1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3 
A HOME FOR THE HOG. 
Sanitary and Simple. 
GIVE PIGGY A CHANCE.—Hardly any two farm¬ 
ers believe in or practice the same methods in breed¬ 
ing and feeding swine. In my inspection of diseased 
live stock throughout this State, I find pigs of all 
colors, breeds, sex and previous condition of servitude, 
struggling to sustain life, under all possible conditions 
of environment. It is a wonder that a large majority 
of the swine in many sections do not die of one, or a 
complication of contagious diseases, and that the re¬ 
mainder do not succumb under an overwhelming feel¬ 
ing of mortification. A certain amount of cleanliness 
is surely very close to a little godliness in the business 
of successful pig culture. If farmers would only in¬ 
sist that the pigpens, troughs, sleeping places and 
feeding floors must be kept as clean as the average 
horse or cow stable, What an improvement there 
would be. During the hot Summer and Fall months 
each pig should be furnished daily with plenty of 
pure fre^h water and a shady resting place. The sur¬ 
roundings should be thoroughly disinfected occasion¬ 
ally, and the pigs furnished with salt, charcoal, burnt 
cobs, or even salt and wood aShes, accessible at all 
times. A dry sleeping place is imperatively neces¬ 
sary. A “hog wallow,” the usual ingredients of which 
are stagnant water of a green, slimy consistency, 
plenty of mud in the solution, and the whole inocu¬ 
lated with many millions of filth germs, is not a de¬ 
sirable adjunct to any hogyard, in fact, is a danger¬ 
ous feature in any pig’s landscape garden. A sanitary 
bathtub is all right, and if pigs can “wallow” in a. 
clean tank of some sort, in which the water is fre¬ 
quently changed, it 'is a piggish luxury to be devoutly 
wished for. 
Swine plague or hog cholera cannot originate in a 
herd of swine, or in a single pig, until some animal 
has become inoculated with a living disease germ that 
will pass through a period of incubation and repro¬ 
duce the same disease in one or more animals in the 
herd. All the animals in the herd are 
susceptible to the same disease, but the 
stronger vitality of certain pigs may 
enable them to throw off the germs as 
fast as they endeavor to find lodgment 
in the vital tissues. It is largely for 
these reasons that I recommend to 
farmers that they keep and feed the 
uovernment formula occasionally to 
their pigs during the Summer and Fall 
months. It is a good tonic for any pig, 
and is a preventive, not a cure, for swine 
plague and other pig maladies. I do not 
believe that filthy surroundings can 
originate hog cholera or swine plague, 
but, where the living germs are present, 
such uncleanly environments greatly ag¬ 
gravate the spread and degree of such 
filth diseases. The average hoghouse or 
hogpen is too often, though not design¬ 
edly, made a permanent harboring place 
for disease germs. We have seen many 
good hoghouses well arranged for prac¬ 
tical use and kept scrupulously clean. 
But it still remains that far too many 
hogpens are a disgrace to the owners 
tnereof. A well-built hoghouse, with 
cement, or tight plank floors, well 
lighted and ventilated, with a good foundation wall 
under the sills, is a desirable Habitation for pigs. But 
we prefer a small portable hog shelter, and several 
of them, for the average herd of swine on the farm. 
A PORTABLE HOUSE.—We have two shelters that 
have been in use on our farm for several years The 
accompanying picture was made while the snow was 
on the ground. The shelter is quickly and cheaply 
made. The floor is made of common stock boards, 
one inch thick, and rests upon 2x6 stringers. This 
floor is eight feet square, and the lower edge of the 
“chicken-coop” roof rests upon the upper edge of 
the floor. The roof and sides are made by using eight 
stock boards 12 inches wide and 16 feet long. Each 
board is cut, making 16 pieces, eight feet long. The 
upper surface of each board is dressed, and has a kerf 
cut on each edge one-half inch wide and three-eighths 
of an inch deep. This assists in carrying off all water, 
and keeps the shelter perfectly dry. No batten boards 
are needed on such a steep surface, and there is econ¬ 
omy in making the same boards do for both roof and 
sides. Any man can stand upright in the shelter, 
under the ridge, when cleaning the floor and arrang¬ 
ing the bedding. Several pieces of 2x4 stuuding are 
used inside for framework and nail-ties. The ends 
are boarded up as shown. Old burlap, or a piece of 
old carpet may be used for a door in cold, stormy 
weather. Ventilation is provided in the upper corner 
of each gable. This is a strong, substantial and cheap 
Shelter, and each one cost us about $4.25. We move 
them about wherever needed, by means of rupners, op 
a stone boat may be used. They are far ahead of any 
expensive hoghouse, for our use, and far less liable 
to harbor disease germs. Brood sows delight in the 
ownership of such a shelter during the period of par¬ 
turition. A raised 2x4 strip at the ends is provided so 
that the little pigs cannot be crushed by a clumsy sow. 
The sides have such a slope that no protecting rail is 
necessary. Verily, such a shelter, as the picture 
shows, is a thing of beauty and a joy—'temporarily— 
to any right-minded pig. j. ii. brown. 
Calhoun County, Mich. 
BLACKBERRY PR0HIBITI0H CANDIDATES. 
The question has been asked, do varieties of the 
small fruits, particularly blackberries, respond alike 
to irrigation, or are there some that give a much 
greater increase than others? Also the opposite; do 
varieties differ in their fruiting powers in dry seasons, 
i. e., drought-resisting sorts? Our plantations, with 
and without irrigation, have been fruited two years 
only. In 1898 the dry period extended from the mid¬ 
dle of May to the middle of August, and great clusters 
of half-developed blackberries dried up completely 
when not irrigated. In 1899 the dry season extended 
from the last of March to the middle of June, much 
earlier in the development of the crop. In consider¬ 
ing the effect of irrigation, one of the first points to 
note is that it is not confined to the single or same 
season that water is applied. The presence in the soil 
of sufficient moisture for the needs of the growing 
canes and the crop, at the times required for the pro¬ 
per development of each, seems to favor a thoroughly- 
matured growih of plant, well prepared for the follow¬ 
ing season’s work. On the other hand, the lack of 
moisture has resulted in a smaller, less vigorous 
growth, and reduced yield the succeeding year. 
The results with the different varieties of blackber¬ 
ries for the two years are variable, and the order 
likely to be changed by further work. However, for 
the present the indications are that varieties do differ 
more or less in the results to be obtained by irriga- 
PORTABLE HOUSE FOR THE HOGS. Fig. 4. 
tion. Eldorado has given the greater increase, with 
no great differences between the other varieties, Early 
Harvest, Wilson, Jr., Erie, Agawam and Taylor. Aga¬ 
wam and Eldorado are the most productive sorts, 
practically identical where irrigated, but where unirri¬ 
gated the former gives by far the larger yield. It 
comes as near a drought-resisting sort as any in our 
l'iSt. A. T. JORDAN. 
New Jersey Exp. Station. 
“BACK TO THE FARM” IN MIDDLE LIFE. 
At this season of the year we receive many bright and 
hopeful letters from our readers. There are others, too, 
that reveal the sadness and disappointment that the 
New Year sometimes brings. The following letter speaks 
for itself, and we print it without further comment: 
In renewing my subscription for Tiie R. N.-Y., per¬ 
haps for the last time (as I am no longer a farmer), 
I must thank the paper for the help I have received 
from it during my farming career. Never having 
worked on a farm, and being 56 years old, and my 
wife 64, it looked as though we were a poor team to 
tackle such a wornout, desolate place as we did. I 
will describe the place in as few words as possible. 
In the Summer of 1882, a bad tornado passed through 
this place, which left destruction in its wake. It 
swept the farm I have now left, clean. It left noth¬ 
ing; even the fences went. I had to put new fencing 
on it all. The next thing, a barn 40x52 went up, then 
a house, and other buildings followed as we could 
manage it, for it takes money to build up a farm, and 
we did not have a big pile. We had $1,400 lying in 
the bank dead, for we were getting no interest for it, 
so we concluded we would put it where a bank cashier 
could not get it. So I bought this, then, wilderness 
farm for $20 per acre, and the next thing was a good 
agricultural paper, and the choice fell to The R. N.-Y., 
and we have been close friends for 17 years. 
I paid down $1,000 on the place, the remainder to 
be paid in two years, with five per cent interest, pay¬ 
ing $20 per acre for the 80 acres. Now I have sold 
for $52.50. When I bought it people would say to me, 
as they passed by, “What are you going to do with 
the place, anyway?” I told them that I was going to 
make it look as though somebody lived here, and I 
will leave it to The R. N.-Y. to decide whether I have 
kept my word, by the expressions of the passersby 
to-day, who exclaim as they go, “What a lovely 
place!” “What a pretty place!” and such like expres¬ 
sions. But it has been a long hard job, and I do not 
take the credit to myself. God has blessed us with 
abundance of good health, which alone has enabled us 
to do what we have done. We knew nothing of farm¬ 
ing when we began, but The R. N.-Y. has been a 
friend indeed. I am now 73 and my wife 80. Over¬ 
work has left its mark on me, so I must rest up. I 
have 17 volumes of The R. N.-Y., almost intact, and 
in very good condition, the first four volumes nicely 
bound, the date from 1883 to 1899 inclusive. Anyone 
who would like to have them, can, reasonably, but I 
shall still watch the progress of The R. N.-Y. 
Independence, Iowa. ciias. thomas. 
CULTIVATION OF PEACH ORCHARDS. 
Rye and Cow Peas in Illinois. 
My plan is to plow the orchard and sow to rye in 
the Fall, about the usual time for wheat seeding; 
which with us in southern Illinois, is from the last 
week in September to second week in October. The 
growing rye serves as a Winter protection, and helps 
to keep the ground from washing, which on our steep 
hillsides is a great object. In the following June, 
when the straw is full length, which 
should be about shoulder high to a man, 
it is plowed under with a two-horse 
plow and a drag chain; taking care to 
turn under and hide all the straw if pos¬ 
sible. Do not let the plows run deep 
enough to break important roots. On 
this soil is immediately sown some one 
of the many varieties of cow peas. If 
the trees are bearing that year, the peas 
would best be omitted; as they will be 
in the way of the pickers. The peas are 
in turn plowed under, and in the Fall, 
another sowing of rye given. During 
bearing years, after the rye is plowed 
under, it is best not to sow anything, 
but stir the soil several times with an 
Acme or Cutaway harrow. 
If the peaches are early varieties, 
there is sufficient time after they are 
gathered to sow a green crop. If the 
orchard is a young one, from one to 
three years old, do not sow rye in the 
Fall, as young trees need an earlier 
plowing than the rye will permit. It is 
best to omit the rye and depend on 
Spring and Summer-sown crops. My ex¬ 
perience does not coincide with the 
teachings of some writers and speakers, who advo¬ 
cate constant stirring of the soil during season, even 
going so far as to cultivate several times a week all 
Summer. 
This is an extreme that would not be expedient on 
all soils. It would not be on mine. My land would 
be washed away by rains to such an extent as to leave 
the roots of trees bare, and death would soon result. 
Level ground, especially of a sandy nature, can be 
plowed more frequently, because less liable to wash. 
If the land in a young orchard is rich, three succes¬ 
sive corn crops can be grown without loss to the trees. 
Three crops of corn or potatoes would raise the or¬ 
chard and pay all expenses. But unless the ground 
is rich, it will be asking too much of it to produce 
corn and trees at the same time. If not rich it can 
be made so by cow peas as before mentioned. They 
enrich it, and at the same time keep it in a loose and 
mellow condition, very desirable for young and grow¬ 
ing trees. f. e. Goodrich. 
President Illinois State Horticultural Society. 
Tomatoes and Cancer.— The statement has been made 
in some papers that tomatoes are the cause of cancer, 
and we have seen long arguments detailing the dangers 
that face us when we eat a tomato. The Sanitary Home 
has traced down the origin of this foolish story. The 
late Dio Lewis, of Boston, had an establishment where 
he boarded patients. At one time fresh tomatoes were 
very scarce, but the boarders kept calling for them until 
the Doctor was quite annoyed. Finally he said: "Have 
you never learned that tomatoes cause cancer?” This 
put an end to the demand for the fresh vegetable, but 
somebody went out with the statement that Dr. Lewis 
claimed that cancer and tomatoes went together. Thus, 
from this humble beginning, a great fake has spread, 
and this is perhaps a fair illustration of the way these 
big stories grow from a mighty small germ. 
