THE CULTIVATOR. 
other animals, there are some breeds which come much sooner to 
maturity than others, A successful farmer in Saratoga county, 
N. Y. says that March pigs, killed about Christmas, are the most 
profitable for pork. Four pigs of what is called the grass breed, 
were slaughtered at Greenfield, New-York, which weighed 348 
lbs. 318 lbs. 310 lbs. and 300 lbs. at nine months and seventeen 
days old. 
On this point, however, I take leave to present a letter with which 
I was honored by John Lowell, Esq. whose authority in the agricul¬ 
tural community is justly estimated. 
“ Boston , April 18, 1831. 
“ To Rev. Henry Colman, 
“ Dear Sir—I have been prevented by the state of my eyes from 
answering your inquiries as to my experience in raising old or young 
pigs. ***** j never wintered any pigs, as 
no person resides on my place from December 1st to May 1st. It 
was therefore matter of importance to me to ascertain on what de¬ 
scription of pigs, or rather of what age, the most flesh could be put 
in my limited time with similar treatment. I may say that I have 
fully and clearly ascertained, from a trial of 20 years, that young 
pigs of from 25 to 30 pounds, will give nearly double, in some re¬ 
markable cases three times, as many pounds as shoats of 6 months 
weighing from 100 to 150. I have taken two pigs of 100 lbs. each, 
age six months, and never was able between May and November, 
to get them above 180, rarely above 170. I have taken three pigs 
of about 30 lbs. each, and on the same food which I gave to the two 
that would weigh from 170 to 180 each in the same period ; nay I 
have taken pigs of 200, and never could get them to weigh more 
than 300 in seven months on my food. The way I ascertain the 
quantity of food is, that I never give any thing but the produce of 
my dairy, and the refuse of the garden, peaches, apples, and cab¬ 
bage, which are uniform generally. 
3 pigs of 90 wt. or 30 wt. each, will give ordinarily 510 lbs. 
Less original wt. 90 often not 
more than 00. - 
Gain, 420 lbs. 
2 pigs of 100 wt. each, will give ordinarily 330 lbs. 
Less original wt. 200 
Gain, 140 lbs. 
“ But the 3 pigs of 90 will not consume for the first three months 
half so much as the 2 of 100 each, and 1 have kept a 4th and sold it 
in August for quarter pork. 
“There is nothing new or remarkable in these facts. It is the 
1 w of the whole animal creation. It is true of the calf and of man. 
The child of 7 lbs. quadruples its weight in 12 months ; and the calf 
of 60 wt. if fine and well fed, will weigh 600 wt. at the end of the 
year, and (if a female,) will not double the last weight at any age. 
“Yours, very respectfully, 
“J. LOWELL. 
“P. S. It should be remarked that the weight at purchase is live 
weight, and at sale dead or nett weight, because in truth to the own¬ 
er this is the true mode of considering the subject. No doubt my 
sort of food is peculiarly favorable to young animals, it consisting in 
very liberal allowance of milk. If the older pigs were at once put 
on Indian meal they would attain to 250 at a year old, but the cost 
of the meal 70 cents per bushel would amount to 9 dollars, and if 
the first cost 5 dollars 50 cents, be added, and the pig sold at 6 cts. 
there would be but two dollars gain on two pigs of 100 lbs. each ; 
while three small pigs without meal, fed on milk, would give 24 dol¬ 
lars in the same time. I do not mean to give minute details, but 
general views. 
“ As an important qualification of the foregoing statement it should 
be added that shoats of six months bought out of droves, have usu¬ 
ally been stinted in their growth, and animals, like trees, recover 
slowly after a check. I presume if shoats were taken from a care¬ 
ful and liberal owner, the difference would be less. But as a gene¬ 
ral law it may be safely affirmed, that weight for weight at the 
purchase, the younger the animal the greater the positive, and the 
far greater the nett gain. At least such is my own experience and 
belief.” 
The foregoing letter of this intelligent and practical farmer, is en¬ 
titled to particular consideration. 1 have one or two other state¬ 
ments which deserve attention. It is stated in the Domestic Ency¬ 
clopedia, article Soiling, that “Twenty-five shoats were fed for 
three months with green clover cut from less than one acre; they 
were then fed on Indian corn, and when killed weighed three thou¬ 
sand pounds.” This is certainly an extraordinary statement, and I 
have no other authority for it than what is here given. But the Rev. 
Thomas Mason, of Northfield, Mass, showed me the 27th Septenv 
her last, three fine thrifty swine about nine months or more old, nine- 
tenths of whose feed, as he assured me, since the 13th of May last, 
had been obtained from one-eighth of an acre of clover, cut and gi¬ 
ven to them green. 
The preceding facts and experiments encourage the belief that 
hogs may be raised and fattened by the farmer to advantage, where 
corn is worth about seventy cents per bushel, and his pork will bring 
him six cents per pound. Like almost every other business, espe¬ 
cially of an agricultural nature, success must greatly depend on skill, 
care, selection and good management. The best swine that I have 
ever found have' been in dairy countries, for there cannot be a doubt 
that milk and whey for every animal are among the most nutritious 
of aliments. Indian meal probably ranks next, though many farmers 
prefer a mixture of provender, such as corn, oats, rye or barley ; but 
I believe in all cases, cooked food will have a decided advantage over 
that which is given in a raw state; an advantage more than equi¬ 
valent to the labor and expense of its preparation. Potatoes are a 
valuable article of food, but the pork is not so good as that fattened 
upon corn. Carrots are more nutritious than potatoes. Corn gi¬ 
ven in a raw state or on the ear is a most wasteful management. 
Swine ought to be kept on every farm in sufficient numbers to con¬ 
sume all the offal and waste of the dairy and kitchen. If beyond 
this, a breed can be obtained, which will arrive at early maturity, and 
which can be advantageously grass fed or kept at a small expense 
and in an improving condition through the summer; and being put 
up to fatten early in autumn and forced as much as possible so as to 
be sent to market early in the winter, the farmer will ordinarily find 
a fair profit in this branch of husbandry. A very great advantage 
is found in the keeping of swine from the valuable returns of manure 
both in quantity and quality, which are obtained from them, where 
care is taken to supply them with raw materials for the manufacture. 
Too much care cannot be bestowed in the selection of the breed and 
^he general health of the animal when put up to feed; and it is 
strongly recommended to every careful farmer occasionally to weigh 
the animal and measure the feed, that he may ascertain seasonably 
on which side the balance of debt or credit is likely to fall. No¬ 
thing is more prejudicial to good husbandry than mere guesses and 
random conjectures; and though the result of our operations may 
not meet either our wishes or expectations, an intelligent and re¬ 
flecting mind will be always anxious as far as practicable to know 
precisely how far they correspond with or disappoint them. Truth, 
exact simple truth, in every thing, is the proper pursuit and most va¬ 
luable possession of the human mind; and more nearly than any 
thing else connected with man’s true interest and happiness. 
HENRY COLMAN. 
Meadowlanks , Deerfield, 2G//i April, 1834. 
TOPPING CORN. 
Experience and science concur in disapprobating the common 
practice of topping corn. The experiments of Mr. Clark and Mr. 
Lorain, which we have published in the Cultivator, go to show thot 
it diminishes the crop; and the principles of science corroborate 
their report. The corn is nourished by the sap elaborated in the 
leaves above the ears, and when these elaborate organs are taken 
away, the supply of food must cease in whole or in part. If lodder 
is the object, it is far better to cut the whole crop at the ground, 
when the corn is seared. This mode has two other recommenda¬ 
tions : it clears the ground for fall grain, and the corn derives nou¬ 
rishment from the stock after it is cut. We invite our brother far¬ 
mers, with a view of arriving at a correct result, to do as we intend, 
that is, to set apart three parcels of corn of similar dimensions, and 
quality, say three adjoining rows—to top one part, cut another at 
the ground, and to leave the third to ripen with the stalks; and, 
at the proper time, to husk, measure and weigh the three parcels 
separately. The results of a dozen such experiments will lead to 
pretty correct conclusions as to the best method. We not only in¬ 
vite them to make the experiment, but to communicate the results 
for publication in the Cultivator. 
The work is foolishly executed by many, which might be accom¬ 
plished by a few. 
