen by himself with a small yard in the rear 
for him to exercise as he may desire. It suf¬ 
fered to rim with the other swiue be might in¬ 
jure them badly. Boars, like bulls, are of un¬ 
certain temper, and they must be kept where 
they eau do uo harm. Their feed may bo the 
same as that, of others, but be careful that 
they do uot become too tat, otherwise they 
would be Inefficient for service, aud their off¬ 
spring, if got, will come weakly, aud grow up 
slowly aud with little constitution. 
Breeds. —As to those, keep uoue but the 
improved sorts, for they will make thrice as 
much meut on the same quantity of food as a 
land-pike or razor-buck, and this meat will be 
of a far batter quality. Agaiu, the improved 
kiud must be chosen for what is wanted, as 
some are better than others to make superior 
fat pork for salting and barreling, aud others 
excel iu their hams, shoulders, aud sides for 
smoking. 
<rije ijfrtJsmiiu, 
DEHORNING CATTLE. 
In the Rural for Oct. 30, in advocating my 
practice of dehorning cattle, I said that I 
knew there was a point where the horn could 
be cut so that a stub would grow, and another 
where a stub would not. grow, and where the 
pain and bleeding would be but little. I then 
said “ cut the horn above this point aud the 
animal will bleed till it falls.' * 1 Mr. Henry 
Stewart, Nov. 27, page TOO, says of me: 
“When he writes as he does so incorrectly 
about horns, intelligent persons will lose con¬ 
fidence iu his judgment. Auy book on anato¬ 
my gives a clear description of the horn of an 
ox, and shows that the inner core of the horn 
is a continuation of the frontal sinus, and is 
lined with the periosteum, a most sensitive 
membrane and full of nerves and blood-ves¬ 
sels. Further, when he says if the horn is cut 
above a certain point the animal will bleed to 
death, but will not if cut losverdown, he states 
an absurdity, for there can be no blood above 
a point if there is no artery below it.” 
I am willing to be criticized, but my critic 
must uot put words into my mouth that I did 
not say. I never said a word about- the ani¬ 
mal’s “dying;” but I insist upon itthat I was 
right in what I did say. Mr. Stewart ought 
to know what he is writing about, but what 
facts can he give f Has he ever seen an animal 
dehorned to know how cruel the operation 
is l This season oue of my neighbors cut the 
horns off a two-year-old bull so as to leave 
stubs an inch long. The bull bled until he fell. 
The hemorrhage was stopped with difficulty; 
but the bull was uuable to move for sometime. 
Attout the same time another neighbor 
brought a two-year-old bull to my place,and I 
dehorned him. He did uot bleed a spoonful, 
and as soon as he was turned into the yard 
within one minute after the operation he 
served a cow. He went to eating in five min¬ 
utes aud did uot lose a meal thereafter. Sev¬ 
eral gentlemen were present who will verify* 
these statements. Shortly after two herds of 
cattle were driven up to my place aud de¬ 
horned. Not a quart of blood w T as shed from 
00 cattle. Now these are facts which can be 
proved by good meu and true. It is time for 
Mr. Stewart to stop guessing and state facts 
in return. I have hundreds of letters from 
those who have practiced dehorning, and any 
one of them would disprove the charge of 
cruelty. 
Now a word about the horn. It is com¬ 
posed of five parts, two sensitive aud three de¬ 
void of feeling. The matrix at the base of the 
horn, a fleshy part, is sensitive like any other 
skin and no more and uo less, so far as we 
know. The periosteum which grows from the 
matrix and which is au extension of the cer¬ 
ium or true skin, is a thin membrane and is 
sensitive, but is not, as experience shows by* 
oft repeated experiments, as sensitive as ordi¬ 
nary skin, or even so much as the matrix it¬ 
self, In old cattle this periosteum grows very 
thin and often dies altogether either from old 
age or freezing in w inter or because the shell 
is knocked off and it cannot live. The perios¬ 
teum is wrapped around the third part of the 
horn, which is called the bouc horn. This 
boue horn was without feeling always. It 
was cartilage originally and cartilage, like 
bone, has i:o feeling. The fourth part of the 
horn is the shell, which all know is not sensi¬ 
tive. Now there remains the fifth part. It is 
the hole iuside. All boue horns are hollow 
aud so we say all cattle horns are hollow. 
Now at a certain veterinary convention I was 
called upon to speak on horns, and in telling 
of a certain unreasouable person who de- 
nounced me as false aud cruel and all that, I 
went on to say* he had so utterly failed iu 
his fight over this matter, that he looked 
sheepish enough to crawl into oue of those 
holes, and one of the veterinarians said: “Yes, 
and he ought to pull the hole iu after him.” 
I should have also stated there is no core to 
the horn in the sense implied by Mr. S. Neither 
is it true that the “periosteum is the lining of 
the core,” that is, unless they wear the linings 
outside in Mr. Stewart’s country. 
Henry Co., Ill. h. h. haaff. 
£l)C pirn lint Utu-jD. 
BREEDING FOR THE BEST RESULTS. 
In a recent issue of the Rural New-York¬ 
er the suggestion was made that the most 
productive hens should be selected from which 
to secure the succeeding stock. There have 
been many difficulties in the way of so doing 
in the past, but a few enterprisiug poultry- 
meu are attempting some reforms in that di¬ 
rection, and, strange to say, the most vigor¬ 
ous opposition comes from the breeders of the 
pure breeds. The principal points allowed iu 
the Standard are for the useless portions of a 
fowl, so far as table purposes are concerned. 
The Black Spanish points are so arranged that 
iu a possible 100, the head and face get 10 
points, the comb II) the earlobes and wattle 
10 and the neekjS—or one-third the whole for 
head and neck- Then 19 more points are giv¬ 
en for the wings, legs, toes, and tail. It can 
be easily seen that; if 30 points in 100 are giv¬ 
en to the head, the breeder who desires to se¬ 
cure a high score at the fairs will breed for 
the best white face, clear earlobes aud straight 
comb, as he has a chance of deriving a great 
number of points for the head, even if he has 
to sacrifice the breast and body to do so. In 
this manner the Black Spanish have been so 
bred as to lose many of their excellent quali¬ 
ties. They have perfect heads (in a show¬ 
room sense:, but are lacking iu stamina and 
vigor. Nor is this breed au exception. 
Blit the selection of eggs from the best lay¬ 
ing hens, though assisting in improvement, 
will not accomplish the object. Something 
depends on the cock. The breed must be 
pure or it will fail to satisfy the object sought. 
The proper plau is for a few enterprising and 
experienced breeders to begiu with one of the 
pure-bred families, and select uot only the 
most prolific hens, but to breed the cocks from 
dams noted for excellent qualities also, until, 
iu a few years, there will be an established 
family, as is done with Jersey cattle, many of 
the breeders of which have totally* eliminated 
all exterior (qualifications, making the pail 
the only true test. It will, of course, be more 
difficult to keep a record of hens, as they* are 
too prolific to establish for them a register, 
but iu one respect this is an advantage, as it 
gives a larger number from which to select, 
aud those interested may easily keep a private 
record aud note improvement. 
It is but fair to state, however, that our 
poultry* breeders have accomplished a good 
work iu establishing aud classifying the differ¬ 
ent breeds. Though they have given preference 
to ornament rather than to utility, yet there 
can be no objection to any system that will 
tend to the improvement of those qualities 
that serve to render the breeds better for eggs 
and carcasses, aud each and all of the breeds 
can be used as a foundation for experiments iu 
some particular direction, while every farmer 
should join in the work. j. p. h. 
A Suggested Im !’rove me nt.—I could im¬ 
prove the feeding box for hens ou page 809, 
by having a larger box and two slantiug 
boards iuside to meet at the top aud slant 
down so that there would be a feeding trough 
at each side. Thus one could feed corn and 
oats separately*, or by partitioning off one- 
third of one. side, ground shells or bones could 
be fed at the same time. j. h. o. 
