360 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Twenty Years in Swine Husbandry. 
BY JOSEPH HARRIS. 
A dozen or twenty years ago the prevailing 
American hog was a coarse, ill-bred animal. I had 
just such hogs on my own farm—hogs that would 
race about all day and squeal all night—hogs that 
would catch a hen, eat a lamb, kill a sheep, and 
even maim a horse. I wanted to improve them. I 
wanted to stop their squealing. I wanted to give 
them less bone, less hair, and more flesh and fat. 
I have accomplished this object; I keep pigs by the 
hundred, but I rarely hear a squeal, and they are 
so quiet that a very slight fence will keep them in 
the pasture lots. With such pigs constantly in 
view, things which I thought very important twenty 
years ago, are now of little moment. The change 
which has taken place in the character of the hogs 
on my own farm, has taken place also on tens of 
thousands of farms in all the great hog-producing 
sections of the country. The improvement which 
has taken place in the breeding and management 
of pigs in the United States is something wonder¬ 
ful. Our cattle, sheep, and poultry are far superior 
to those of twenty years ago, but the improvement, 
as a whole, is by no means so marked as the im¬ 
provement which has taken place iu the character 
of our pigs. To-day there are no finer hogs in the 
world than can be found in the United States, and 
certainly in no other country can so many really 
good hogs be found. 
It may be equally true that there are, perhaps, 
not over two or three countries in the world in 
which so many poor hogs can be found. Our good 
hogs are very good, and our bad hogs are very bad 
indeed. I may say without vanity that farmers 
who still raise bad hogs should select out the best 
formed, largest, quietest, healthiest, and most 
thrifty sows they can find on their own farm, or on 
the farms of their neighbors, and cross them with 
the best, quietest, most highly-refined thorough¬ 
bred boar they can purchase. The breed they 
select from is of comparatively little importance. 
The real point, I think, is to get a boar that is 
pure-bred, and which is distinguished for his quiet¬ 
ness of disposition, either in himself or his ances¬ 
tors, and also for his fineness of bone, fine hair, 
and little offal of all kinds. It may well be that 
the boar it is best to select is not by any means a 
model. He might not take a prize at any fair. He 
may be a small, insignificant pig, but if he is a pure¬ 
bred, and comes from a race of well-formed, pure¬ 
bred ancestors, you can use him with the greatest 
advantage. There is no doubt on this point. I 
have seen it tried again and again, and have never 
known a failure. Of course it is necessary to feed 
well. The best locomotive cannot be run at a high 
rate of speed without an abundant supply of fuel, 
and you cannot obtain rapid growth in a pig with¬ 
out a liberal and constant supply of food. Breed¬ 
ing and feeding must go together. Breeding with¬ 
out feeding will result in disappointment; feeding 
without breeding is a mere waste of food. 
IMPROVING IMPROVED PIGS. 
The improvement which has taken place in the 
character of an immense number of American hogs 
is something wonderful. There may be some dif¬ 
ference of opinion as to how this remarkable im¬ 
provement has been brought about. Some will 
say it is caused by the substitution of new breeds 
for the old ones. Others will say that, while this 
is true in some degree, the general improvement 
which has taken place in millions of American hogs, 
is owing to an infusion of thorough-bred blood. 
Whatever the cause, the fact of the improvement 
cannot be doubted. The character of our hogs on 
many farms aud in many sections has essentially 
changed. How to improve these improved hogs is 
an important question. We shall make a great 
mistake if we assume that there is nothing more to 
be done. We can never stand still. Our hogs will 
get better or worse. And, unfortunately, we have 
very little experience to guide us. The experience 
we have to fall back upon is not always of an en¬ 
couraging character. Going back to England, we 
find “ improved ” breeds in almost every county. 
They come and go without number. They are, and 
have been, essentially grades or cross-breds. I do 
not know of an English breed that was not origin¬ 
ally the result of a cross. 
SHALL WE CROSS OUR IMPROVED BREEDS ? 
Every American breeder will 6ay no, and I be¬ 
lieve the American breeders are right. They will 
say improve the breed by careful and judicious 
selection, and whatever you do, keep the breed 
scrupulously pure. No cross can be entertained 
for a moment. It is necessary, however, to have 
clear and definite ideas on this subject. We must 
know what we are talking about. We must know 
what we want, and why we want it. If we want 
pigs to take prizes at the Agricultural Fairs, that 
is one thing; if we want pigs, that are healthy, 
hardy, vigorous, and that are to some exteut capa¬ 
ble of taking care of themselves, and which at the 
same time will grow rapidly, fatten easily, and pro¬ 
duce a large amount of ham, pork, breakfast bacon, 
and lard, in proportion to the food consumed, that 
is another thing ; but if we want pigs principally for 
breeders, if our object is to raise boars to be used in 
improving the general swine stock of the country, 
that is another and very different object. It may be 
thought that we can keep pigs for each one and all 
of these different objects combined, and such is 
undoubtedly the case, but it remains to be shown 
whether this combined pig is now, or ever can be, 
as good a pig for these different purposes, as pigs 
would be which are carefully bred for each special 
object alone. I have for many years kept a large 
herd of pure-bred Essex pigs. I keep them mainly 
for breeding purposes, fattening and selling to the 
butcher only those that are not good enough, or 
are not required, for breeders. I am very certain 
that it would not pay me to keep pure-bred Essex 
pigs solely to fatten and sell to the butcher. It may 
be said that the breed is at fault, and that if I kept 
Yorkshires, or Berkshires, or Poland-Chinas, I 
should come to a different conclusion. PerhaDS 
so, perhaps not. I am a little radical on this sub¬ 
ject. I keep pure-bred Cotswold sheep, but I am 
sure, if I kept sheep solely for their mutton and 
wool, and not for the purpose of selling them for 
breeders, I would not keep pure-bred Cotswolds. 
I know that the grades are hardier, healthier, more 
vigorous, fatten easier, and are more profitable for 
wool and mutton than the pure-breds. How many 
farmers are there in England or America that keep 
pure-bred Shorthorns, or Herefords, or Devons, 
solely for milk and beef ? How many keep pure¬ 
bred Jerseys or Ayrshires solely for butter and 
milk ? It may be said that the animals cost too 
much to permit their being used for ordinary pur¬ 
poses. I doubt very much whether this is the true 
explanation. If a high-bred Duchess Shorthorn j 
could be produced and raised as easily as a scrub, 
these choice amimals would not be so scarce and 
high. The great value of the pure-bred male 
animal consists in the fact that, during his life, he 
may become the father of hundreds of animals 
which are vastly superior for man’s use to the off¬ 
spring of a common or cross-bred sire. 
The Grape Vine in August. 
While the grape vine has more enemies than al¬ 
most any other fruit-bearing plant, they are, with 
the exception of the little understood “ rot,” easily 
managed if taken in time. Mildew is usually prev¬ 
alent this month. If neglected, but little fruit can 
be hoped for. Mildew is easily kept in subjection, if 
sulphur be applied in time, as directed last month. 
If a rain falls soon after sulphur has been used, the 
application should be repeated. If the vines are 
kept well dusted with sulphur, the trouble will 
make but little headway. The insects that infest 
the vine at this season are mainly large and solitary 
caterpillars and beetles, destructive enough, but so 
scattered that hand-picking is the only remedy that 
can be applied. Where droppings are seen on the 
ground beneath the vines, search for the caterpil¬ 
lar that makes them. On old vines there will 
often appear vigorous shoots from the base, or at 
the root, and anywhere upon the old stem. These, 
as a general thing, are not needed, and should be 
removed as soon as noticed. If the laterals con¬ 
tinue to push out, the new growth should be 
pinched back, leaving the lower leaf. Where vines, 
trained to a trellis, have been shortened, the upper¬ 
most bud will often start into growth. This 
should be treated like a lateral, pinching it back to 
the lower leaf, and repeating the operation as often 
as a new shoot starts. Those who grow grapes to 
compete for prizes at the various exhibitions, some¬ 
times thin the berries in the clusters, in order 
that the remaining fruit may attain a larger size. 
Second Year with the Old Virgalieu. 
It is frequently a paying investment to renew the 
life of old, neglected fruit trees that have been left 
to go to moss, dead limbs, and barrenness. We 
had a striking proof of this in an old Virgalieu 
pear tree, which was full of dead limbs, and left to 
itself for years under the hand of a tenant expect¬ 
ing to go West or elsewhere every spring. The 
first season the land was plowed, planted with po¬ 
tatoes, and generously manured, the dead limbs 
removed, and some thinning done among the live 
ones. Fortunately, the trunk was sound. The re¬ 
sult of the first year was a new start of vigorous 
shoots all over the tree, and a few pears. About 
a foot of new wood was made at the ends of the 
branches, with an abundant supply of fruit-buds. 
More stable manure was added during last winter 
and spring, and another crop of potatoes put in,, 
which have been frequently cultivated and kept 
clear of weeds. There was an abundant show" of 
blossoms, and the fruit set well. At the middle of 
June, the growth of wood was more than that 
made during the whole of last season. The foli¬ 
age is healthy, and a good crop of pears is assured.. 
Apples for a Hear Market. 
Several have written us that they propose to. 
plant orchards for profit, their market being New 
York City, and ask what will be the best varieties. 
To those who propose to plant orchards near any 
large city, we advise the early varieties of apples. 
With the late sorts, the cheaper lands of some of 
the Western States can produce handsomer speci¬ 
mens than they can hope for, and the competition 
is unequal. The early varieties are too tender to 
allow of long transportation, and, if showy varie¬ 
ties are selected, they, as a rule, bring much bet¬ 
ter prices than the late kinds ; they can be market¬ 
ed at once, and bring immediate returns. In near¬ 
ly all neighborhoods in the older States, there are 
local varieties, seedlings, no doubt, which have not 
yet been recorded in the catalogues. These are 
often of excellent quality, and if showy and of 
known market value, should not be overlooked. 
In selecting early apples, it is important to regard 
appearance, as such fruit is judged by the eye. A 
friend told us, a few years ago, that two trees of 
the “ Summer Queen ” were the most profitable of 
any in a large orchard. It is later than some others, 
but its large size and showy character, it being- 
handsomely striped and shaded with red, caused it 
to bring the highest price. Another very showy 
fruit — and one of the most attractive — is the 
“ Duchess of Oldenburg.” It ranks, perhaps, as 
an early autumn, rather than as a summer fruit, 
but is so hardy, productive, and handsome, that it 
should not be omitted. Among other excellent 
early sorts are : “ William’s Favorite,” a handsome 
red fruit; “ Tetofsky,” a Russian apple, now be¬ 
coming very popular ; “ Red Astraclian,” a beauti¬ 
ful red, but sour apple, and perhaps more gener¬ 
ally planted than any other ; “ Carolina Red June ” 
is similar in color. “ Early Harvest,” “High-top 
Sweet,” “Large Yellow Bough,” and “Summer 
Pippin,” are among the best of the yellow or green 
apples. We have given a sufficiently large selec¬ 
tion for a market orchard. If one wishes choice 
fruit for home use, he can find nothing better than 
the “Primate,” “Early Strawberry,” “Summer 
Rose,” and “Summer Sweet Paradise,” but save 
the second named, they are not so desirable for 
