1282 
The  RURAL  NEW. YORKER 
The  Hog,  and  His  “Place 
Part  I. 
1IE  HO(i,  next  to  thb  dairy  cow,  is  the  most 
economical  producer  of  animal  food  prod¬ 
ucts.  It  has  enriched  more  stockmen  than 
any  other  class  or  type  of  farm  animal, 
and  enables  the  farmer  to  turn  his  feed 
into  money  quickly  and  at  a  substantial 
over  its  prevailing  market  value.  Swine 
are  industrious  foragers;  they  take  naturally  to 
grazing  and  will  harvest  such  crops  as  Alfalfa,  rape, 
Soy  beans,  and  the  various  clovers  with  very  little 
expense  to  the  grower.  Owing  to  the  ability  of 
brood  sows  to  farrow  and  raise  large  litters  of 
pigs,  and  to  the  fact  that  mature  sows  often  mate 
twice  during  the  year,  the  farmer,  by  taking  ad¬ 
vantage  of  such  fecundity,  can  promptly  increase 
the  size  of  his  herd  without  incurring  much  ex¬ 
pense  for  foundation  stock. 
WIDE  FOOD  RANGE. — The  mere  fact  that  pigs 
are  able  to  utilize  such  products  as  garbage,  culls 
or  damaged  grains,  mill  and  factory  gleanings, 
dairy  by-products,  etc.,  and  that  they  are  likewise 
the  most  economical  agency  for  converting  such 
standard  feeds  as  corn,  barley,  oats,  tankage,  fish 
meal,  and  similar  feeding  stuffs  into  edible  meat 
more  promptly  and  at  less  cost  than  any  other 
animal,  enables  swine  growing  to  be  recognized  as 
the  corn  belt,  especially  in  the  East  or  South  where 
live  stock  farming  is  not  extensively  followed,  pre¬ 
sents  conditions  likewise  favorable  for  the  raising 
of  pigs  and  for  the  finishing  of  a  few  hogs  for  home 
use  or  for  sale  to  local  buyers.  The  fruit  grower 
or  market  gardener  usually  can  find  an  area  suit¬ 
able  for  yarding  pigs,  and  can  dispose  of  the  un¬ 
marketable  products  most  advantageously  by  feed¬ 
ing  them  to  hogs.  When  such  available  products 
are  supplemented  with  even  limited  amounts  of 
grain  or  millfeeds  it  is  possible  for  thrifty  pigs 
to  grow  and  gain  regularly  in  weight. 
HOGS  ON  RANGE. — It  is  much  easier  to  main¬ 
tain  sanitary  conditions  where  pigs  are  not  con¬ 
fined  to  small  pens.  Usually  when  a  larger  yard  is 
available,  more  especially  where  a  forage  crop  area 
is  provided,  pigs  will  keep  their  feeding  and  sleep¬ 
ing  places  comparatively  clean.  Dry  quarters  are 
more  desirable  than  warm  buildings,  while  roomy 
pens  are  absolutely  essential  if  pigs  are  to  be  cared 
for  and  fed  with  the  least  expense  for  feed  and 
labor.  It  is  the  hungry  pig  that  breaks  through  the 
fences  and  the  improperly  fed  hog  that  roots  up  the 
yards  and  pastures.  Even  though  the  pig  is  able 
to  utilize  a  wide  range  of  products  in  its  daily  ra¬ 
tion  it  does  not  follow  that  swine  will  thrive  under 
October  13,  1923 
in  the  Sun 
and  its  early  maturing  characteristics.  With  the 
"Big  Type”  the  breeder  is  assured  of  larger  litters 
and  more  intensive  grazing  qualities.  This  class 
supports  the  belief  that  a  hog  should  be  carried 
through  a  growing  and  development  period,  to  lie 
followed  by  an  intensive  fattening  and  finishing 
period,  while  the  strictly  corn  belt  type  is  the  prod¬ 
uct  of  force  or  full  feeding  from  birth  to  early  ma¬ 
turity.  Naturally  the  latter  method  would  eventu¬ 
ally  interfere  with  both  fecundity  and  prolificacy 
and  the  breeder  would  have  to  contend  with  shy 
breeders  and  tolerate  small  and  uneven  litters  of 
pigs.  The  Poland  China  breed,  once  the  leader  in 
the  corn  belt,  was  actually  forced  to  surrender  its 
patronage  to  the  red  hog  whose  breeds  were  the 
first  to  sense  the  disadvantage  of  overdoing  the 
early  maturing  characteristics  of  market  swine, 
patronage  to  the  red  hog  whose  breeders  were  the 
content  with  a  breed  type  that  was  discriminated 
against  by  the  corn  belt  feeder  and  by  concerted 
action  promptly  changed  type.  As  to  whether  the 
two  extremes  in  conformation  have  been  reached  is 
a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  is  well  known  that  feed¬ 
ing  qualities  must  not  be  sacrificed  for  either  fad 
or  fancy  and  that  the  pig’s  prime  function  of  serv¬ 
ing  as  the  most  economical  agency  for  converting 
one  of  the  most  important  lines  of  animal  produc¬ 
tion.  The  increase  of  a  pound  of  live  weight  on 
Hie  pig’s  body  involves  the  storage  of  more  food 
substance  than  obtains  with  a  similar  gain  on  any 
other  animal ;  and  when  one  undertakes  to  com¬ 
pare  the  relative  efficiency  of  the  pig  with  the  dairy 
cow  as  a  producer  of  edible  solids  the  facts  are 
significant.  The  cow  must  have  a  longer  growing 
and  development  period,  she  must  have  a  substan¬ 
tial  rest  period,  while  ti  n  labor  involved  in  caring 
for  milk  cows  is  vastly  greater  than  that  necessary 
to  grow  and  fatten  swine.  Again,  pigs  can  be 
housed  in  inexpensive  buildings;  the  expenditure 
for  fences  and  the  necessary  equipment  is  very  low 
in  comparison  to  the  expensive  and  elaborate  build¬ 
ings  involved  in  providing  ample  facilities  for  pro¬ 
ducing  market  milk.  Swine  make  fewer,  demands 
upon  the  herdsman’s  time,  are  subject  to  fewer  ills 
or  diseases,  and  can  be  marketed  at  any  age  or 
size  at  almost  any  season  of  the  year.  It  is,  there¬ 
fore,  easy  to  go  into  the  pig  raising  business  and 
likewise  easy  to  get  out  if  one  finds  the  adventure 
ill  suited  to  his  conditions  or  unprofitable  under  his 
management. 
HOGS  fit  IN  WITH  OTHER  FARMING.  — 
Pork  production  virtually  made  the  corn  belt  farmer 
prosperous.  There  can  be  little  profit  in  feeding 
lieef  steers  unless  market  pigs  are  permitted  to 
salvage  the  undigested  grains.  The  dairy  farmer 
who  sells  cream  or  makes  butter  is  able  to  greatly 
increase  his  yearly  income  by  feeding  his  skim- 
milk  or  buttermilk  to  hogs.  In  reality  swine  feed¬ 
ing  is  considered  to  be  a  very  necessary  industry  in 
sections  where  beef  and  butter  are  successfully 
manufactured.  The  operation  of  a  farm  outside 
A  String  of  Beef  Cattle 
conditions  known  to  be  unsanitary  and  on  feeds  that 
fail  to  satisfy  the  daily  requirements  for  growth 
and  enable  constant  gains  in  weight.  With  corn 
approaching  the  dollar  mark  the  importance  of  pork 
production  is  likely  to  be  overlooked  by  the  grain 
growing  farmer.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  dur¬ 
ing  the  past  three  years  hogs  have  nearly  doubled 
corn  value  and,  while  the  purebred  outlet  has  been 
restricted,  the  Fall  shows  are  demonstrating  anew 
the  sanity  of  rigid  selection  of  a  type  based  largely 
upon  utility  and  general  feeding  qualities.  Pork 
production,  next  to  dairying,  is  the  salvation  of 
the  Eastern  stockmen.  It  is  interesting  to  trace 
progress  in  swine  production. 
MARKET  BREED'S. — Two  types  of  market  hogs 
are  recognized.  The  fat  or  lard  type  is  represented 
by  the  Duroc  Jersey,  Poland  China,  Chester  White, 
Hampshire  and  Berkshire;  while  the  bacon  type 
includes  the  Yorkshire  and  the  Tamworth.  Fre¬ 
quently  claims  are  advanced  contending  that  cer¬ 
tain  breeds,  if  care  is  exercised  in  selection,  pro¬ 
duce  animals  which  can  properly  qualify  in  either 
class;  but  in  reality  the  two  groups  are  separate 
and  distinct  and  cannot  be  merged.  The  Jersey 
Red  is  the  forerunner  of  the  modern  Duroc ;  the 
Spotted  Foland  China  an  offshoot  from  the  Poland ; 
and  the  O.  I.  C.  merely  a  local  designation  identi¬ 
fying  Chester  Whites  developed  in  certain  sections 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  The  phrase  ‘‘Big  Type” 
has  been  applied  to  all  breeds  and  is  used  to  identify 
individual  or  selected  blood  lines  that  are  believed 
to  possess  more  scale,  stretch  or  size  than  is  evi¬ 
denced  by  the  breed  representatives  whose  owners 
have  held  firm  to  the  smaller  type  of  animal  noted 
especially  for  its  intensive  flesh  making  propensities 
both  feeds  and  forage  into  meat  promptly  and 
profitably  must  not  be  halted.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  slightly  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the  market 
hogs  that  pass  through  the  15  leading  stockyard 
centers  evidence  Duroc  blood.  The  Hampshire  hog 
is  rapidly  invading  the  corn  belt  and  has  demon¬ 
strated  superior  grazing  and  excellent  feeding  qual¬ 
ities.  The  Chester  White  has  persistently  won  the 
carcass  contests  at  the  Chicago  fat  stock  show,  thus 
reminding  the  feeder  of  its  attractive  and  evenly 
marbled  dressed  carcass.  The  Berkshire  is  popular 
in  the  East  and  West,  but  is  not  as  extensively  pro¬ 
duced  in  the  corn  belt  as  the  Poland.  China.  Both 
the  Yorkshire  and  the  Tamworth  breeds  are  noted 
for  their  large  litters  and  for  desirable  foraging 
propensities  and  are  used  extensively  for  cross¬ 
breeding  purposes.  They  ai‘e  extremely  popular  in 
sections  where  skim-milk  or  buttermilk  is  available 
for  feeding  purposes,  and  where  local  buyers  pay 
a  premium  for  nicely  marbled  carcasses  of  the 
bacon  type.  For  the  most  part  hogs  are  grouped, 
and  sold  by  weight,  but  quality  is  not  entirely  over- 
looked  in  fixing  values.  It  is  contended,  however, 
that  our  market  centers  scarcely  pay  enough  of  a 
premium  to  justify  the  corn  belt  feeder  in  attempt¬ 
ing  to  produce  pifime  bacon  types.  f.  c.  m. 
(Continued  Next  Week) 
Curing  the  Bean  Crop 
IT  has  been  said  that  anyone  can  make  good  hay 
if  the  weather  is  good,  but  making  hay  during 
catchy  weather  is  a  different  proposition.  Curing 
the  bean  crop  is  often  a  difficult  job.  There  is  a 
right  and  wrong  way  to  handle  the  crop  at  harvest 
time,  and  the  writer,  who  has  been  in  touch  with 
