-QURNAy^ 
S U B U R B A /\| 
(Try h oMS 
Vol. LXXIT. No. 4207. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 34, 393 
MAKING PIGS PAY. 
An Ohio Farmer’s Methods. 
“I can make more out of a brood sow than one of 
my neighbors, who is a horse fancier, can make out 
of his best brood mare, and my investment is much 
smaller,’' says M. C. Thomas, one of (he practical 
hog men of Ohio. "I am not a big raiser of hogs,” 
says Mr. Thomas, “but I turn off about 200 head 
annually, and they all pass the 200-pound mark. I 
receive from seven to eight cents a pound for them, 
and to show how good investment my feed turns out 
to be, when turned into hogs, I figure that I receive 
one dollar for each bushel of corn turned in my 
porkers. 
“You can succeed with the breed of hogs you like, 
and with no other. Poland Chinas are my favorites, 
the efficiency of the sow. She seems to have gotten 
down to producing twins, when she should be on the 
job and deliver to the farmer at least seven or eight 
good healthy pigs. I figure on eight pigs from my 
sows, and these litters come in AlaKmaj^-'Skmtem- 
ber. Occasionally I have litters coyue a^enrjfS 'a* the 
first of February and the first of [\u; 
“I )on’t tie up too much money in e 
pie lioghouse can be built for $5.50. 
houses, am using them, and find till 
cient than the expensively planned :Jp^\nent^l»ujld-' 
ings designed by the city farmer or ttVqFU^orisuP. 
“The small houses such as I build slKiomHie 
structed on runners, and about eight feet rung 
are six feet wide, and the boards running to'a- -peak 
make the house appear “A”-shaped. One end 
should be closed, and the other should have an open- 
“yuiumenf.' 
, I have'built thl 
of the building provides space under tlie sides back 
into which the sow cannot crowd, yet it allows room 
for the little pigs to run around behind the mother. 
In the back end of the house a board might be 
nailed a little higher than the floor. This board can 
be placed on blocks, and be just high enough to allow 
the little fellows to run under it, yet it will keep 
the mother from crowding her young against the 
'avail. 
^ ■ “Keep plenty of straw in the hoghouses, and do 
HtQur share to keep the sow’s home neat and clean, 
jKpd she will do her share. A sow is naturally clean 
-Hlid if given half a chance this instinct will rule 
her conduct in her home. It is an imposition on this 
profitable farm animal for the farmer to give it as 
dirty quarters as he does, when buildings and yards 
may be erected as cheaply and efficiently as to-day. 
and my liking may be due possibly because of my 
closer acquaintance with the black and white fellows 
limn with other breeds, and because they have 
not tod me a nice figure each year. However. I 
'' 11 1 <1 say to the pork producer not to concern him¬ 
self so much about the line points of color, the right 
number of twists in the pig’s tail and other small 
details that get on the nerve of the hog fancier, but 
look for productivity and efficiency. The swine 
In coders have established certain standards of per- 
1 ' *'''' 11 lor all breeds, and for the Poland China, 
do a first-class show animal, lie must have the 
1 ijffit turn to the tail, it must have a white tip, and 
1.1.1 pk' must have four white feet and a white star 
1.1 ,l,s forehead. To cinch these perfect markings it 
las been necessary to inbreed, and this has reduced 
MAKING A HOG OF IIIMSELF. Fig. 260. 
iug large enough easily to admit the sow. When 
cold weather comes, a covering can easily be placed 
over the door, by tacking an old fertilizer sack at 
the top of the opening. The sow will recognize that 
it is not fastened other than to the top, and she will 
soon learn to throw it aside with her nose and to 
pass in and out. At farrowing time, just hang a 
lantern in the peak of the little house, and the heat 
from it will make the quarters comfortable for the 
sow and her family. These colony houses need not 
be built of expensive material, anything lying about 
the farm may be used, and if lumber is scarce, roof¬ 
ing paper may be tacked on the sides of the building. 
"There is no danger of the sow crushing her little 
ones. 1 never spend a minute’s time with my sows 
watching them at the time of farrowing. The shape 
And the buildings which I describe have the advan¬ 
tages of being easily cleansed, and can be drawn 
about from one field to another. 
“When I wean my little pigs, instead of taking 
them from their mother, I take her from them. 
They seem to do better. They are already ac¬ 
quainted with their home, and can get along with¬ 
out their mother better than they can be shifted 
from one place to another. 
“I feed the little fellows skim-milk and shelled 
corn, and add some tankage. The tankage I buy 
contains S 09 o digestible protein, and of course all 
farmers are aware that it is the refuse of stock 
yards, ground, dried and prepared for feeding. I 
do not advise starting in heavy on this feed, but 
gradually. I feed one pound of tankage to ten 
