A 528690
RANGE
SWINES
USBANDRY
SF
395
9901
A
44

Į
ARTES
LIBRARY
1817
VERITAS
SCIENTIA
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
TUZHOR
CIRCUMSPIGE
THE GIFT OP
Prof.H.L.Wilgus
J

F

SWINE HUSBANDRY.
A PRACTICAL MANUAL
FOR THE
BREEDING, REARING, AND MANAGEMENT OF SWINE,
AND THE
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF THEIR DISEASES.
Boster
Dwigh
BY
COBURN.
ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK:
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY,
245 BROADWAY.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by the
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
1
Філь
011-2-33MEN
Perferon H. L. Wiegus
10-18-1950
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER II.
Value of the Hog Product...
Page
9
14
BREEDS OF SWINE, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND WORTH,
CHAPTER III.
The Poland-Chinas......
21
CHAPTER IV.
The Chester Whites.
34
CHAPTER V.
The Berkshires..
42
CHAPTER VI.
The Suffolks.
54
CHAPTER VII.
The Essex..
CHAPTER VIII.
62
The Yorkshires.-Cheshires, or Jefferson County Swine, of New York.
-Lancashires.-Victorias.-Neapolitans.-Jersey Reds.-Durocs. 69
CHAPTER IX.
Relative Merits of the Suffolk, Essex, and Berkshire. By E. W.
Cottrell....
RAISING AND FATTENING SWINE.
CHAPTER X.
The Boar-How to Choose and How to Keep Him..
80
89
CHAPTER XI.
The Sow and Her Pigs....
95
CHAPTER XXII
Castrating and Spaying……….
105
CHAPTER XIII.
Pasture and Summer Food……….
.108
3
iv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
Fattening.....
..118
CHAPTER XV.
Cooking Food for Swine-Food Cookers..
..127
CHAPTER XVI.
Hog Houses and Pens....
..140
CHAPTER XVII.
149
Slaughtering, Curing, and Preserving...
CHAPTER XVIII.
Some General Observations.-Rooting and its Prevention.-Ear Mu-
tilation and Ear Marks.-Sows Eating their Pigs.-Quarrelsome
and Fighting Hogs.-Condition of Sows for Breeding.-Is it
Profitable to Cure Pork?-Reports of Remarkable Growth.-
Feeding Cooked Wheat.-Hogging-off Corn Fields.-Relation
Between the Prices of Corn and Pork.-The Most Profitable
Hogs.-What are "Thorough-Bred" Swine ?-Classifying and
Judging at Fairs.-Giving Salt with Food.-Is the Enforced
Hibernation of Hogs Practicable ?.
CHAPTER XIX.
...156
Hog-Feeding and Pork Making. By Joseph Sullivant, Esq..........172
DISEASES OF SWINE, PRACTICAL INFORMATION AS TO THEIR
CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, PREVENTION, AND CURE.
CHAPTER XX.
Diseases of Swine and Their Treatment-Introductory.-Anthrax
Diseases or "Hog Cholera."
CHAPTER XXI.
.203
The So-called "Hog Cholera." By Doct. H. J. Detmers.... .....217
CHAPTER XXII.
The So-Called “Hog Cholera.”?
CHAPTER XXIII.
..237
Various Diseases Common to Swine.-Worms.-Trichina spiralis.—
Kidney Worms.-Measles.-Mange.-Lice.-Common Cough.
-Pneumonia.—Quinsy or Strangles.-Nasal Catarrh.-Inflam-
mation of the Brain, Epilepsy or "Blind Staggers."—Apoplexy.
-Paroplegia.-Diarrhoea or Scours.-Constipation.-Eversion
of Rectum.-Rheumatism.-Loss of Tails...
.253
PREFACE.
In preparing this work, I have acted upon the belief
that no one man, or any half-dozen men, know all there
is worth knowing on a subject so extensive and important
as that of Swine Husbandry; still, there are many men
who know something concerning some branch of it, which
they have learned by long experience, careful study, and
close observation, and who have acquired their knowledge
under precisely such conditions and circumstances as to-
day surround many other men, who have neither experi-
ence nor sound advice to guide them.
It has been less my object to make an original book,
filled with fine theories, and the limited experiences of one
individual, than to condense in one small volume, from
all available sources, the conclusions and ideas of the
most practical, successful, observant men who have fol-
lowed the business in our own time, and in our own coun-
try, leaving the reader free to form his own conclusions,
and pursue such methods as shall, with the light before
him, seem most rational and profitable.
As to the choice of breeds of swine, I have my prefer-
5
6
PREFACE.
ences, which will be found freely expressed elsewhere, but
I can fully appreciate the fact, that a breed exactly suited
to the wants of farmers in one locality, might not meet
the needs of those in other portions of the country, who
make pork for different purposes, and under widely dif-
ferent circumstances, and for different markets.
So long as mankind differ about so many other matters,
it is idle to expect them to agree upon any one breed of
swine, or upon one manner of breeding and feeding as
being altogether the best.
Each breed has its champions, and each, in proper
hands, under favorable circumstances, with congenial
food and climate, has proven itself entirely satisfactory;
while animals of the same breed, but with different treat-
ment and surroundings, would have been found in every
way unsatisfactory, and discarded for what their owner
considered positive knowledge of their worthlessness.
I am confident that each of the leading breeds has its
place and its merits, and for this reason I have not un-
dertaken to exalt any one of them over another. One
person, by a lucky purchase of animals of a certain breed,
and by proper management, attains unusual success, and
from that time is satisfied in his own mind, that he pos-
sesses a breed incomparably better than any other; at
the same time, some other person, with a breed of entirely
different characteristics, has been even more successful,
and knows, at least to his own satisfaction, that he pos-
sesses the one breed worth having, and cares not to be
told that some other may also be valuable.
If this book shall serve to encourage the keeping of
better swine, in a better, more rational, and consequently
PREFACE.
more profitable way, my labors will not have been in
vain.
To the many correspondents, breeders, and friends, who
proffered assistance and encouragement, and to the nu-
merous journals I have quoted-which I have aimed to
duly credit-I am under lasting obligations, and any suc-
cess this effort attains will be largely due to them.
From the Hon. John M. Millikin (present State Treas-
urer of Ohio), especially, much valuable information has
been obtained, and also from the National Live Stock
Journal, of Chicago, a magazine indispensable to every
owner or lover of live stock.
Pomona, Kansas, April, 1877.
F. D. COBURN.
Ka
1
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
In those States where corn is the staple crop, successful
pork-raising is so intimately connected with it, that the
two must of necessity be largely considered in their rela-
tions to each other.
The Commissioner of Agriculture, in his annual report,
estimated from reliable data the number of hogs in the
United States, February 1st, 1876, to have been 25,726,-
800, of an average value of $6.80 each, and representing
a total value of $175,070,484-the highest average per
head being, in Massachusetts, $18.03, and the lowest, in
Arkansas, $3.31. Of the total number, there were in nine
States, viz., Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky,
Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, 16,409,100
of swine, averaging from $11.50 each in Pennsylvania,
to $3.91 each in Georgia, and representing a total value
of $119,442,715.
In the valley of the Mississippi, or the territory drained
by that river and its tributaries, there were 18,291,600
head, valued at $125,007,227.
In the same report, the corn crop for the year 1875, in
the United States, is estimated, in round numbers, at
1,321,069,000 bushels, worth $555,500,000, of which the
(9)
10
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
nine States named above produced 940,000,000 bushels,
worth $344,358,000, and the Mississippi Valley produced
1,100,000,000 bushels, worth $413,000,000, being nearly
three-fourths the value of the crop of the entire country.
4
By a comparison of the average prices of corn and fat
hogs for the ten years previous to 1876, we find that the
corn fed to hogs has been marketed at a higher price than
that sold as grain; the average price of pork during this
period not varying much either way from 6', cents per
pound. Ten pounds being a moderate estimate of the
quantity of pork a bushel of corn should make, it is seen
that this, marketed at something less than the average
prices for these ten years, would bring sixty cents per
bushel for the corn, and few farmers in the corn pro-
ducing regions will say they cannot, averaging the years
together, raise and crib corn for 25 cents per bushel, or
that 10 cents per bushel will not pay interest on capital,
and the cost of feeding, all of which, deducted, would
still leave a net profit of 20 cents per bushel, without
taking into account any benefit derived from feeding the
grain on the farm.
There are many localities in the best corn-producing
States, remote from markets and transportation facilities,
where corn cannot be relied on to bring cash at even a
much reduced price, but it is an unheard of occurrence
for well fattened hogs to not have a cash value and a
ready market, in any locality, however remote, only less
than the prices at the commercial centers by what it costs
to transport them there; while, if circumstances are such
that the corn can be readily transported, the producer
must pay seven times as much freight on it as he would
do on the same if in the form of hogs or pork.
Averaging the results of ten years' business is a rational
way of arriving at fair conclusions in regard to such un-
dertakings, and no good business man can expect the
most profitable results who embarks in it for a much
INTRODUCTORY.
11
shorter period, and that, too, with anything but the im-
proved breeds. There is no other animal of which there
is so little waste as a well-bred, well-fattened hog, and
being the medium for marketing a large per cent of the
enormous corn crops of the Middle, Western, and South-
Western States, it is apparent that the standard of excel-
lence should be brought as near perfection as possible,
and the nearest perfect of these almost indispensable ani-
mals, would be those producing the largest quantity and
best quality of pork and lard, from a given quantity of
food in the shortest time, with the least expense and
risk.
Inseparably connected with these results, is robust
health, strong appetite, vigorous digestive and assimi-
lating powers, with a quietness of disposition akin to
indolence.
Of the growth of the pork-raising industry, the foreign
demand for its products, and its future stability, the
National Live Stock Journal, in an ably written editorial,
thus speaks:
"There have been not a few persons who have entertained grave
apprehensions that the time was rapidly approaching when swine
raising could no longer be prosecuted with profit. They have
witnessed the rapid expansion of the available agricultural dis-
tricts of the country-they have seen the vast area between the
Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains opened up and the eastern
portion of it settled and developed almost within the space of a
decade, they have seen the corn crop of the country increasing by
millions of bushels yearly and doubling and trebling in quantity,
almost within the memory of the "youngest inhabitant," and the
supply of hogs estimated by thousands, where a few years ago
hundreds were used,-they have seen the business expanding and
growing until within the year 2,000,000 hogs, (which a few years
ago was greater than the entire number packed in the United
States), have been slaughtered and packed in this city alone, and we
do not wonder that they have thought this thing must sometime
come to an end, and they sincerely believe that a year or two
would bring a collapse.
12
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"And this would have been the result long since, had there not
been an outlet provided for the rapidly augmenting pork product.
Cheap food is the great problem with the dense populations upon
the opposite side of the Atlantic, and the cheapness of pork pro-
ducts, as compared with other meats, and the ease and cheapness
with which pork can be handled and cured, has steadily brought
it more and more in demand. From the block in a Chicago pack-
ing house a thousand tons of sides and shoulders are taken, rubbed
in salt, loaded upon the cars and sent to the seaboard. Here the
product is packed away in the hold of a ship, with layers of salt
between, occupying but little room, costing nothing for packages,
and by the time it reaches Liverpool it is fully cured and ready
for the smoke-house. If not sent 'loose,' it is sent in coarse, in-
expensive wooden boxes, in "dry salt." An equal quantity of
beef would have required cooperage worth nearly $20,000, and a
pound of beef will not go near so far towards sustaining the laborer
who consumes the product, as a pound of pork. For these rea-
sons, we are not at all surprised that the imports of beef into Liv-
erpool for the year ending September 30th, which amounted to
35,087 tierces in 1866-67, should only have risen to 61,000 tierces
in 1870-71, and amounted to 41,000 in 1872-73. The details of the
movement of pork products into Liverpool tell an altogether dif-
ferent tale, as these figures will show:
Year ending Sept. 30-
1866-67
1867-68
1868-69
1869-70
·
1870-71
1871-72
1872-73..
Pork, bris.
Bacon, tons.
Lard, tons.
10,809
12,619
6,505
.23,755
19,016
8,584
28,997
23,905
6,956
32,675
16,446
3,736
.63,215
25,616
12,986
35,109
63,857
29,104
.31,067
82,576
20,864
"These figures supply much material for reflection. Here is
three times as much barrelled pork exported in 1872-73 as there
was in 1866-67, and nearly seven times as much bacon and over
three times as much lard. There was as much bacon exported in
1872-73 as there was in the two years preceding, and almost as
much as during the five years ending Sept. 30th, 1871. This is a
most stupendous increase in the traffic of a single class of pro-
ducts, and the character of the trade is illustrated by the fact, that
on Sept. 1st, 1873, there was in stock in Liverpool 21,511 tons of
bacon. In other words, the trade has so immensely increased,
that the provision merchants of London carry in regular stock
almost twice as much bacon as they imported during the whole
INTRODUCTORY.
13
year in 1866-67. That this stock is not an excessive one, is shown
by the fact, that notwithstanding there has been an increase of
over 19,000 tons in the quantity imported the last year, as com-
pared with the year preceding, the stock of bacon in Liverpool
was only 317 tons greater, Sept. 1st, 1873, than it was Sept. 1st,
1872. It has been the history of American products, that when
they once secured a fair introduction into Europe, they have rap-
idly advanced in public favor, and met with an enormous and rap-
idly augmenting demand. It can now be considered that Ameri-
can pork has been brought to general notice there, and it requires
no gift of prophecy to declare that the circles of popular demand
will widen much faster than our powers of production.
"It becomes interesting at this point to consider how far we will
have to encounter the competition of other countries in pork pro-
ducts. Corn seems to be the cheapest product of agriculture which
can be devoted to this purpose. No other cereal surpasses it in
the qualities which produce good pork, and no other equals it in
the abundance of its yield and the case and certainty of its pro-
duction. The country which has the cheapest corn has, by virtue
of that advantage, the pork markets of the world at command.
And it requires no argument to show that in this respect our coun-
try has no peer. As the importation of corn into Europe is in-
creasing in almost as rapid a ratio as that of pork itself, and as an
article of human food it is beginning to attract general attention,
with a fair prospect that it will in time wholly supplant wheat as
a means of supplying bread to the laboring population, it is fair
to suppose that Europe will never seriously compete with Amer-
ica in the production of pork for European markets. Some pork
will be produced, of course, as can always be done to advantage;
but agricultural lands are too valuable to be devoted largely to
the production of a product so gross. If we can ship corn to
take the place of breadstuffs grown at home, we certainly can ship
the same material in a condensed form, as in pork, a great deal
cheaper than it can be produced there.
“Under such circumstances as these, there can be no doubt that,
as a leading department of our agricultural industry, the produc-
tion of pork is on a sure foundation, and that it occupies a position
as free from disturbance and depression as any other industry of
the farm. Those who have felt apprehensive of its future, and
been oppressed by a dread that another year or so would see it
over done, may as well dismiss their fears. It is one of the fixed
institutions of the country, and every effort should be made to
14
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
reduce it as far as possible to a science and system, that this im-
portant product, which is destined to exercise so potential an influ-
ence upon the fortunes and destiny of our people, may be pro-
duced with the greatest economy, and the largest possible returns
received from it. The first step is, of course, to improve our
swine. We have in this country, already, an abundance of well-
bred hogs, the nucleus of all the improvement we should desire,
but they should be introduced upon every farm, and the historical
'razor back' be classed amongst the extinct species."
CHAPTER II.
VALUE OF THE HOG PRODUCT.
There are many to whom it has not probably occurred,
even among those most interested in the production of
pork, that it is possible that the value of the hog crop
annually produced, and marketed in the great central
States of the Union, exceeds largely the value of the cattle
raised and marketed in these some States.
The United States Census for 1870, says the number of
cattle then in the country was 23,820,508, and of swine
25,703,813. In the five stock producing States of Ken-
tucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri there were
6,031,819 cattle, and 10,446,198 swine, the excess of the
latter over the former being about or upwards of 70 per
cent.
Writing of this, the Hon. John M. Millikin, of Ohio,
says: "In view of the above, from which source do the
people of the States named derive the largest amount of
money per annum ?
"The question cannot be answered with entire accu-
racy, because there are no certain data by which to deter-
mine the number or percentage of each kind of animals
sold, or the price realized for each head, and yet the
•
VALUE OF THE HOG PRODUCT.
15
result can be closely approximated. Cattle are usually
sold at ages varying from three to six years; milch cows
and working cattle, which constitute 42 per cent of the
entire number, as above stated, generally attain an age
exceeding six years before they are sold to go out of the
country. As cattle, including all classes, have to arrive
at an age above three years, it is safe to say there are not
more than one-fourth the number enumerated sold in each
year. With hogs it is quite different. They are shipped
off at an average age of about fifteen months, and it is
therefore fair to assume that at least four-fifths of the
hogs enumerated in 1870 were sold within a year from
the time of enumeration.
"Upon these data let us make a calculation :
"Upon the hypothesis stated, that one-fourth of the
cattle enumerated would be sold during the year, there
would be sold 1,507,954. Estimating the average value
of the same as consumed upon the farm, or sold and
shipped at $30 per head, they would amount to the
sum of $45,238,620. The total number of hogs in the
above States being 10,446,198, four-fifths of which were
sold during the year, would make the number sold
8,356,952. Estimating these on the farm, when sold or
consumed, at the moderate price of $8 per head, the to-
tal value is $66,955,672, making the excess received per
annum for hogs, over amount received for cattle, in the
five States named, $21,717,052.
“I am aware that the above showing will be satisfac-
tory to only a few persons, and that it will be sharply
criticised by others. I have made it upon the above data,
with a view to seeing what the result would be, and not
with a view of depreciating the value and advantages of
raising cattle, nor of unduly exalting the business of rais-
ing pork.
""
At the present time, Chicago is considered the greatest
live stock market in the world, and the statistics of the
16
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
live stock trade there, for the year 1873, disclose the
startling fact that swine not only brought more money
into the pockets of the people than any other description
of live stock, but more than all other kinds together, as
may be seen by an examination of the following table of
actual receipts and actual sales in the open market:
Cattle.
Sheep...
Horses.
Hogs..
Receipts.
761,428
291,734
20,289
•
4,337,750
Sales.
$35,264,260
875,000
2,028,902
53,153,000
From these figures, it is seen that the value of the
hogs marketed there, exceeded that of all other live stock
by nearly $15,000,000, and this does not include any part
of the value of the dressed hogs, lard, barrelled pork, and
cut meats received, the cash value of which amounted to
$8,444,494, in the same period, making a total value of
$61,597,494.
Chicago also boasts of being the leading grain market
of the world, and during the same year (1873), her trade
was a prosperous one, the receipts aggregating 10,000,000
bushels more than in the previous year, and the estimated
value of this vast quantity was $63,500,000, scarcely
$2,000,000 more than the value of the hogs and hog pro-
ducts handled in the same market in that year.
The value of the hog product exported in 1872 from the
United States, exceeded $45,000,000, of which England
alone took $22,247,167,-more than the entire exporta-
tion of cattle products for the same year.
With our fertile, and seemingly inexhaustible soils,
both upon the broad prairies and countless creek and river
bottoms, the great staple crop is, and ever will be, Indian
corn-the grain above all others best adapted to the pro-
duction of pork; and it is by and through these enor-
mous corn crops that we do and can hold the pork markets
of the world at command.
Those who prepare for pork-making with well defined
VALUE OF THE HOG PRODUCT.
17
plans, and pursue them with system and regularity, keep-
ing none but the best breeds and their crosses, can be
quite certain of realizing more satisfactory prices for their
corn, taking the seasons together, than by selling it at
ruling prices, even at their own doors; while if hauled
from home, its cost is increased in proportion to the dis-
tance, from five to fifteen cents per bushel.
To illustrate the importance of raising the better grades
of hogs, we will use some figures from a circular issued by
the "Cincinnati Merchants' Exchange" a few years since,
which says: "Whole number of hogs packed during the
past season, at the principal points in the United States,
was 4,782,403; aggregate weight, 1,349,630,955 pounds,
or an average weight of 282', pounds. The total amount
of money paid for same was $55,818,711."-If well bred,
well fed, well cared for, and properly fattened, they should
have averaged one hundred pounds more per head, adding
to the aggregate weight 478,240,300 pounds, which, at
four cents per pound, would have added to the wealth of
the producers, in a single year, the snug sum of $19,129,-
612. Truly no insignificant increase of one year's receipts,
and on the same basis amounting in twenty years to
$382,592,240—money enough to lift the mortgages from
the farms of a large number of worthy gentlemen who
think that one hog is just as good as another.
•
BREEDS OF SWINE,
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND
WORTH.
19
THE POLAND-CHINAS,
21
1
CHAPTER III.
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
Probably no questions have of late years been more
frequently propounded to Agricultural and Live Stock
Journals, than those as to the origin, history, and correct
name of the large spotted hogs, exceedingly popular in
the Western States, and which are called by different
breeders and in different localities by a great diversity of
names. Among the names which which have been given
them, are: "Magie," "Butler County," "Warren Coun-
ty, "Miami Valley," "Poland," "Poland and China,”
"Great Western," "Shaker," "Union Village," "Dick's
Creek," "Gregory's Creek," "Moore," and others; and
inquiries are frequent as to their characteristics, and if
all the hogs thus named are not the same breed, which
is best ?
"❝
""
The wranglings and discussions, by the breeders and
friends of the different strains of these hogs, as to their
origin, the most suitable and expressive name for the
breed, and who should have most credit for efforts to
perfect and bring them into popular favor, would, if pub-
lished, fill volumes. These discussions, by the Press and
by individuals, have been the cause of searching and thor-
ough investigation into all the matters connected with
their early history, the time and manner in which the
first crosses were made, and upon what foundation, to-
gether with the later crosses and manner of breeding,
which combine to make them the leading and favorite
breed in many sections famous for the value, size, and
quality of their hogs. Owing to the great interest mani-
fested on these points, we have given them much careful
study and examination, for the purpose of getting at the
bottom facts for the public benefit; but it seems well
nigh impossible to harmonize the conflicting statements
SWINE HUSBANDRY.

הווו
.
للسلنسل
Fig. 1.—POLAND-CHINA SOW.
THE POLAND-CHINAS,
23
of those who ought to be best informed, or to expect the
champions of the various views to be pleased with such
conclusions as do not accord with their own.
Not owning, or having pecuniary interest in any of the
breed, we shall hope to make no statement not wholly
impartial, and unprejudiced, however much it may differ
from the views of the reader.
On many points, all who have studied the question
closely agree, and on others (of perhaps minor import-
ance to the public) some of the disputants are as far apart
as the poles, but we believe none dispute that the main
crosses towards its formation as a definite and distinct
breed, were made in that part of southwestern Ohio lying
between the Big Miami and Little Miami rivers, mainly
the counties of Butler and Warren, during the years from
1835 to 1840. It is also generally conceded that the
groundwork was stock locally known as "Warren Coun-
ty" hogs, which were the result of crossing together the
"Byfield," the "Russia," the "Big China," and per-
haps the "Bedford" breeds, all large, coarse hogs and
slow to grow and fatten, exeept the "Big Chinas," which
possessed the very opposite qualities.
Probably nothing written in connection with this sub-
ject is more authentic than the following statement by
the venerable Cephas Holloway-who settled in Butler
county in 1807-read before the National Convention of
Swine Breeders, at Indianapolis, November, 1872, which
explains itself:
"I have resided in Union Village, in Warren county, Ohio, since
1813, and have been connected in some way with the management
of the business affairs of the Society of Shakers at this place since
1824.
"I have, from taste, inclination, and duties devolving upon me,
given more than the usual amount of attention to the several
breeds and crosses of swine introduced and bred in the Miami
Valley, and I herewith give the following statement, as to the time
24
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
of their introduction, and the changes that were produced by
their use.
"The first introduction of China hogs into this part of Ohio, so
far as I have ever heard, was in the year 1816. John Wallace,
then a trustee of our Society, visited Philadelphia on business in
that year, and while there was shown what were called “ "Big Chi-
na" hogs. He was pleased with their appearance, and purchased
one boar and three sows, which were brought the same season to
Union Village. The time of purchase I am able to fix certainly,
by subsequent occurrences distinctly remembered.
“The boar and two of the sows were entirely white. The other
sow had some sandy spots upon her, in which appeared some small
black spots. These four hogs were understood to be either im-
ported China or the immediate descendants of imported stock.
They and their progeny were extensively used and crossed with
the best breeds then existing, and the product of these crosses con-
stituted substantially what was afterwards called the "Warren
County" hog
"The Berkshires were introduced into Warren county in 1835
or 1836, by Mr. Munson Beach, who operated with his brother,
Louis Beach, then a prominent merchant in the city of New York.
Subsequently they made other shipments of the same stock to
Warren and Butler counties. The Berkshires introduced by the
Messrs. Beach were generally black, with occasional marks of
white, either on the feet, the tip of the tail, or in the face. They
were muscular, active and round-bodied hogs, and in most cases
had sharp-pointed, upright ears. Some families, however, were
large in size, deep in their bodies, with ears that lopped.
"The Irish Grazier breed of hogs was imported direct into
southwestern Ohio, by Wm. Neff, Esq., of Cincinnati. My recol-
lection is, that his importation was made in 1839, possibly in 1840.
The Graziers were white, with only an occasional sandy spot,
which appeared about the eyes. Mr. Neff committed some of
these hogs to the care of Mr. Anthony Keever, whose farm ad-
joined our lands on the south. Mr. Keever was a judicious breed-
er, and esteeming the Grazier highly, he bred them and crossed
them liberally.
"These two breeds-the Berkshires and Irish Graziers-were
extensively used in making crosses by the best breeders in Warren
and Butler counties, and to some extent in Clinton and Hamilton
counties. Having been carefully bred and intermixed with the
descendants and crosses of the Big China, with other breeds, the
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
25
stock thus produced constituted the true and original basis of what
is now known as the Magie or Poland-China hogs.
(6
'My taste for good stock, and my knowledge of many of the
breeds introduced into this part of Ohio, and acquaintance with
our most prominent breeders, enable me to speak thus fully upon
the subject. Among our early and successful breeders were
Messrs. Munson Beach, John Reed, Anthony Keever, John Hark-
rider, John Hadley, and Mr. Magie, Sr. They have been succeeded
by hosts of other good and judicious breeders, among whom of
my acquaintance I can name D. M. Magie, Wm. Magie, T. J. Con-
over, the Messrs. McCrearys, Mr. Todhunter, Mr. Marshall, and
Mr. Hankins. Most of the last-named reside in the vicinity of
Monroe, Butler county, which is only four miles distant from the
village. There are other breeders in Warren and Butler counties
of known and established characters, with whose stock I am not
so familiar as with the stock belonging to my neighbors.
"I ought to add, that at a subsequent period to the purchase of
the Big China, by John Wallace, for our Society, that other China
hogs were introduced into the Miami Valley. They, however,
were much less in size, and generally had small, upright ears.
They had exceedingly fine fattening qualities, but were not pro-
lific breeders.”
The report adopted by the Convention on this hereto-
fore many-named yet nameless breed, gives it the desig-
nation of Poland-China, and thus puts at rest the contro-
versy as to whose or what name it should bear. The
Hon. John M. Millikin prepared the report adopted, and
of it the National Live Stock Journal says: "It is, in our
opinion, as concise and reliable a statement of the origin
of this breed of swine as has ever been written."
In re-
lation to this matter, Mr. Millikin writes us that "the
report was unanimously adopted by the Convention, even
Mr. A. C. Moore, who was present, acquiescing. ****
The truth is, no one man can say he had more to do in the
formation of this breed than another. It was the result of
the labors of many. It grew out of the introduction of the
China hogs by the Shakers of Union Village, the crossing
with the Russia and Byfield, and the subsequent crossing
with the Berkshires, and then with the Irish Graziers. After
2
26
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
1841, or 1842, these breeds ceased to exist in either But-
ler or Warren counties, and have had nothing to do what-
ever with this breed for the last thirty-four years. The
testimony of Mr. Cephas Holloway is especially valuable,
as he has been familiar with every step taken in the
building up of this breed, the characteristics of every
breed used, and the means in general adopted for its per-
fection."
Mr. Millikin having resided in Butler county for more
than sixty-five years, and farming nearly forty years,
during which time he gave unusual attention to all mat-
ters pertaining to the subject in hand, entitles his state-
ments to great credit and weight.
The following was adopted by the Convention as its
report and final conclusions on this much vexed question :
"The history of the breed of swine known as the Poland-China
is as follows:
"In the early history of swine-breeding in the Miami Valley, in
Ohio, it is clear, from the best written authorities available, and
from oral testimony, that there were two breeds, which to a great
extent had been profitably crossed with the common bristled breed
of the country. These were the Russia and Byfield breeds. The
Bedford breed is also named in connection with the other two. To
what extent it was used, cannot now be readily determined.
"In 1816, we have positive proof from an unquestioned source,
that the Shakers of Union Village, situated in Warren county,
Ohio, and being four miles from Monroe, in Butler county, pur-
chased at Philadelphia one boar and three sows of what was at the
time believed to be pure China. They were represented to be
either imported or the immediate descendants of imported stock.
They were called 'Big China hogs.' These animals were the first
China hogs ever brought into southwestern Ohio. Subsequently,
other China hogs were introduced and extensively used.
"The Shakers and other judicious breeders in Warren and Butler
counties, continued to use the breeds at command, and produced
by repeated crosses a hog of exceeding fine qualities, for that
period, which was generally known as the 'Warren County Hog.'
These hogs continually increasing in good qualities, were bred in
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
27
both counties, and the very best specimens were carefully and
interchangeably used, so as to make the best crosses.
"Such was the progress that had been made in forming the
groundwork of a good specimen of a hog. This condition of the
breed continued until about the year 1835 or 1836, when Mr. Mun-
son Beach, of Warren county, first introduced the Berkshire,
which were obtained from C. N. Bement, of the State of New
York; other lots of Berkshires continued to flow into the Miami
Valley until about 1841.
'The Berkshire blood was liberally introduced into the stock
existing in, not only southwestern Ohio, but in Kentucky also.
Crossing with the Berkshires was almost exclusively done until
about 1838 or 1839, when Mr. Wm. Neff, of Cincinnati, imported
some choice specimens of the Irish Grazier. This breed soon grew
into high favor, and as a consequence, was liberally used in mak-
ing crosses with the best specimens of the crosses previously made.
This intermingling of blood, this crossing of breeds, continued for
some time. In a few years, however, the use of the purer blooded
Berkshire was entirely discontinued, and there were no further im-
portations made of the Irish Grazier. The breeders of swine in
the Miami Valley settled down to the conviction that the basis of
a good breed of hogs had been established, and that in the future
judicious and discriminating breeders could use, and if necessary
modify, the material furnished, so as to meet the highest demands
of the public. For more than thirty years no new blood has been
introduced into our breed, and no effort made to obtain a new sup-
ply of the blood of either breed previously used.
"While this is true, our breeders have not been indifferent to the
further improvement of our breed. Stimulated by their success,
they have perseveringly aimed to improve what they have been so
successful in forming. The best points or qualities have been pre-
served, and, where practicable, have been made even more excel-
lent. All defective points or undesirable qualities have been cor-
rected or improved by the care, skill, and judgment of our experi-
enced breeders.
“Thus, we have a breed thoroughly established, of fixed charac-
teristics, of fine style, and unquestioned good qualities, which can
be relied upon for the production of a progeny of like qualities and
character.
The following is presented as the characteristics of the fore-
going breed:
"The best specimens have good length, short legs, broad, straight
28
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
backs, deep sides, flanking well down on the leg, very broad, full
square hams and shoulders, drooping ears, short heads, wide be-
tween the eyes, of spotted or dark color; are hardy, vigorous, and
prolific, and when fat are perfect models all over, pre-eminently
combining the excellences of both large and small breeds.
“J. M. MILLIKIN,
"Chairman of Committee.
"The committee to whom was recommitted the two reports,
recommend the adoption of the above report, and they further
recommend that, in view of the difficulties in making a change in
the name of any breed, that the said name of Poland-China be
recognized as the accepted name of said breed.
R. BALDRIDGE,
J. M. MILLIKIN.”
The chief point upon which numerous controversies
arose between certain parties and breeders in other States
-notably Illinois-was, whether a very prominent cross,
especially valuable in the breed, was from a "Poland" or
"Polish" breed of hogs, and, consequently, whether the
present breed could with any degree of propriety be called
Poland-China at all. Those who claimed the Poland
cross, stated their case to the Convention thus :
"As there has been some controversy as to the existence of a
breed of hogs known as Poland, we submit the following:
"Albert Thaer, the celebrated German writer upon agriculture
and domestic animals, who, from 1810 to 1824, occupied the posi
tion of Professor of Agriculture in the University of Berlin, Prus-
sia, prior to and during which time he wrote and published peri-
odicals on the agriculture and domestic animals of Europe, giving
the most intelligent, definite, and reliable history on these subjects
then extant; and he describes, among other breeds of swine in that
country, the Polish or Podolian, so called from their originating in
Poland. Of this breed he mentions two varieties-one a long-leg-
ged, bony, lop-eared, ungainly, yellowish-colored variety; the
other a good sized, dark-colored hog, with sandy spots, lop-eared,
shorter legged, and slightly dished face, and tolerably prolific; the
latter variety being generally diffused over Germany, and furnish-
ing the larger hogs for fattening.
"History informs us that emigrants to our shores, from all parts
of Europe, brought with them the domestic animals of their native
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
29
land; and in addition, we have abundant testimony of aged farmers
who distinctly remember, when boys, seeing in New York, Penn-
sylvania, and Ohio, a large, dark-colored, long-bodied, short-legged
hog, with sandy spots, and drooping ears, known and called the
Polish or Poland hog.
"We think this chain of facts and circumstances establishes the
existence and introduction of the Poland hog into this country;
and the almost unanimous testimony of the early and modern
breeders of the Poland-China or Magie is, that such a Poland hog
was used as the nucleus for the formation of this practical breed."
Mr. A. C. Moore, of Illinois, has been the champion of
those who maintained these views, and has published,
with numerous assertions in support of them, the follow-
ing certificate of Charles Brown, who at one time resided
in Butler county, Ohio:
BROWN'S CERTIFICATE.
"In 1830, I, Charles Brown, now living in Fulton county, Illi-
nois, formerly of Butler county, Ohio, purchased of Mr. Wm. Bod-
kin three Poland sows, and of Robert Irving one Poland boar.
From these pigs sprung the hogs of Shepherd, Pierce, Magie, and
all of their Poland stock. I remember the date by the birth of
members of my family. Anyhow, it was when General Gano was
sheriff of Hamilton county. Wm. Bodkin was his deputy sheriff,
and went to Pennsylvania on business, and there purchased a pair
of Poland pigs at the Fair, and brought them back to Hamilton
county. Bodkin bred and sold to Irving the boar that I bought
of him; the old boar was then dead.
"I left Ohio in the spring of 1841, and brought seven head of
Poland hogs with me to Fulton county, Illinois. They were big,
thrifty hogs, and the best feeders I ever saw. I drove them afoot
with cattle. I am now 63 years old. I lived in Ohio on Gregory's
creek, two miles and a half from Princetown. I'm the same man
that took the petticoats to Hamilton to celebrate Gen. Harrison's
victory. Put that down; they'll remember me from that. Siger-
son, Nicholas Curtis, Elijah Hughes, John Le Seward, David
Pierce, (who lives nine miles right east of Quincy, Ill.), David
Hughes, Micaja Hughes, and Joe Shepherd, were among my
neighbors.
"In 1828 or 1829 I raised and sold to Abe Keever, for Charley
and Jabe Fisher of Cincinnati, what I considered the best lot of
30
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
hogs in the country, and was a-bragging on them, when Charley
Fisher said he had one lot of sixteen head that would beat mine;
and he showed them to me, and said he bought them of Bill Bod-
kin-I think his name was Bill. They were only 16 months old,
and averaged 460 pounds. This was the first knowledge I had of
the Poland hog. They were a dirty, rusty color. The spots that
I have seen on the Poland-China hogs at the fairs at Canton and
other places, called sandy spots, are very much the color my
Poland hogs was. I have often seen these spots on A. C. Moore's
hogs, and have told him them marks was from the Poland blood.
"(Signed)
CHARLES BROWN."
Mr. D. M. Magie, of Butler county, who has probably
been the most prominent Ohio disseminator of this stock
under the name of "Magie" hogs, in a letter to the
author says: "I have been breeding this stock 45 years
in Butler county. They were produced from four pure
and distinct breeds of hogs, three of which were im-
ported, namely: Poland, Big Spotted China, Big Irish
Grazier, and Byfield."
With due deference to those gentlemen who have so
long and persistently adhered to their claim that there
was a Poland breed of hogs in southwestern Ohio at the
time the present Poland-China breed was founded, and
from which it derived a most prominent and invaluable
cross, we must say that, after sifting all the testimony
presented by his most earnest advocates, that this tradi-
tional Poland hog grew out of a misapprehension and
persistent ignoring of real facts, and was, and is,—a myth.
We cannot question the integrity of his champions,
but their arguments seem mainly to be founded on false
premises.
Mr. Millikin, of Ohio, in his famous controversy with.
Mr. A. C. Moore, on this subject, quotes from documents
which may give the clue to the origin of the term Poland,
in connection with these hogs, of one he says:
"I have before me a letter from Stephen Millikin, now of Indi-
ana, who was raised a farmer, and has ever continued to be a
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
31
farmer. He was raised in Butler county, and connected intimately
with our early Agricultural Societies, previous to 1840. In the
winter, for many years, he was superintendent in a heavy pork-
packing establishment in Hamilton, and subsequently superinten-
dent for John W. Coleman and others in Cincinnati, in their
slaughtering establishments.
"He gives the crosses of the Byefield, the Russia, and Big-boned
China, and says they were known as the Shaker, Union Village,
Warren County, and Butler County hogs. Then the Berkshires
were introduced. Full-blooded Berkshire boars to last-named sows
made rather better hogs than either. About this time Mr. Neff, of
Cincinnati, brought on his Irish Grazier, which was a great im-
provement when bred to the Russia, Big-boned China, and Berk-
shire mixture. He says that Anthony Keever, who lived south of
Union Village, had Irish Grazier sows and boars, and crossed them
freely with his other stock. He further says that Major Asher
Asher, a Polander, who lived near West Chester, had bought stock
from the Shakers and from Keever. That Asher sold a boar to
Daniel Nelson, on Gregory's Creek, who was also breeding Shaker
stock. In the fall of 1839 I was at his place looking at his pigs.
After showing me some, he said, 'you must go and see my Poland
pigs.' He thought them better than the others, although the
mothers were sisters. He called them Poland pigs, because they
were sired by the boar he had bought of the old Polander, Asher Asher.
**** The first time I ever heard of a Poland hog, was when I
heard Nelson use the term.
The foregoing I present, not as unanswerably conclusive, but
as a reasonable and probable explanation of the manner in which
this name became connected with our breed of swine.
"Unquestioned proof of an established well recognized breed of
swine, known as the Poland breed in either England or the United
States, will, however, be conclusive in rebutting the above evidence
against the Poland.”
At least two gentlemen at the present time, both claim
to have been the originator of the breed, one of whom in-
sists that the Berkshires were not used in the first or
subsequent crosses, and at the same time that his own
breed of swine and the Poland-Chinas are identical. We
look upon such statements as preposterous, and while
adding nothing to the credit of those who make them,
32
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
tend greatly to keep alive prejudices and old issues that
properly found their quietus at the Indianapolis Conven-
tion.
Controversies as to the precise crosses, and by whom
and under what particular circumstances they were made
forty years ago, to form the breed of hogs now known as
Poland-Chinas, may be of interest to a few ; but what is
vastly more important to millions of people, is the fact
that there has been produced a race of swine, now bearing
that name, that very many severely practical and intelli-
gent men consider the best pork-making machines known,
-in fact, nearer what the farmers of the great West need,
than any other single breed in existence.
Their size, color, hardiness, docility, and good feeding
qualities, make them favorites when purely bred, and
where more fineness of contour, quicker maturity, and a
little less size is demanded, we are satisfied the sows bred
to Berkshire boars produce the best feeding and farm
hogs in the world.
Milton Briggs says in his book, The Western Farmer
and Stock Grower:
"Of the celebrated Poland-China I have specimens from differ-
ent breeders, such as Magie, Moore, Sissons, and others, and a great
diversity, I find, is created by different breeders in this class of
swine, in breeding for different objects, and under different con-
ditions of climate, as well as food.
"The more common habit of growing swine in southern Ohio,
in a favorable climate, and on clover pastures in summer, gives a
larger bone and coarser frame, but a full development of body;
while the western system of corn feeding, gradually reduces the
size of the bone, and gives more meat in proportion to the gross
weight.
"The common practice of western breeders has been, to breed
out the white and establish the more desirable black color, which
has, within a few years, changed some of the leading characteris-
tics of the Poland-China in the West.
"In the breeding of swine, the black, or Berkshire breed is prob-
ably destined to supersede all other breeds in the more northern
THE POLAND-CHINAS.
33
localities of the United States, and for the more intermediate por-
tion, or between thirty-eight and forty-two degrees north latitude,
the Poland-China is, I think, destined to hold the favorable opinion
of the western farmer."
Dr. A. G. Chase, in his work on "The Hog," in re-
viewing the different breeds says ·
"If we were on a small farm, and fattened but few hogs annu-
ally; or near a good market, where fat pigs commanded a good
price the year round, we should not keep Poland-China hogs.
“But for the farmer, raising and fattening annually from twenty
to one hundred head, or more, we believe they have no superior.
In saying this, we do not forget the claims of the Berkshires,
Cheshires, or any other breeds. They have their place and their
merits, and none appreciate them more than do we; but years of
breeding have proved what we have above stated, that the Poland-
China is best adapted to the majority of our hog-raisers.”
As a specimen of weights and rapid growth made by
these hogs, the following have been published and vouched
for:
"Thomas J. Conover, of Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, who has
been a prominent breeder of Poland-China hogs for more than
thirty years, raised a sow that was farrowed on the 10th day of
June, 1866. On the 18th of April, 1867, she had eleven pigs. In
October following, the sow and pigs grossed 2,735 pounds, being
then in good show condition. The sow was fattened that fall, and
when slaughtered and delivered to the packer, her net weight was
535 pounds. The sow pigs were all kept for breeders, while the
remaining five barrows were all slaughtered, and averaged 282
pounds, they being then only eight months and twenty days old!”
At Indianapolis, in September, 1869, Mr. Conover ex-
hibited a sow and six pigs weighing 2,000 pounds gross,
and the pigs were but five months old.
34
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CHESTER WHITES.
Knowing Mr. Thomas Wood, of Chester county, Penn-
sylvania, to be one of the oldest and most reliable breed-
ers of the Chester Whites, and familiar with them from
the beginning, we applied to him as a source of reliable
information as to their origin, early history, breeding, etc.
He writes: "The Chester County White hog is a native
of Chester county, Pennsylvania, where the breed origi-
nated. The first impulse to the improvement of swine in
this county was induced by the introduction of a pair of
very fine white pigs, brought from Bedfordshire, Eng-
land, by Captain James Jeffries, of this county, and put
upon his farm on the Brandywine Creek, near West Ches-
ter, the county seat, in the year 1818. Some of our more
enterprising farmers, seeing these finely-bred pigs, were
induced to commence an improvement of their swine by
a cross of these, their progeny, and others of the best
hogs of the county, and by continuing a careful selection
and judicious crossing for many years, have produced the
Chester White of to-day, a most desirable, well-formed,
good-sized, easily-fattened, and perhaps the best bacon
hog for the general farmer in this or any other country.
"I have been paying considerable attention to the im-
provement of the Chester Whites for over forty years,
and was among the first to disseminate the stock over the
United States. I have shown them at numerous agricul-
tural exhibitions; at the exhibition of the United States
Agricultural Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1856, I re-
ceived the Society's diploma for the best pigs; at the
United States Agricultural Fair, held at Richmond, Va.,
in 1858, I exhibited Chester Whites, and they took all
the highest prizes offered by the Society; I also exhibited
THE CHESTER WHITES.
35

------
=
Fig. 2.-CHESTER WHITE Sow.
36
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
them at the joint fair of the States of Virginia and
North Carolina, held at Petersburg, taking not only the
highest premium awarded, but also the sweepstakes pre-
mium for the best sow, with considerable competition
with other breeds at all these exhibitions.
"The Chester Whites have been successfully exhibited
at several fairs of the Maryland Agricultural Society;
also at nearly every fair held by the Pennsylvania State
Society, as well as by many County Societies, in competi-
tion with most other breeds, while in many other States
they have successfully competed with all the foreign and
home-made breeds.
"Some thirty years ago, the Berkshires were introduced
into Chester county, where some of our farmers tried
and kept them very nice, and exhibited them at the agri-
cultural fairs; but they did not seem to take well with
our farmers at that time, and were displaced by Chesters.
"A few years later the little Suffolks, that were making
quite a stir in the hog line in New England, were intro-
duced into our county, and afterwards the Essex, but
neither breed flourished here, and the Chesters quietly
superseded them.
"I tried them all, but found none of them superior to
our own breed. Some of the Chesters had been crossed
with the black breeds, and it took our farmers eight or
ten years to get rid of their spotted hogs, which was finally
pretty well accomplished, and the Chesters again held
sway over the county, and hundreds and thousands of
them were shipped to different parts of the United States,
Canada, and the West Indies. During this time, many
unprincipled parties shipped any kind of a white pig they
could pick up in the county, which they would call genu-
ine Chesters; this lowered the popularity of the breed
wherever such pigs were sent. This caused a great falling
off in the demand for our pigs, and again the Berkshires
were introduced into this and adjoining counties, they
,
THE CHESTER WHITES.
37
having, in the thirty years since their first introduction,
been much improved, and being popular abroad, some of
our swine breeders procured them to breed for shipping
purposes, and, as every generation must try the different
kinds of stock for themselves, many farmers bought the
Berkshires to see if they possessed any advantages over
the Chester Whites, it being said that their hams were
not so fat, and would sell more readily in market. After
many years of trial, many farmers said that the white
hogs were best adapted to their wants.
"The Yorkshires have also been recently introduced
(in their greatly improved condition) into our county,
and are quite as popular as the Berkshire.
"I will here give the result of my experience with the
Chesters and Berkshires: I procured from a noted breed-
er in a neighboring State, two Berkshire pigs about ten
weeks old, and with them, in a pen, I put two Chester
Whites, from a litter of our own, after several of the
larger ones had been sold. They were a few days younger
than the Berkshires, which were masters at the trough,
and they remained so, knocking the Chesters about as
though the whites had no rights the blacks were bound
to respect. After feeding the four together for seven or
eight months, by which time the Chesters weighed sev-
enty-five pounds, each, heavier than the Berkshires, we
killed and salted them for our own use, intending to find
out which made the best bacon, and we found the Berk-
shire hams gave more lean meat, though somewhat dry
and hard, while that from the Chesters appeared to be
more soft and juicy, and was considered much the best
for our own eating; but those who do not like the fat,
juicy ham, would prefer the Berkshire, which is also nice.
"It might seem that enough had been written and
published in our agricultural papers about the pure bred
hogs, when we evidently have no such, and the further
we have got from the old English and China type, thr
38
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
better the hog. The Chester White, made in Chester
county, Penn.; the Poland-China, made in Butler coun-
ty, Ohio, lay no claim to any infusion of foreign blood,
and are two of the best breeds of hogs in the United
States. The black hog, with white feet and a white strip
in its face, now called the Berkshire, and the white hog,
with thin, curled hair, short head and very crooked face,
called Yorkshires, are both very well made and good
hogs. The Chester White breed is now the longest es-
tablished, unmixed with foreign crosses, of any breed
with which I am acquainted, and therefore comes nearest
a pure bred hog at the present time.
"Some object to them, as being too large for the pork-
packers: this I cannot look upon as an objection, as the
Chesters will fatten readily at any age, and can furnish
any weights the packers may desire (from 200 to 300 lbs.)
"I think they would be more profitable than any small
breed, which has to be kept over winter to attain the de-
sired weight, as Chesters, pigged in the spring, will
readily attain the desired weights by killing-time in the
following fall or winter, and by keeping them longer they
can be grown to weigh 600, 800, or even 1,000 pounds.
A Chester White exhibited at the Exposition in Philadel-
phia was said to weigh upwards of 1,300 lbs. live weight.
"We seldom have fatal diseases among our hogs; many
of the diseases of swine, as of the sheep, enumerated by
the English, I think never occur in this country. As to
the Chester Whites being exempt from the attacks of
'cholera,' Thomas Miner, of Edinburgh, Indiana, stated
to me some years ago that all his hogs, seventy in num-
ber, were attacked with cholera, and the only pig in the
whole herd that recovered was a Chester sow, the only
one he had. I do not recollect ever hearing of a Chester
dying with the cholera, yet I see no reason why they
should be exempt. I think we have never had any hog
cholera in eastern Pennsylvania, except in a few instances,
THE CHESTER WHITES.
39
where pigs were shipped from the West for sale to our
dairies."
We have said that the Essex were essentially the same
kind of hogs as the Suffolks, except in color and the qual-
ity of their skins: The best of the Chester Whites stand
in about the same relation to the Poland-Chinas, for if a
Chester was partially black, he would easily be mistaken
for a Poland-China, and a strictly white Poland-China
could scarcely be distinguished from a Chester White.
With many persons who suppose they have had the
Chesters in their best estate, there is much prejudice
against the breed, but, in many cases, we think the Ches-
ters receive the harshest criticisms from parties who never
owned one purely bred, and, in all probability, do not
know what they are, or how they should look. Where
the best specimens have been handled with the same care,
and the same judgment used in mating, breeding, and
feeding, that is bestowed on other well-bred, well-fed ani-
mals, they have been reasonably satisfactory, and have
justly earnest advocates and admirers.
The occasion of the bitterness toward so many hogs that
have been called Chester Whites, is that their popularity,
and the consequent demand increased, while they were
comparatively few in numbers, faster than the supply,
which stimulated many unprincipled parties in eastern
Pennsylvania to engage in advertising and shipping any
white pigs they could obtain, regardless of their charac-
ter or breeding, and thousands of innocent purchasers of
these mongrel pigs supposed they had pure Chesters, and
the subsequent failures with them caused no little loss,
mortification, and deep-seated disgust with the very name.
One firm alone, that perhaps raised some of their pigs,
publicly proclaimed that they had shipped annually, for
three or four years prior to 1870, from 2,500 to 2,900
pigs, and the advertisements of all such parties intimated,
•
40
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
indirectly, that their ability to fill orders for choice
selected pigs was unlimited.
A gentleman residing in Chester county, gave the New
York Farmers' Club some correct ideas as to the way the
business was conducted, as follows:
"I live in Chester county, and know something of the operators
in this famous breed of pigs; know something of their business,
its extent, and their ability to meet the demand with pure Chester
Whites-pigs pure enough to reproduce themselves. There are,
no doubt, a great many breeders who keep the stock unmixed, but
if you knew the enormous demand from abroad, independent of
the local wants, you would see how little likelihood there is of
meeting it with pure stock. The consequence is, every nook and
corner is scoured for pigs-pigs that are not black, that is all that
is required.
Drovers, hucksters, and almost every other itinerant, are on
the lookout for pigs, until they have tripled in price from what
they were a few years ago.
"Last fall, a neighbor had several litters of very ordinary pigs,
which a farmer engaged at a very young age, to make sure of them;
but a hog-dealer-as they are called-came around in a few days,
bid higher, and took the most of the lot.
:
"Another neighbor procured a pair of pigs from one of the
breeders we have in the county, and the first litter he raised from
them were nearly all more or less spotted with black, thus showing
unmistakably bad blood."
When the reaction following this set in, it was, of
course, severe. The graceless scamps who followed this
business, have given the Chester Whites a much worse
reputation than they deserve, and the question as to
whether the true Chester White is an established breed,
is not worth discussing with those who really know them.
They are appropriately classed with the large breeds,
growing, if kept, to almost any size, and hold their white
color perfectly under all circumstances. Docility and
cleanliness are marked characteristics with them, and the
sows make an excellent foundation upon which to cross
boars of any of the more refined breeds, the offspring in-
THE CHESTER WHITES.
41
heriting size from the sow, and early maturity, and fine
feeding quality from the boar.
The tendency of late years has been to reduce the Ches-
ter's coarseness of bone, head, ears, and hair, and it is a
marked improvement. The best specimens are as near
models in form, as can be shown in any breed, and the
heavy lopped ears, coarse heads, long, coarse tails, and
hair, are much less characteristic of the breed now, than
in its earlier days, while at present they have fine forms,
famous for deep, heavy shoulders, medium-sized thin
ears, drooping somewhat forward, shapely heads, plenty
of bone to sustain their weight, moderately fine tails, and
good coats of silvery white hair of reasonable fineness,
sometimes straight, and sometimes quite wavy. We think
the report below does not do them justice in respect to
their hairing, as it is usually all that could be desired.
Hon. Alfred Gray, Secretary Kansas State Board of
Agriculture, has had much experience in breeding Ches-
ter Whites in Kansas, and he informs us that his best pigs
were generally from straight-haired sows, bred to boars
with hair quite inclined to curl, and other points favor-
ing, he recommends mating breeding stock in that way.
Where farmers have large Chester sows that are too
coarse, a cross with a good Suffolk boar will give pigs with
fine points and most excellent feeding qualities, fattening
readily from the time they are weaned.
We have had considerable experience with the Chesters,
perhaps as good as Chester county afforded, and their
merits are many, but they were discarded with other
white breeds, for their one failing in the western climate
and under western treatment, viz, liability to skin dis-
eases, especially mange. Harsh treatment and exposure
tell severely against the hardiest white hogs, but we be-
lieve judicious management and breeding will yet do
much to rid them of this apparent tenderness.
.
42
SWINE HUSBANDRY,
The National Convention adopted the following as their
description of the
CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF CHESTER WHITES.
"Head short, broad between the eyes; ears thin, pro-
jecting forward and lap at the point; neck short and
thick; jowl large; body lengthy and deep, broad on back ;
hams full and deep; legs short, and well set under for
bearing the weight; coating thinnish white, straight,
and if a little wavy not objectionable; small tail, and no
bristles."
CHAPTER V.
THE BERKSHIRES.
For ten years subsequent to 1831 there raged in the
United States what might appropriately be called “the
Berkshire fever," and mainly from the efforts of those
interested in their importation, and sale at fancy prices,
the breed became notorious, if not popular. Many sub-
stantial farmers, and others, invested in them largely,
and no small efforts were made to sustain the mushroom
reputation that speculators had made for them, but while
they were, even at that time, hogs of excellent breeding
and truly valuable, the careless, neglectful systems then
in vogue with too many farmers, were not adapted to
maintaining the good qualities given the breed by English
breeding and feeding, and deterioration followed. Fail-
ing to realize the expectations of those who purchased
them, a reaction set in, and breeders became disgusted
with, and so prejudiced against, the stock and its very
name, that they would afterwards scarcely accept of a
Berkshire as a present.
Much of the prejudice then engendered only ceased
THE BERKSHIRES.
43

N
MM
ALABADA
Fig. 3.-BERKSHIRE SOW.
44
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
with its generation, and perhaps but little or none of it
exists at the present time.
Since about 1865, new importations, of the finest speci-
mens of the improved Berkshires that Great Britain could
produce, have been made, and the stock has been widely
disseminated; being now thoroughly known and appre-
ciated, it probably stands second to none in the estima-
tion of intelligent pork-producers throughout the United
States and Canadas.
While the Berkshires of the present time are probably
much improved over those of forty years ago, the spirit of
improvement is still abroad, and the standard of perfec-
tion is placed high.
Prominent among the good qualities that serve to
make them favorites are:
1st.-Great muscular power and vitality, which render
them less liable to disease than many other breeds.
2d.-Activity, combined with strong digestive and as-
similating powers; hence they return a maximum amount
of flesh and fat for the food consumed.
3d. The sows are unequaled for prolificacy, and as
careful nurses and good sucklers.
4th.—The pigs are strong, smart, and active at birth,
and consequently less liable to mishaps.
5th.—They can be fattened for market at any time,
while they may be fed to any reasonable weight desired.
6th.—Their flesh is the highest quality of pork.
Yth.-Power of the boar to transmit the valuable qual-
ities of the breed to its progeny, when used as a cross.
8th. —Their unsurpassed uniformity in color, marking,
and quality.
It is doubtful if any hogs are nearer thoroughbred, in
its best sense, or more certain to reproduce themselves
with fidelity than the improved Berkshires. Crossed with
Poland-Chinas they make the best feeding hogs possible-
in fact, there is scarcely a medium or large breed upon
THE BERKSHIRES,
45
which they cannot be crossed with advantage, owing to
their great vigor and hardiness.
In our own breeding and feeding operations, no breed
has been found so eminently satisfactory as the best Berk-
shires, and we breed them pure in considerable numbers
for feeding purposes, having years ago discontinued the
raising of any others.
Their reasonable size, quick growth, easy fattening, do-
cility, uniformity, and hardiness captivated us, and every
day's experience but adds to our admiration of them.
The pigs, even when coming in the most unfavorable
seasons, have a tenacity of hold on life that is truly won-
derful.
Many of the meanest hogs and those of the worst dis-
position that we have known were called Berkshires, but
they sustained about the same relation to the true sort,
that the propagators of them did to intelligent farmers
and breeders.
The Berkshires having become so numerous, and their
excellence so generally recognized, the friends of the
breed organized in March, 1875, at Springfield, Illinois,
the "American Berkshire Association," having for its
object the "collection, preservation, and dissemination
of reliable information on the origin, breeding, and man-
agement of Berkshire swine, and the publication of a
Herd Book, or Record of Berkshire pedigrees."
One of the first steps of the Association was to offer a
premium of $100 for the best approved orignal essay on
the origin and management of Berkshires. The premi-
um was awarded to A. B. Allen, Esq., of New York,
the historical and descriptive portions of whose essay are
presented in subsequent pages.
The entire essay appears in Vol. I of the "American
Berkshire Record," and we are safe in saying that the
subject has not, in any other published paper, been
treated by any one so thoroughly familiar with it as Mr.
46
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Allen, and we give a considerable portion of it here in
lieu of any attempt to treat the subject ourselves.
Mr. Allen prepared the report on Berkshires, as adopt-
ed by the "Swine Breeders' Convention ;" but we omit
it, as the essay contains the same, and considerable other
information.
The Convention agreed upon the following as the
CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF BERKSHIRES.
Color black, with white on feet, face, tip of tail, and
an occasional splash of white on the arm; while a small
spot of white on some other part of the body does not
argue an impurity of blood, yet it is to be discouraged
to the end that uniformity of color may be attained by
breeders; white upon one ear, or a bronze or copper spot
on some part of the body argues no impurity, but rather
a reappearance of original colors. Markings of white
other than those named above are suspicious, and a pig
so marked should be rejected.
Face short, fine, and well dished, broad between the
eyes; ears generally almost erect, but sometimes in-
clining forward with advancing age, small, thin, soft,
and showing veins; jowl full; neck short and thick;
shoulder short from neck, to middling deep from back
down; back broad and straight, or a very little arched;
ribs-long ribs, well sprung, giving rotundity of body;
short ribs of good length, giving breadth and levelness of
loins; hips good length from point of hip to rump;
hams thick, round, and deep, holding their thickness
well back and down to the hocks; tail fine and small,
set on high up; legs short and fine, but straight and
very strong, with hoofs erect, legs set wide apart; size
medium; length medium, extremes are to be avoided;
bone fine and compact; offal very light; hair fine and
compact; skin pliable.
The Berkshires are hardy, prolific, and excellent nurses;
THE BERKSHIRES.
47
their meat is of superior quality, with fat and lean well
mixed.
As showing the weight that animals of this breed will
attain at an early age, it is stated that J. A. Brown, of
Milton, Illinois, sold, in 1873, a lot of Berkshire pigs of
an average age of nine months, and their average weight
was 305 pounds.
As indicating the estimate placed on this breed in Eng-
land, the leading work of that country on swine raising
says:*
Among the black breeds, by universal consent, the improved
Berkshire hog stands at the head of the list, either to breed pure,
or to cross with inferior breeds. *** They are now considered,
by Berkshire farmers, to be divided into a middle (medium size)
and a small breed. If first-class, they should be well covered with
long, black, silky hair. * * * The white should be confined to
four white feet, a white spot between the eyes, and a few white
hairs behind each shoulder."
PREMIUM ESSAY.
BY A. B ALLEN.
THE ORIGINAL BREED OF BERKSHIRE SWINE
Tradition, and the earliest published accounts of what has long
been particularly distinguished by the name of Berkshire swine,
represents them, down to about a century since, as among the
largest breeds of England, weighing, full grown, from 700 to 1,000
pounds, or more. The 'Complete Grazier' describes one, in
1807, as weighing 113 stone, (904 lbs.) This was exhibited, with
others, by Sir William Curtis, at the cattle show of Lord Somer-
ville, in that year. Johnson, in his 'Farmers' Encyclopædia,'
London, 1842, says that they weighed at that time from 50 to 100
stone (400 to 800 lbs. The latter of these, doubtless, were of the
improved breed.
"Originally, they were represented as being generally of a buff,
sandy, or reddish-brown color, spotted with black, occasionally
tawny or white spotted in the same manner. They were coarse in
the bone; head rather large, with heavy flop ears; broad on the
* Sidney's "Youatt on the Pig," London, 1860.
;
48
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
back; deep in the chest; flat-sided, and long in the body; thick
and heavy in both shoulders and hams; well let down in the twist;
bristles and long curly hair, with rather short, strong legs. Their
meat was better marbled than that of any other breed of swine in
Great Britain—that is, had a greater proportion of lean freely in-
termixed with fine streaks of fat, which makes it much more
tender and juicy than it would otherwise be. They were conse-
quently, from time immemorial, preferred to all other swine there,
for choice hams, shoulders, and bacon. They were slow feeders,
and did not ordinarily mature till two and a half to three years old.
"It is thus that I find the Berkshire hog figured and described
in the earliest English publications to which I have been able,
thus far, to obtain access. But in the second volume of the mag-
nificent folio edition, illustrated with colored plates, now lying
before me, of 'The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the Brit-
ish Islands,' by Professor David Low, published in London, in
1842, is a portrait of a Berkshire as I have described above, except
being of rounder body and somewhat finer in all his points, with
ears like most of those of modern breeding, medium in size, and
erect, instead of flopping. This portrait is of a sandy or reddish-
brown color, spotted with black; the feet and legs for nearly their
whole length, white, slightly streaked on the sides and behind, with
reddish-brown. It, of course, represents one of the old breed con-
siderably improved, and marked as I occasionally found them in
all my visits to Berkshire down to 1867. But the pigs which I saw
thus marked were of the same size and shape, and as fine in all
their points, as a general run of the black, slate, or plum colors of
the present day.
SOWS.
"FORMATION OF THE IMPROVED BERKSHIRE SWINE.
"Tradition tells us that this was made by a cross of the black, or
deep plum-colored Siamese boar, on the old unimproved Berkshire
Other traditions assert that the black and white spotted,
and even pure white Chinese boar was also sparingly used to assist
in the same purpose. I can well believe this; for I often saw
swine in Berkshire spotted, about half and half black and white,
in addition to the reddish-brown, or buff and black, and so on al-
most up to the pure plum color or black. The produce of the
above cross or crosses was next bred together, and by judicious
subsequent selections, the improved breed, as we now find it, be-
came, in due time, fixed and permanent in all its desirable points.
"Another feature, aside from the half and half black and white
spots hitherto occasionally found to mark the improved Berkshire
THE BERKSHIRES.
49
swine, which may be adduced in support of the supposition of a
sparing cross with the white and light spotted Chinese, is the shape
of the jowls. All these which I have bred in my piggery, or im-
ported at different times direct from China, or have seen elsewhere,
had much fuller and fatter jowls than the Siamese. Some of the
breeders of England preferred the fat jowls, because carrying the
most meat; others the leaner, as they said this gave their stock a
finer and higher bred look in the head.
66 THE SIAMESE SWINE.
"In the same volume of Professor Low, which contains the
Berkshire portrait as described above, is a colored plate of a Siam-
ese sow. She is a dark-slate, varying to that of a rich plum color.
The two hind feet are white; the fore legs and feet white, shaded
in front with plum. The face is dished; head fine, with short erect
ears; shoulders and hams extra large; back broad, with a deep,
round, and longish body. The sow is represented with a slightly
swayed or hollow back, at which we need not wonder, considering
its length, and that she has a litter of nine great fat pigs tugging
away at her dugs. These, Professor Low says, were got by a half-
bred Chinese boar, which, I presume, from the color of the pigs,
was white; for some of them were pure white, while others are
mixed with slate, or plum and white, and one is a buff, with black
spots, like the original Berkshire.
"I will now describe the Siamese swinc, such as I possessed and
bred for several years on my farm. They varied in color from
deep rich plum to dark-slate and black; had two to three white
feet, but no white on the legs or other parts of the body. The
head was short and fine, with a dished face, and rather thin jowls;
ears short, slender, and erect; shoulders and hams round, smooth,
and extra large; back broad and somewhat arched, except in sows
heavy with pig or suckling pigs, but even then it was straight
rather than swayed; body of moderate length, deep, well ribbed up,
and nearly as round as a barrel; chest deep and broad; twist well
let down; legs fine and short; tail very slender and well set, with
a handsome curl in it near the rump; hair soft, silky, and thin; no
bristles even on the boars; skin thin and of a dark hue, yet when
scalded, scraped white; flesh firm, sweet, and very tender, with
less lean than in the Berkshire. Although so compact, round and
smooth in build, they had a fine, high-bred, up-headed style, espe-
cially in their walk, which instantly attracted the attention of all
who called to see them. They were moderately prolific, and as
3
50
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
hardy as any other breed of swine I ever kept, the extremes of
heat and cold never injuring them. They were gentle in disposi-
tion, very quiet, and easily kept, and would partially fatten on
good pasture, or coarse, raw vegetables. They could be made fit
for the butcher at any age; matured at 12 to 15 months old; and
when fully fattened, generally weighed from 250 to 300 pounds,
occasionally going to 350, or 400 pounds. They had very fine
bones and light offal.
"It was, doubtless, with Siamese boars as perfect as I have de-
scribed, that the cross was made on the original Berkshire sows,
which has contributed so largely to the formation of the improved
breed, held in such high estimation for a full century or more past.
"WHEN WAS THE CROSS FIRST MADE?
"Several aged men in different parts of Berkshire, of whom I
inquired on my first visit to England, in 1841, informed me that
they had known there improved swine of the same type as I then
found them, from earliest childhood. But the most particular, and
apparently reliable, account I was able to obtain, was from Mr.
Westbrook, of Pinckney Green, Bysham, who told me that his
father possessed them as early as the year 1780, in as great perfec-
tion as the best then existing in the country. Thus it will be seen
that the improvement is now at least a century old, and more prob-
ably a century and a quarter; for it would have taken some years
back of 1780 to begin a new breed of swine, and get it up to a
fixed type at that period.
66 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEST OF THE IMPROVED
BERKSHIRE SWINE AT THIS TIME.
"Snout and head fine and rather short, but larger in proportion
to the body in the male than in the female, and with a bolder and
more determined expression; face dished and broad between the
eyes; jowls full or thinner, according to the fancy of the breeder;
eyes bright and expressive; cars small, thin, and upright, or inclin-
ing their points a little forward; neck short, rather full in the
throat, and harmoniously swelling to the shoulders; chest broad
and deep; back broad and moderately arched; rump nearly level
with it; well let down in the twist; body of good length and
depth, round, with well sprung ribs, and straight along the sides
and under the belly; shoulders, above all, in the boar, extra thick,
yet sloping smoothly to the body; hams broad, round, deep, and
so thick through from side to side, particularly in the sow and bar-
row, that, standing directly behind, except when pretty fat, the
THE BERKSHIRES.
51
sides of the body are scarcely seen between them and the shoul-
ders; legs fine, strong, of moderate length, and set rather wide
apart; feet small, with clear, tough hoofs; tail slender and well
set, with a handsome curl near the rump; bones fine and of an
ivory-like grain and hardness; offal very light in comparison to
weight of carcass; hair fine, soft, and silky; no bristles, even on
the boar; skin thin and mellow, with elastic handling of the flesh
beneath; quick and spirited in movement; stylish in carriage, and,
in the boar, more especially, bold and imposing in presence.
"COLOR AND MARKING.
"The most favorite color among the best breeders in Berkshire,
in 1841, was a deep rich plum, with a slight flecking on the body of
white, or a little mingling with it of buff; a small blaze in the face;
two to four feet white, and more or less white hair in the tail.
The plum color was preferred to the black or slate, because it car-
ried rather higher style and finer points with it, a superior quality
of flesh, softer hair, and thinner skin.
"The above is no ideal description of choice improved Berkshire
swine, for I found several such in traversing the country, and pur-
chased and sent them home, to grace my own piggery. Nor, with
all these points, were they lacking in size; and to substantiate this
assertion, I will here note the dimensions of one of those I im-
ported at this time, which I called 'Windsor Castle,' he having
been bred and reared near that magnificent royal residence, stand-
ing in Berkshire.
"As he lay down he measured, in a direct line along the side,
from the tip of his nose to the end of his rump, six feet three and
a half inches. If measured standing up, with his head stooping
towards the ground, by running the tape line from the tip of his
nose over the head between the ears, and along the back to the
end of the rump, as swine are often measured, it would have made
upwards of seven feet long; but I do not consider this a fair way
of measuring. Hight to top of the shoulder, two feet eleven
inches; hight to top of rump, three feet; girth close behind the
shoulders, five feet six inches. He was in rather lean condition
when I measured him, as I kept him so in order not to be too
heavy to serve small sows. It is well known that when a Berk-
shire is fully fed, in addition to the meat on his sides, he lays two to
four inches more on his back. I am confident if 'Windsor Castle'
had been altered to a barrow, and fully fattened, he would then
have measured three feet and two inches high to top of shoulder,
and three feet three inches high to top of rump; would have
52
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
girthed around the heart seven feet, and weighed, dressed, at least
eight hundred pounds. He was as fine in hair and all his points, and
as good a handler as the choicest of those of smaller size; and for
a combination of size, style, vigor, and noble presence, he exceeded
anything I ever saw or ever expect to see in the genus Sus. A
friend of mine, who was a special nice judge and breeder of
horses and cattle, but who hated hogs, and would go as far to kick.
one as the celebrated late John Randolph, of Roanoke, Virginia,
was in the habit of declaring he would go to kick a sheep; on
visiting my piggery and seeing' Windsor Castle,' was so surprised
and delighted with his superb appearance, that he exclaimed he
was the only one of this sort of stock he had ever looked upon
which had any poetry in him, and that for his sake alone he should
henceforth be reconciled to swine.
"SIZE OF THE IMPROVED BERKSHIRE.
I have heard of those, both in England and America, whose
dead weight, dressed, occasionally exceeded 800 lbs.; but at the
time I first visited the former country, the general weight, full
grown, was about the same as at the present time-namely, from
300 to 600 lbs.; according as the smaller or larger pigs were
selected from the litters for fattening, and as they were subse-
quently fed and attended. The smaller sizes matured several
months the quickest, and were preferred in the markets for fresh
pork; and for curing also, for those who were particularly nice in
the choice of their meat, being rather more tender and delicate
than the larger animals.
66
QUALITY OF MEAT.
"The meat of the improved Berkshire, like that of the unim-
proved, abounds in a much greater proportion of sweet, tender,
juicy lean, well marbled with very fine streaks of fat, than other
breeds of swine; but the former is far more delicate now, than the
latter ever was. This renders the whole carcass the most suit-
able of all for smoking. The hams and shoulders are almost
entirely lean, a thin rim of fat covering only the outside.
"MATURITY.
"The improved Berkshire could be fattened at any age. Bar-
rows matured in 12 to 18 months, according as selected from the
litters, whether the largest or smallest, and as subsequently fed
and treated. It took boars and sows reserved for breeding about
six months longer to get their fullest size and weight, not being
THE BERKSHIRES.
53
pushed by high feed so rapidly as those destined for more imme-
diate slaughter.
"EARLIEST IMPORTATIONS INTO AMERICA.
"The first importation into the country, of which I find record,
was made in 1823, by Mr. John Brentnall, an English farmer who
settled in English Neighborhood, New Jersey. I became acquaint-
ed with his sons after their removal to Orange county, New York,
and purchased of them stock descended from this importation.
"The next were imported in 1832, by Mr. Siday Hawes, an
English farmer who settled in Albany, New York. He subse-
quently made other importations, some of the descendants of all
which I added to the stock on my farm.
"I have heard that by the year 1838, a few followed into Canada
and some of the Western States, from England. I bought a small
lot that came into western New York in 1839; and late that year,
Messrs. Bagg & Wait, English farmers who had settled in Orange
county, New York, began their large importation, which they con-
tinued for several years, disposing of them mainly in Kentucky,
Tennessee, Missouri, and the South. In 1841 I selected in Berk-
shire, England, and imported into New York, upwards of forty
head of the choicest of the Improved Breed of swine I could find
there. The above have been followed by numerous other impor-
tations down to the present time, both into the United States and
Canada. Those curious as to the particulars of these will find
them pretty fully recorded in the various Agricultural journals of
America. ****
"ADVANTAGE IN MAINTAINING THE BERKSHIRE BREED.
"There is a growing taste on the part of the American people,
coinciding with that which has been cultivated a long time in
Europe, for tender, juicy, well marbled, smoked hams, shoulders,
and side pieces, in preference to very fat, salt pork. This should
be encouraged, as the former are not only the more palatable to
persons in general, but are unquestionably the most healthy food.
Considering these facts, the Berkshire, above all others, should be
the favorite swine among us; and we ought to take all possible
pains in breeding, rearing, and fattening them in such a manner as
to make a superior quality of smoked meat, not only for the home,
but also for the foreign market.
"Improved methods of curing and packing should likewise be
adopted, so as to enable us to get as high a price in the English
market as the best Irish bacon commands. This, I find often
quoted 20 to 30 per cent above American.
54
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"Indian corn, which in the United States grows in such abund-
ance, is undoubtedly superior to anything which can be produced
in Ireland, for making the best quality of fat pork; but I have
heard this questioned as to hams and bacon. Some feeders contend
that fine, mealy potatoes, cooked and mixed with barley, oats, peas,
or beans, or several of these, fed together, will produce a superior
quality of bacon. This is a matter worth inquiring into, and I
would suggest an earnest consideration of it on the part of our
feeders, and of those engaged also in bacon curing and packing.
The Irish have one advantage over the Americans, in the English
market; and that is in being so much nearer to it, they can cure
their bacon and offer it on sale in a fresher and milder state than
we are able to at present. If we should, on trial, hereafter find
that it can be sent forward at a profit, in refrigerators, kept down
to a low and even temperature, we could then probably obtain as
high prices in the English market as do the Irish, and thus add
another desirable item to the exports of America.'
""
CHAPTER VI.
THE SUFFOLKS.
The Suffolks are not raised pure, or used as a cross in
the principal pork producing States so extensively as sev-
eral other breeds, nor are they so well known to a major-
ity of farmers, who have a belief, if not positive knowl-
edge, that they are somewhat delicate, and difficult to
raise.
The objections to them are, that they are not large
enough, not satisfactory as breeders and nurses, and that
their skins are too tender, and thinly haired, to withstand
the exposure to which the average farmer's hogs are sub-
jected.
As to size, the best strains of Suffolks are large enough
for those who prefer to raise hogs of medium weights,
while for quietness, and easy keeping qualities, no breed
-
THE SUFFOLKS,
55

އ
シ
​Fig. 6.—SUFFOLK SOW.
56
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
of swine can excel them, and to those who like pets, we
would recommend a cleanly-kept Suffolk pig in prefer-
ence to any "poodle," or other diminutive canine, we
ever saw. The sows are not so prolific, so regular as
breeders, nor usually so good sucklers as others that ma-
ture less early, and not so predisposed to excessive fatness
while young.
Experience with the Suffolks has convinced many that
the wind, sun, and mud, make sad work with their tender,
papery skins, and we have seen them, when reasonably
well kept, become chapped and cracked all over, and the
smaller pigs so mangy and sore as to present the appear-
ance of a solid scab. Of course, all Suffolks are not so
affected, and we think that in many localities, they are
no more liable to suffer in this way than hogs of any other
white breed. The climate of some Western and South-
western States is unmistakably severe on white hogs, not
well haired, and when such are constantly exposed to
biting frosts, drying winds, and scorching sun, the re-
sults will, in most cases, be anything but satisfactory,
and the balance will be found on the wrong side of the
ledger.
.
As now bred, we cannot look upon them as a reason-
ably profitable hog for general use, but Suffolk boars can
be used to good advantage on many farms where white
hogs are preferred, and more refinement is desired.
The Hon. John Wentworth, of Cook county, Illinois,
having bred the Suffolks, exclusively, for upwards of
twenty years, owning many of the finest in the world,
and being, after this long experience, an enthusiastic ad-
mirer of them, we solicited his estimate of them as
a farmer's hog, and he gives the following in reply:
"After trying carefully all the other breeds, we give the prefer-
ence to the Suffolks, and we think all others will who try them as
long and as impartially as we have. They make the most pork with
the least food, and with the least bone. They are the quietest
THE SUFFOLKS.
57
hogs. Give them enough to eat and they will never leave the
premises. They lie down and remain so until they want more
food. They make the least offal of any hogs, and they root about
the least, even when short of food. For crossing upon other hogs,
they have decidedly the preference. Their cross upon the largest
white sows make the best of Chester Whites. Their crosses upon
the largest black, or speckled sows, make the equals of Berkshires,
Magies, Polands, Poland-Chinas, Essex, Byfield, and other dark-
colored breeds.
Indeed, with a judicious crossing of the Suffolk boar upon the
ordinary cheap hogs of the country, you can closely imitate any
existing breed of hogs, or make a breed of any form you please.
"It is a remarkable fact that the Chesters, Berkshires, Magies,
Polands, Poland-Chinas, Essex, Byfields, etc., etc., as well as the
later formed breeds that have taken the most prizes, have been
manufactured in this way, from the Suffolks, which are the
oldest breed known to man. Our Suffolks are well haired, and
run in our pastures and barn-yards with our cattle, sheep,
geese, ducks, and chickens. They are as quiet and harmless as
any animals we keep. As the Suffolk is not a new breed, nor re-
cently made up from unknown crosses, but a long-established Eng-
lish variety, it is therefore a true breeder. In them there is no
breeding back to the original common or made-up stock. Their
litters are not part of one kind and part of another, but they are
uniformly true to the Suffolk characteristics. They breed even,
each pig as good as another. * * *** During the season of
grass they will keep fat without any other food. Suffolk pork
costs less and brings more money than any other.
Suffolks are the most popular breed in England. The Suffolk
attains maturity at an early age, and may always be in a condition
to kill from the time they are a month old. The carcasses com-
mand a considerable extra price over the common hogs of the
country, partly on account of the greater weight in proportion to
the bone, and partly from the pork being of better quality and
flavor. It derives its well-known name, "the English nobleman's
hog," from the fact that it is always in a condition to be killed,
however suddenly company comes.
"The object of the farmer is to get the most meat to the least
bone, the most valuable matter in the hog upon the same food to
the least portion of the valueless matter. The Suffolk may be
small, compared with mammoth breeds, but he contains as much
that is eatable as most hogs of double his weight, and which
58
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
consume four times his food. But the Suffolk can be made of
superior size by keeping off its flesh until the bones are properly
developed, and this development cannot take place whilst the
young bones are overladen with flesh, as those of over-fatted Suf-
folks are apt to be. But, owing to their short legs, they weigh
much more than is generally supposed. The Suffolks never root
up their pastures, nor make enemies of neighbors by wandering
away from home, or by breaking into their premises. The Suffolks
are invariably white, except now and then one will have two or
three bluish spots. These bluish spots, on the skin, but never in
the hair, unlike those found upon any other hogs, indicate purity
of blood and recent importation.
'We started out in 1855 with Suffolks descended from the pens
of Lord Wenlock and Mr. Crisp, of England; and we can safely
say that we have bred from every importation into the United
States and the Provinces since; and we intend to keep up our
stock by importing ourselves and availing ourselves of the impor-
tations of others. We have sold Suffolks into every State and
Territory, the Empire of Japan, the Sandwich Islands, the British
Provinces, and Mexico.
"The following statement will explain how persons who annu-
ally ship large quantities of hogs to Chicago view the character-
istics of the Suffolk. When we first began to breed Suffolks, and
there were no railroads in the country, hog raisers would only buy
boars and raise half-breeds to drive. As railroads approached
them they would raise three-quarters blooded to drive. As rail-
roads would reach them, and they had little or no distance to
drive, they have bought Suffolk sows as well as boars, and raised
full-bloods."
Mr. Wentworth, in a communication to the "Prairie
Farmer," says:
"
I read, with great interest, the report of the committee at the
late Swine Breeders' Association upon the characteristics of the
Suffolk högs. I have had them exclusively for the past eighteen
years, and my sales will average one hundred every year for the
past ten years, and I think I have had all the importations repre-
sented in my herd.
'While I commend the general correctness of the report, I
would state that there is one characteristic that was not only not
alluded to by the committee, but it was rather repudiated in the
following words, 'free from spots or any other color.' Now
THE SUFFOLKS.
59
there is a liability in all Suffolks to have round bluish spots upon
their skins, although covered with white bristles, and these spots
seem to increase with age. My present boar was selected for me
by Mr. Harison, Secretary of the New York State Agricultural
Society. When he arrived, aged about six months, he was spot-
less, and so continued until about two years of age, and then bluish
spots of the size of an old-fashioned silver dollar commenced
growing upon him. Now, at four years of age, he has about
twenty of them, although the bristles covering them are white.
Of course, these spots are exceptions, not one in ten having them,
and very few inside of one year old; yet there is a tendency to
them, and no hog should be rejected as a pure Suffolk on their ac-
count. These spots are easily detected from black spots.
"At one of the State Fairs at Chicago, one of my boars not only
took the first premium as the best Suffolk, but the sweepstake prize
as the best boar of any age or breed upon the ground. He had
several of these spots upon him at that time, although having none
until he was a year old. I notice these bluish spots occasionally
upon hogs at the stock yards, which have, in all respects, charac-
teristics of the Suffolks.
"A correspondent of yours, whilst finding fault with the size
of the Suffolk, thinks they are the best for crossing upon other
hogs. I have found this to be the invariable opinion of men who
want a breed of hogs of their own, independent of everybody else.
Wherever they start, whatever may be their groundwork, before
they get through making their new breed of hogs they invariably
incorporate somewhere a cross of the Suffolk.
"Your paper says that four hundred is the profitable size of the
hog. The Suffolks can easily be made to weigh this amount, by
feeding them lightly until their legs have acquired sufficient
strength to support their weight of carcass. The inferior weight
attributed so often to Suffolks arises entirely from overfeeding
them when young."
Mr. William Smith, of Detroit, Michigan, has long
occupied a front rank as a breeder of these hogs, and is
familiar with them and their breeding, in England, as
well as America, and his testimony is this:
"Having bred the Suffolks continually for over forty years, I
can safely assert that they are a great favorite with me. I find in
the improved breed nothing to condemn, and everything to com-
mend. They attain good size at an early age, and their quiet,
60
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
pleasant disposition, clean, snow-white appearance, and handsome
form, are very desirable features in connection with their many
other good qualities, not the least of which is the comparative
small amount of food they require.
"The Suffolks are rapidly gaining in favor, and wherever intro-
duced give good satisfaction. They are quite hardy and thrive in
almost any climate that any of their species will, from the most
northern part of Canada to southern Missouri and California. We
know that they flourish and give satisfaction, as hundreds of my
customers can testify.
"Canada, Michigan, New York, parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Iowa, and other States, are rapidly becoming stocked with them,
and in my opinion it will not be many years before they become
“the hog” of the country. There is no possible question about
their being the very best thoroughbred for improving the common or
native breeds, and for this quality alone they would be entitled to
a front rank in the list of valuable breeds."
The Report adopted by the "National Convention of
Swine Breeders" on Suffolk swine, is as follows:
"Mr. Sidney says: Yorkshire stands in the first rank as a pig
breeding county, possessing the largest white breed in England
as well as an excellent medium and small breed, all white, the last
of which, transplanted into the south, has figured and won prizes
under the names of divers noblemen and gentlemen, and in more
than one county. The Yorkshires are closely allied with the
Cumberland breeds, and have been so much intermixed that, with
the exception of the very largest breeds, it is difficult to tell where
the Cumberland begins and where the Yorkshire ends. It will be
enough to say, for the present, that the modern Manchester boar,
the improved Suffolk, the improved Middlesex, the Coleshill, and
the Prince Albert or Windsor, were all founded on Yorkshire-
Cumberland stock, and some of them are merely pure Yorkshires
transplanted and re-christened.
Speaking of pigs kept in the dairy district of Cheshire, he says,
'white pigs have not found favor with the dairymen of Cheshire,
and the white ones most used are Manchester boars, another name
for the Yorkshire-Cumberland breed.' He says, in another place,
and all the authors who have followed him, down to the latest
published work on the subject, occupy space in describing various
county pigs, which have long ceased to possess, if ever they pos-
sessed, any merit worthy of the attention of the breeder. Thus
THE SUFFOLKS.
61
the Norfolk, the Suffolk, the Bedford, the Cheshire, have each
separate notice, not one of which, except the Suffolk, is worthy
of cultivation, and the Suffolk is only another name for a small
Yorkshire pig.
"CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF SUFFOLKS.
"Head small, very short; cheeks prominent and full;
face dished; snout small and very short; jowl fine; ears
short, small, thin, upright, soft, and silky; neck very
short and thick, the head appearing almost as if set on
front of shoulders; no arching of crest; chest wide and
deep elbows standing out; brisket wide but not deep;
shoulders thick, rather upright, rounding outwards from
top to elbow; crops wide and full; sides and flanks,
long ribs, well arched out from back, good length be-
tween; shoulders and hams, flank well filled out, and
coming well down at ham; back broad, level, and straight
from crest to tail, no falling off or down at tail; hams
wide and full, well rounded out, twist very wide and full
all the way down; legs small and very short, standing
wide apart, in sows just keeping belly from the ground;
bone fine; feet small, hoofs rather spreading; tail small,
long, and tapering; skin thin, of a pinkish shade, free
from color; hair fine and silky, not too thick; color of
hair pale yellowish white, perfectly free from any spots or
other color; size small to medium."
*
62
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
CHAPTER VII.
THE ESSEX.
The Essex breed of swine is comparatively unknown
among the general farmers of the Mississippi Valley, and
we have no knowledge of their being raised in any con-
siderable numbers for pork. Still, in some localities,
they are bred in a limited way-more, perhaps, in Ken-
tucky, than elsewhere-and we have never encountered a
person who had once tried them, who did not place a
high estimate on their value as a small breed, and
especially on the boars to use for crossing on sows of
larger breeds.
They seem to be essentially the same as the Suffolks,
except in their black color, and less liability to skin dis-
eases, which would in a majority of cases make them the
favorites over their white competitors.
We think there is small probability that the Essex
swine, as now bred, will ever become the prevailing
breed, from the fact that they are of a smaller class of
hogs than most farmers care to raise, or packers to buy
and handle, and we deem it improbable that the next
fifty or one hundred years will witness the raising of
smaller swine, generally, than the Berkshires, and it is
more than likely that, in the future, the happy medium
will be an animal in size between the best modeled small-
boned Berkshire and the coarser Poland-Chinas of the
present time.
Just here, perhaps, is a fitting place to remark—and
we do so after full deliberation-that the party who can
exhibit at the next Centennial Exposition any better feed-
ing hogs, or those better suited for general purposes than
a cross between the two last-named breeds, will have
some stock to be very proud of.
THE ESSEX.
63

Fig. 5. —ESSEX SOW.
61
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Sidney's "Youatt on the Pig," (London, 1860), says:
'Early maturity, and an excellent quality of flesh, are among
the merits of the improved Essex. * * *
"The defect of the improved Essex is a certain delicacy, prob-
ably arising from their southern descent, and an excessive aptitude
to fatten, which, unless carefully counteracted by exercise and
diet, often diminishes the fertility of the sows, and causes diffi-
culty in rearing the young.
"As before observed, they are invaluable as a cross, being sure
to give quality and early maturity to any breed, and especially
valuable when applied to a black breed, where porkers are required.
For this purpose they have been extensively and successfully used,
in all the black pig districts of this country, [Great Britain,] where,
as well as in France and Germany, and in the United States, they
have superseded the use of the imported Neapolitan and Chinese.
'Many attempts, on a limited scale, to perpetuate the breed pure,
have been unsatisfactory, because it is too pure to stand in-and-in
breeding. They require much care when young.
"In the sows, the paternal fattening properties are apt to over-
balance the milking qualities, and make them bad nurses. * * *
"The improved Essex are ranked amongst the small breeds, and
there they are most profitable; but exceptional specimens have
been exhibited at agricultural shows in the classes for large
breeds."
Mr. Wm. Smith (before quoted under Suffolks) breeds
the Essex extensively, near Detroit, Mich., and writes of
them thus:
"This is a breed that will be appreciated in proportion as it
becomes known. Their characteristics are almost identical with
those of the Suffolks, except that the Suffolks are a pure white,
while the Essex are a beautiful jet black. This is always the case,
and any mixture of color, in either, is inadmissible. The style,
form, size, disposition, and feeding qualities are similar in the im-
proved breeds; and the pork of the Essex will dress as white as
any, if rightly managed. Although they are considered one of the
oldest established breeds, yet there have been frequent and marked
improvements within the past fifty years,-not the least of which
has been reached during the present decade.
"To Lord Western, of Mark's Hall, Essex, England, is given the
credit for their first great improvement, or I might say, of being
the originator of the present type, though it was much inferior to
THE ESSEX.
65
that of the present day. This improvement was brought about
by the introduction into his herd of the Neapolitan pig—a small,
fine-boned, black breed from Italy. The late Fisher Hobbs, of the
same place, followed up the improvements on the Western breed,
until he has made a reputation for himself and breed that is world-
wide.
"Sir George Mumford Sexton and other noted breeders have
succeeded in keeping them up with the advancing times, and to-day
there is no animal, of any kind, that shows finer or more perfect
breeding.
“There are many black hogs in this country that are called
Essex, and which may have originated from the unimproved Essex
stock that was introduced a few years since, and though they may
represent the name, they come far short of representing the quality
of the improved breed; and as a consequence many who have had
experience or acquaintance with the former, have but little faith
in the latter, from a want of the knowledge of the great difference
between them.
"The improved Essex matures early and attains good size, often
reaching from four to five hundred weight. Their meat is excel-
lent, and, like the Suffolks, can be made fit for pork at any age,
from a month upward. They are favorites with all breeders of
them. In England there are many counties that scarcely know
any other breeds than the Suffolk or Essex. They are marketed
by the thousands for light family and butchers' pork when from
five to eight months, and for that purpose there are none better.
They command a higher price than the coarser pork, and the
market reports always make a distinction in the quotations, and
show a wide difference in the prices in favor of these breeds.
* * * I could find much to say about, and in praise of the Essex,
but I will only add here, that they are hardy, healthy, and prolific."
Dr. Chase, of Kansas, in his description of the leading
breeds, says:
"We must say a word for the little Es-
sex. They are more squarely built than the Berkshire,
quiet, docile animals, that fatten almost at the sight of
corn, and weigh, under ordinary treatment, when full
grown, from 250 to 275 pounds. As a thorough-bred
stock, to breed to common sows, we do not believe they
will produce as large grade animals as the Berkshire.
"For the gentleman in town, or the small farmer, we
66
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
•
know of none that will give better satisfaction than the
Essex."
CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF ESSEX.
The report adopted by the Convention of Swine
Breeders, of characteristics of this breed, is as follows:
"The Essex is a black hog, originating in the south of
England. They are of small to medium in size, and are
extensively used in England to cross on the large, coarse
swine, to improve their fattening qualities.
"The best specimens may be known as follows: Color
black; face short and dishing; ears small, soft, and
stand erect while young, but coming down somewhat as
they get age; carcass long, broad, straight, and deep;
ham heavy and well let down; bone fine; carcass,
when fat, composed mostly of lard; hair, ordinarily
rather thin. The fattening qualities being very superior.
As breeders they are very prolific, and are fair nurses.
""
Since the foregoing was prepared, we have received
from Mr. E. W. Cottrell, of Greenfield, Mich., the fol-
lowing, under date of December 15th, 1876:
"Yes; I will cheerfully give you my estimate of the
Essex, and will premise by saying, that during my expe-
rience in breeding and managing thorough-bred pigs for
the past ten years, I have, some of the time, exceeded a
a thousand choice animals of the improved breeds, in-
cluding the Essex in considerable numbers, which has
given me an opportunity to compare and experiment upon
their relative merits, under the same and different treat-
ment, alongside of each other. I also have intimate
knowledge of the experience of a gentleman who has
bred these pigs, with others, for the past forty years,
both in this country and in England.
"As a result of this experience, I can say that, in my
estimation, they take rank among the best.
"The Essex are as distinct from all other types as it is
THE ESSEX.
67
possible for one breed to differ from another, and still
possess the principal valuable features belonging to the
species. In form, quality, and disposition, they more
nearly resemble the Suffolk than any other breed, and, in
fact, there is a similarity between them in this respect.
"In the improved breed, the style, form, color, size,
disposition, and general characteristics, are very uniform.
They are certainly a standard breed, and one of the old-
est established. Mr. William Smith, of Detroit, has
been the most extensive importer and breeder of them
that I know, and they have always been favorites with
him, both here and in England, where he has successfully
competed with the most noted breeders. His thorough
knowledge and experience has enabled him to give the
breed a still higher value than they possessed, even be-
fore.
"They mature early, their meat is excellent, and a
year, at most, should suffice to feed them to the most
profitable condition for pork; which is one of their mer-
its, and when fat, the carcass should yield a large propor-
tion of lard.
"They are invariably black; should have a short,
dished face; soft, fine, ears when young, though with.
age they will begin to grow heavier, and droop somewhat.
The body should be of medium length, broad, deep and
straight; with a heavy ham, well let down, and bone fine,
but strong enough to support the carcass in good style.
When in condition, the proportions should always be
symmetrical and pleasing; medium, well-haired, with a
fine and comparatively soft coat.
"They possess powers of transmitting to their progeny
an excess of their own good qualities, when crossed upon
common and coarser swine, and the first cross upon our
natives will improve their qualities, almost beyond recog-
nition. Excepting the Suffolks, there is no breed that
can compare with them for this purpose.
68
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
#
"As breeders and nurses, they are very fair, though
not equal to the Berkshires. In fact, all thorough-bred
animals, as they become refined, or high bred,' lessen
their fecund propensities to a greater or less extent; but
ordinarily, with good management, no serious difficulty
need be experienced on this point with well bred Essex.
It is essential, however, that the brood sows be matured,
and not permitted to become too fat, which latter is often
apt to be the case, with good feed and treatment.
6
"Good pasture, with plenty of water, will keep them
in ample condition for breeding, throughout the whole
grazing season. In fact, I have known them to come out
of a good clover field in the fall, killing fat,' without
having had any other feed. They are good graziers, and
have the advantage over some of the more tender-skinned
white hogs, of being able to withstand, (at any age, how-
ever young,) the hottest sun of July or August, without
having their backs or skin in the least affected, and they
are never known to scald or mange.
"The young pigs of the Essex are usually more deli-
cate than those of the coarser breeds, and will often ap-
pear quite inferior to the latter, at the same age, up to
eight or ten weeks, when they will begin to shoot ahead,
and 'show their breeding.' This is not always the case,
but often is, and I attribute it to the mothers not being
such good milkers as some other kinds. It seems to be
their nature to run to fat rather than milk.
"I have no trouble in successfully breeding my Essex,
and almost invariably find purchasers well satisfied, and
thenceforth advocates of the breed.
"In my opinoin, though they may never become so
popular as some, they will still be a valuable standard
breed."
YORKSHIRES.
69
CHAPTER VIII.
YORKSHIRES.-CHESHIRES, OR JEFFERSON COUNTY
SWINE, OF NEW YORK.-LANCASHIRES.-VICTO-
RIAS.-NEAPOLITANS.-JERSEY REDS.-DUROCS.
The breeds of swine named above are so little known
by the general farmers of the country, that such merits
as they have are overlooked and neglected. Unlike the
more prominent breeds, the information to be obtained
respecting them is quite meagre.
We have been unable to find anything of much im-
portance, or that would be deemed more authentic than
the reports made to, and adopted by the National Con-
vention of Swine Breeders, held at Indianapolis, Novem-
ber 20th, 1872.
YORKSHIRES.
We have never met in the West, at fairs or elsewhere,
a distinct breed of swine known as Yorkshires, nor have
we conversed with any one having any positive practical
knowledge of them, but submit the report on this breed
as presented to the Convention at Indianapolis:
Professor Jones, of Iowa; Jacob Kennedy, and I. N. Barker, of
Indiana, in their Report on Berkshires have the following:
* ***“Their color and characteristics have been traced, in a
greater or less degree, into every popular breed of swine which
has been made up or attempted to be established as thorough-bred,
either in the United States or England; indeed, we might say, into
cvery breed, save the Essex, or Neapolitan, imported by Lord West-
ern. These were the only pure bred black hogs of which we have
any account, either in this country or the old. And we think it
may safely be said of these white hogs, that they are the only pure
and distinct breed of hogs or pigs, save the black, that are now
bred on this continent. Do not understand us as contending that
all black and all white hogs are thorough or pure bred; but that
all breeds in this country of mixed colors are what their color
indicates are mixed or cross bred, hence not pure and distinct
70
SWINE HUSBANDRY.

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Fig. 4.-SMALL WHITE YORKSHIRE SOW.
1 K
1
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YORKSHIRES.
71
breeds. That this is correct, is, we think, fully established by the
history of each popular breed, as given by the breeders them-
selves, as well as by Youatt, Harris, and others, who have given
detailed accounts of how each valuable breed has been formed.
Nearly or quite all of these breeds are indebted for many of their
valuable qualities to their crosses with the Yorkshire and other
white English and China hogs. And among the breeds so in-
debted are the Chester White, the Thin-Rind, the Berkshire, and
the Magie, or Poland-China. All these breeds seem to have bor-
rowed some of their good qualities from these original white hogs,
and all are made up from crosses of the white and black hog;
hence the character of the English or white hog crops out occa-
sionally in almost every breed known in this country or England.
Accordingly, we believe it may be said that they are the purest
breed of hogs, and the best in this country or England from which
to make crosses in forming a new or reliable breed.
"The English white hogs, like other breeds, vary much in size,
from the large hog to the Chira pig, so that the breeder can change
the size of his stock, or the coat it wears from a heavy coat of
hair to the short and smooth, to suit his fancy or the condition of
the climate in which he lives. All white hogs are noted for pos-
sessing quiet dispositions.
"The Cumberland, a middle-bred Yorkshire, have, we think, at-
tained nearer perfection than any other breed known to us. They
are not generally distributed throughout the West, but when thor-
ough-bred specimens have been introduced, they are held in great
esteem, as well for an animal for exhibition purposes, as for family
use. They are especial favorites with packers, who buy their
stock on foot, for the reason that they yield larger proportionate
net weights than any other hogs which grow large enough for their
use. They are small in bone, but large in flesh, of the very best
quality, evenly and proportionately spread over the whole frame.
We have weighed and measured one of this breed raised in Dear-
born county, Indiana, that we think worthy of special note, as
possessing a strong combination of good qualities typical of her
ancestors. She weighed in good flesh, but not really fat, 475 lbs. ;
and at that weight measured six feet from the root of the tail to
the top of the face between the ears, and the same number of feet
around the body. She was two feet ten inches high, and stood
only six inches from the ground; body nearly straight below and
well arched above, indicating great strength in the back and loins;
legs that were less than one-fifth the depth of the body, and they
72
SWINE HUSBANDRY,
very small, straight, and smooth, measuring below the knee but six
inches in circumference. The surface of her body, jowl, and legs,
was smooth, and free from ridges and creases, and well covered
with a short, smooth coat of white hair. This, we think, might
be taken as a fair description of all thorough-bred animals of this
stock. It seems to be in this country, as it is said to be in England,
in almost every way a middle breed. We know of no breed of
hogs in this country but what might in some degree be improved
by crossing occasionally with the thorough-bred Yorkshire, which
has been bred pure in this country since 1860. We have seen whole
neighborhoods and districts where the swine were nearly all lop-
eared, rough-skinned, black, sandy, and spotted white or blue,
where, in a few years, by introducing a few of these pure blooded
white hogs, the general stock was made white, given erect ears,
and skin made smooth. Such a result cannot be attained by Ches-
ter Whites alone, but it can be accomplished by the thorough-bred
Yorkshire. They are so thorough-bred and positive that they carry
their own color when crossed with almost any other breed, even if
it is entirely black. Hence it is difficult to find a breed of swine
in this age of their improvement, in which the white York-
shire does not crop out in some particular. And again, the pure
white Yorkshire and the black Essex, or Neapolitan, may be bred
together in such a way as to duplicate the color of any other breed
of hogs to be found among us. And hence we claim the white
Yorkshire, as now established in this country and England, is the
most thorough-bred hog known. The Yorkshires are the most valu-
able swine to breed from or to cross with that we have ever met
with in this country; and for these reasons: 1. They are of a size,
shape, and flesh, that are desirable for the family or the packer's
use. 2. They have a hardy, vigorous constitution, and a good coat
of hair protecting the skin so well, either in extreme cold or hot
weather, that it rarely freezes or blisters. 3. They are very quiet,
and good graziers; they feed well and fatten quickly at any age.
4. They are very prolific and good mothers, and the young never
vary in color, and so little in shape that their form, when matured,
may be determined in advance by an inspection of the sire and
dam. This we have learned by a practical experience of many
years in breeding, slaughtering, packing, and consuming.
"The Yorkshire medium or middle breed,' in the words of Mr.
Sydney, 'is a modern invention of Yorkshire pig-breeders, and
perhaps the most useful and the most popular of the white breeds,
as it unites, in a striking degree, the good qualities of the large
and the small. It has been produced by a cross of the large and
CHESHIRE, OR JEFFERSON CO. SWINE.
73
the small York and the Cumberland, which is larger than the small
York. Like the large whites, they often have a few pale-blue spots
on the skin, the hair on these spots being white. All white breeds
have these spots more or less, and they often increase in number
as the animals grow older. * * * *
"The middle Yorkshire breed are about the same size as the
Berkshire breed, but have smaller heads, and are much lighter
in the bone. They are better breeders than the small whites, but
not so good as the large whites; in fact, they occupy a position in
every respect between the two breeds. Hence their size can be
increased or diminished without crosses with any other breed or
color."
CHESHIRE, OR JEFFERSON COUNTY SWINE OF NEW YORK.
The following was adopted by the Swine Breeders'
Convention, of 1872, as the report upon this breed:
"These hogs originated in Jefferson county, New York, and it
is claimed by some of the breeders that they started from a pair
of pigs bought of Mr. Woolford, of Albany, New York, which
were called Cheshires. However that may be, there is no such
distinct breed of hogs known as Cheshires, in England, and there
is no record of any hogs of this name having been imported into
this country.
"Yorkshires have been imported into Jefferson county from
time to time, and the so-called Cheshires have been improved by
crossing with their best hogs bought in Canada. Mr. A. C. Clark,
of Henderson, was, for a number of years, a prominent breeder of
these pigs, and he informed us that whenever he found a pig bet-
ter than those he owned, he purchased it and crossed it upon his
own stock. In this way this family of hogs have been produced,
and they are now known and bred in many portions of the United
States. Their breeding in Jefferson county has diminished during
the last two or three years.
"L
They are pure white, with a very thin skin of pink color, with
little hair; are not uniform in this respect, as pigs in the same lit-
ter differ widely in the amount of hair; the snout is often long,
but very slender and fine; the jowls are plump and the ears erect,
fine and thin; the shoulders are wide, and the hams fuller; the
flesh of these hogs is fine-grained, and they are commended on
account of the extra amount of mess pork in proportion to the
amount of offal; the tails of the pigs frequently drop off when
young."
4
74
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Under date of April 11th, 1876, Col. F. D. Curtis
(who made the foregoing report) writes the author:
"There is nothing to add to the report. I do not know
of but one breeder of these pigs in Jefferson county,
N. Y., at the present time, who makes their breeding a
specialty. There was never a connected effort to make
them uniform, and thus establish a breed, and it was
quite common, in our State, to call any cross of York-
shires or Suffolks by the name of Cheshires.
"Mr. Clark, as long as he bred, bred to a standard, and
I think Mr. Green, who is the leading breeder now, is
trying to do the same thing."
Several breeders of fine stock, in Kentucky, and some
of the Western States, have hogs that are called Cheshires,
but we are doubtful of their being bred the same as the
swine known by that name in New York, and the more
Eastern States.
Knowing Mr. J. H. Sanders (present editor National
Live Stock Journal) had bred "Cheshires" somewhat
extensively, and with success, in Iowa, we applied to him
for some authentic information respecting them.
He replies: "In my opinion, the Cheshire is simply a
derivative of the Yorkshire, as are also the Suffolk, Lan-
cashire Short-face, Middle York, York-Cumberland, and
all the other English breeds of white hogs. I bred the
so-called Cheshires for six or seven years, and took a deep
interest in noticing the variations and changes that were
produced in that time by selection, in-breeding, and cross-
ing. Within the space of seven years, without intro-
ducing any blood but what was supposed to be pure, I
produced, all the different types of the Yorkshire, from
the large York, down to the Lancashire Short-face.
The white color was firmly fixed, and I never knew
one of my Cheshire boars to get a pig that had a black
hair on it, although they were bred to sows of all breeds,
including the purest Essex. Another peculiarity that I
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I
VICTORIAS—NEAPOLITANS.
pigs easily keep in condition, and can be made ready for
slaughter at any age."
The report was submitted to a special committee, con-
sisting of G. W. Jones, of Iowa, and C. Fletcher, of In-
diana, who returned it with the following, which was
accepted and adopted:
"The special committee to which was referred the report of the
Committee on Victorias, would respectfully report, that having
considered the same, we can only add that the efforts of Colonel
Curtis are to be commended, and that his success, so well endorsed,
is another evidence of the ability of the swine breeders of America
to create, by judicious crossing of the pure breeds upon the swine
of their respective localities, just such a hog as their climate and
commercial interests demand. We would bespeak for the Victo-
rias a hearty welcome and a fair trial by intelligent breeders in
the various States."
NEAPOLITANS.
.
We have never seen a specimen of this breed, and are
of the opinion that none of them are bred, at present, in
this country, unless in the vicinity of New York. Their
admitted influence in the improvement of English breeds,
especially the Essex, in the hands of Lord Western, of
Mark's Hall, Essex, England, and Mr. Fisher Hobbs, of
the same place, makes them objects of interest to fanciers
of highly refined pigs.
Colonel M. C. Weld, of New York, submitted to the
Swine Breeders' Convention a lengthy report on Nea-
politans, from which we learn that the best specimens
imported into this country came from the vicinity of
Naples, Italy, and that their earliest introduction here
was by Hon. James G. King, of Weehawken, N. J., in
1840-41, or thereabouts.
Some of these were pure black, others slate-color, some
ash-colored, or a dirty-white, and others more or less
spotted. About 1850, Wm. Chamberlain, of Red Hook,
N. Y., imported some from Sorrento, Italy. These and
some of their progeny were uniformly of a dark-slate
?
}
78
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
1
color. Other parties, who had traveled in Italy, and been
much pleased with the pork of Naples and the surround-
ing country, caused small stocks of these pigs to be im-
ported for their own use; but few, if any of them, were
offered for sale for breeding purposes.
It is believed by some, who know them well, especially
in England, that this breed has had an existence in the
country about Naples for hundreds of years. Sidney's
Youatt on the Pig says: "It is probable the Neapolitans
are descendants of the dark Eastern swine imported by
early Italian voyagers, and cultivated to perfection by
the favorable climate and welcome food"; also that they
are "black, or rather brown, with no bristles, and con-
sequently delicate when first introduced into our north-
ern climate.'
وو
About 1855, Dr. Phillips, of Memphis, Tennessee, ob-
tained some pigs, bred from the Chamberlain importa-
tions. He found them more satisfactory than any of the
numerous breeds he had tried, especially for using as a
cross. In a letter to Col. Weld, he states that "the only
objection to the breed is that the pigs are delicate, up to
four or six months of age-after that they can live with
the common hog."
Col. Weld has owned them imported direct from Italy,
and thinks the fact that these pigs are almost hairless,
has caused their reputation for delicacy, and that, treated
as a high bred race should be, they are not delicate, but
quite the contrary, though he would not have them far-
rowed in winter, exposed to either cold storms or too
close confinement. Their pork is described by A. B. Al-
len as being like "young, tender, fat chicken." They are
classed with the small breeds.
The Convention adopted the following as the
66 'CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF THE NEAPOLITANS.
"Head small; forehead bony and flat; face slightly
dishing; snout rather long and very slender; ears small,
JERSEY REDS.
79
thin, standing forward nearly horizontally, and quite
lively; jowls very full; neck short, broad, and heavy
above; trunk long, cylindrical, and well-ribbed back;
back flat, and ribs arching, even in low flesh; belly hor-
izontal on the lower line; hindquarters higher than the
fore, but not very much so; legs very fine, the bones and
joints being smaller than those of any other breed; hams
and shoulders well developed and meaty; tail fine, curled,
flat at the extremity, and fringed with hair on each side;
general color slaty, or bluish-plum color, with a cast of
coppery-red; skin soft and fine, nearly free from hair,
which, when found upon the sides of the head and behind
the forelegs, is black, and soft, and rather long; flesh
firm and elastic to the touch."
JERSEY REDS.
The following in reference to this breed, is from the
Report of the Convention:
"The positive origin of this family of swine is unknown. They
have been bred in portions of the State of New Jersey, for up-
wards of fifty years, and with many farmers are considered to be
a valuable variety. They are of large size and capable of making
a heavy growth, five hundred and six hundred pounds weight
being common. Mr. David Pettitt, of Salem county, N. J., has
known of these hogs for thirty years, and Mr. D. M. Brown, of
Windsor, for nearly fifty years. They are now extensively bred
in the middle and southern portions of New Jersey. In some
neighborhoods they are bred quite uniform, being of a dark-red
color, while in other sections they are more sandy, and often
patched with white. They are probably descendants from the old
importations of Berkshires, as there is no record of the Tamworth,
the red hogs of England, ever having been brought into this coun-
try; nor is this likely, as the Tamworth were not considered a
valuable breed, and were confined to a limited breeding. The
Reds resemble the old Berkshires in many respects, but are now
much coarser than the improved swine of this breed.
CHARACTERISTICS.-A good specimen of Jersey Red should be
red in color, with a snout of moderate length, large lop-ears, small
head in proportion to the size and length of the body; they
80
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
should be long in the body, standing high and rangy on thin legs;
bone coarse; heavy tail and brush; hair coarse, including the bris-
tles on the back. They are valuable on account of their size and
strong constitution and capacity for growth. They are not subject
to mange.
DUROCS.
These hogs have only a local reputation, and of them
Cǝl. F. D. Curtis reported to the Convention as follows:
"There is another family of heavy hogs called Duroc, which are
bred in Saratoga county, New York, which are finer in the bone and
carcass than the Reds. They have been bred, with their crosses,
in this region of country, for about twenty years. They are very
hardy, and grow to a large size."
CHAPTER IX.
THE RELATIVE MERITS OF THE SUFFOLK, ESSEX,
AND BERKSHIRE,
BY E. W. COTTRELL.
"The question is very often asked me by persons who are
desirous of procuring some one of the improved breeds of swine,
which of these three standard breeds do I consider best for the
farmer, and it is a question which I find difficult to decide, even
now, after quite an extensive experience of nearly six years with
the three breeds side by side. I consider, however, that there is
so little actual difference in the result, that fancy might guide the
choice without serious detriment to one's judgment. Each, being
a distinct and original breed, must have its own peculiarities and
distinctive qualities, and the question to decide is, which of these
qualities are most desirable, and which of the breeds possess and
combine the most of them?
"6
Fancy must decide the question of beauty and appearance,
and one person's judgment in that respect is as good as another's.
Association with either for any length of time will generally occa-
sion prejudice in its favor, and either breed possesses sufficient
beauty to secure them hosts of admirers; and while I admire alike
RELATIVE MERIT.
81
perfect specimens of either breed, I believe that the improved
Berkshire displays a more majestic style and graceful appearance
than any other of the swine species; there seems to be a stately
bearing and royal mien, that I cannot help but admire as they
move about the premises, and the contrast of the exact markings
upon their beautiful black color adds another feature of beauty.
'In regard to the more essential question, however, of relative
quality and profit, I will say that there are several things which
must be taken into consideration, and one must choose those
which combine the greatest number of desirable qualities for his
purpose; that is, the object in view should decide the question. If
the object is to produce a superior quality of delicious and whole-
some pork, beautifully mixed with lean and fat, that is tempting
and enjoyable from almost any part of the animal, I can safely
recommend the Berkshire. They are also probably the most hardy
of all the improved swine species; always healthy and thrifty, and
generally docile and quiet in their natures, besides being very pro-
lific, perhaps more so than any other of the improved breeds. The
sows are invariably good milkers, and good mothers, one often
successfully rearing from eight to twelve pigs.
"The improved also mature quite early, and at eight or nine
months will give from two hundred to two hundred and fifty
pounds of pork, and in many cases much more, with extra care. At
eighteen months they will run from three hundred and fifty to four
hundred and fifty pounds of pork each. We have had them weigh,
at two years, seven hundred and eighty pounds, and not at all coarse
or overgrown in style either. They are generally very uniform in
every respect, though there are some families that attain a little
more size than others. They are not ravenous like the common
hog, but are good feeders, and what they eat seems to do them
good all over; and, in fact, without discussing the subject further,
they can be briefly summed up as a hardy, prolific, domestic, and
reasonably easy-keeping animal, and one that can be sent to mar-
ket at almost any age, with profit to the producer, and satisfaction
to the consumer. Consequently, in my judgment, one who is un-
decided in his choice cannot go far astray in selecting the Berk-
shires.
"In summing up the desirable qualities which the Suffolks pos-
sess, however, we find them no less valuable, and perhaps even more
profitable, for some purposes, than those of any other breed, unless
we except the Essex. They are without question the earliest to
mature, take on fat more readily, and produce more net pork with
82.
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
the same amount of feed than any other of the hog kind. These.
are certain facts, and very desirable ones when corn is worth eighty
cents per bushel. Two pounds each per day is no uncommon
average gain through the feeding season, and I have known an
increase of three and one-half pounds per day for six weeks, or a
total of one hundred and forty-seven pounds for one pig in six
weeks time.
"And this propensity for fattening exists from the time they are
sucklings; they can be fatted as well at six or eight months as at
any other age; and this is a very desirable feature, for spring pigs
can be sent to the market weighing two hundred and fifty pounds
without much extra exertion, and the pork, rightly handled, will
always bring a half-dollar, and perhaps more, per hundred than
will the commoner kinds; and in reality it is worth much more to
the consumer from the fact of its quality. The head and feet are
almost nominal appendages, while the bones of the carcass are so
fine and small that they cause but little loss.
"The objection is often raised that they are apt to be too fat for
use, etc. Of course this is only from persons of superficial ideas.
It might as well be said that sugar is too sweet, or vinegar too
sour, especially when lard is eighteen cents per pound, and spare-
ribs and other trimmings worth only four or five cents per pound.
It is the fat that affords the greatest profit, and profit being the
object, the animal which will produce the most fat, with the least
expense, is the one for the purpose; and this animal is unquestion-
ably the Suffolk, for they do certainly excel in this peculiarity,
particularly at an early age. Notwithstanding the above facts, it
should not be inferred that the pork is inferior as a meat for the
table. The animal may have a surplus of fat, but the fleshy parts
afford as delicate and wholesome table meat as can be found among
the hog kind, and certainly as delicious. The trimmings from a
dressed Suffolk will average but about ten per cent, while those
from the long-legged, long-nosed, thick-skinned, coarse-boned kind,
often make twenty per cent. The conclusions obtained from the
above facts are obvious without farther comment, and I will now
make reference to some of the other desirable features which the
Suffolk possesses, a special one being their docile, quiet disposition.
They are not inclined to stray if running loose, nor will they root
up pastures and meadows if turned in upon them, even if not pro-
vided with rings; and they are seldom known to squeal or clamor,
if half cared for. It is owing to this quiet, domestic nature that
they grow and fatten so rapidly and economically. They also
RELATIVE MERIT.
83
have a good constitution, and are invariably healthy with us, when
past the tender age; also as hardy as any. As before stated, they
are not ravenous, though good feeders, with a sharp appetite for
what they require. When fed with regularity, they will be on
hand at the usual time with almost exact promptness, and enter
into the business of feeding with vigor, after which they will retire
to their beds and attend wholly to business, which, for them, is to
grow and fatten.
"The Essex are so very similar to the Suffolk, in nearly every
respect except color, that the above description of qualities can be
applied to them; perhaps they do not mature quite so early as the
former, but they attain nearly as much weight, and fatten quite as
easy, having the same quiet disposition and nature. Their skin,
from its color, affords them one advantage over the Suffolks; that
is, when the pigs of the latter are very young, if exposed to a
burning sun, they are very liable to scald or blister upon the back,
while this is never the case with the Essex. Here let me say that
when Suffolk pigs are farrowed during the summer; or early fali,
when the sun is strong, they should be protected from its scalding
rays until five or six weeks of age. The Essex have as many good
qualities as any other breed, and deservedly have a great many
friends. In fact, a person cannot go far astray in selecting either
of the three above breeds, and I am sure he will be satisfied with
whichever kind his fancy may lead him to choose, after giving
them a fair trial.”
In writing of numerous experiments made by him, in
crossing thorough-bred swine, Mr. Cottrell says:
"There is no question but the proper crossing of thorough-breds
for a season will produce rapid and profitable pork-makers, but
there seems to be some difference of opinion, and a great lack of
information in general, among farmers and breeders, as to the
crosses that produce the best results.
"The very best results we have ever obtained from any cross of
thorough-breds, was that of the Suffolk upon the Essex. One
case, which was almost a marvel, I will give for example. It is
that of a litter which was farrowed the 16th day of March, and
fed from the following 1st of October until the 24th of December,
which made them nine months and eight days old when killed.
The weight of the largest one was 402, and not one of them
weighed less than 300. The pigs run upon the farm, being kept in
a growing and thriving condition until October, when we took
them up and forced them along, as the result shows.
84
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
This marked improvement upon either breeds in the first cross
is probably the result of uniting their excellent characteristics,
which seem to be more fully developed, and stronger, than in
either original. It is a fact, at least, that the feeding and maturing
qualities are more or less improved in the cross. Neither is the
style or beauty lost in the cross, for the symmetry and proportion
are still retained. The color is generally black and white; some-
times one pig will be either all black or all white, but usually they
are sheeted—that is, each spread in large patches, and very distinct.
It is very seldom that we see a 'speckled' pig among thorough-
bred crosses; there is generally a foreign mixture when they oć-
cur. One peculiar feature with the color of this cross is, that inva-
riably the black is in excess upon the hind part of the animal,
while the white will predominate upon its fore parts. I have seen
them one-half pure black and the other half pure white, with the
dividing line where the colors meet forming a circle around the
body at the middle. The peculiar marking makes quite an attrac-
tive contrast.
"We also found that the Berkshire and Essex make an excellent
cross for feeding purposes. As a principle, I do not consider it
advisable to cross the improved Berkshire with any other, on their
own account, but prefer rather to keep that breed distinct and up to
the mark by occasionally renewing with a foreign blood of its own
kind. By foreign blood, I mean that of a distant or unrelated fami-
ly. They are a standard breed, very near perfection in themselves,
possessing qualities that cannot be very much improved upon
without affecting the combination that constitutes the Berkshire,
and stamps them with a character wholly their own, and which only
requires to be kept to the ideal of their style and perfection to sat-
isfy the requirements of almost every class, condition, and locality.
The true well bred Berkshire has the stamp of the thorough-bred,
and possesses the merits required for its purpose, and great pains
should be taken to perpetuate the purity of that blood. How-
ever, when it is necessary or advisable to cross them, it should be
made with the Essex, whenever practicable. The result of a sin-
gle cross will always give satisfaction, the produce being such as
will feed quick and mature sooner than the pure bred Berk-
shire, and the pork is second to none that goes to market. The
general style and appearance of the animals will be similar, except
in the markings; some will be more or less spotted, some marked
like the Berkshire, some partially marked, and some all black.
This cross, continued upon itself, will lose its identity with either
breed, and eventually will result in a lot of mongrels.
RELATIVE MERIT.
85
'Upon the common kinds the Berkshire will do much good, and
bring out a great improvement, but is not equal to the Suffolk or
Essex in this respect. Of course, there are other breeds which will
improve the common hog, but I know of none to be compared to
the three above mentioned, from the fact of their being pure and
standard breeds, that have come down in the same line for genera-
tions, and established distinct qualities and characteristics that are
transmitted from one generation to another with as much exact-
ness and certainty as can be found in any class of the animal
kind. And the fact that they are capable of stamping upon their
progeny the desirable points they possess, and reproduce them-
selves, as it were, with almost a positive certainty, is what gives
them such great value as improvers of our stock.
"I have said that I believe certain crosses of the thorough-breds
to be superior to either of the full bloods, for feeding purposes.
The question may be asked, why not continue the breeding from
these crosses?
"The fact is this, as I have before stated, after the first cross,
the identity of the breed is lost, and with it the power to transmit
its particular type is correspondingly reduced, and by continuing
in the same line we lose all trace of the original. By using a
thorough-bred upon the cross, of course, we produce equally as
good results each time. For feeding purposes, and by a continua-
tion of this practice, a superior class of pork-makers will always
be obtained.
"And So, if one has a number of breeding sows of the common
sort, let him procure a thorough-bred male, and I will guarantee
that the result of the first cross will pay all the cost. But because
a lot of very good animals has been obtained from this course, do
not select your next male breeder from them, or the good already
gained will be lost. But continue to use a thorough-bred male
upon the produce, and those that have not tried it before will
wonder at the rapid improvement of their stock, and why they
have been so long behind the age of improvement and advance-
ment."
A
RAISING AND FATTENING
SWINE.
THE BOAR.
89
CHAPTER X.
THE BOAR-HOW TO CHOOSE, AND HOW TO KEEP
HIM.
To claim that success in swine-breeding depends upon
the proper selection of a boar, might not be wholly cor-
rect, but it is safe to say that many failures in the busi-
ness have been in a large degree due to mistakes made at
the beginning in the choice of breeding animals, especially
males.
However good the sows of a herd may be, the good
qualities of the stock quickly deteriorate if inferior boars
are used, while, on the other hand, the offspring of infe-
rior sows can be rapidly improved in form and quality,
by using well bred boars.
It is no longer disputed by persons familiar with the
principles of improved breeding, that the male parent
mostly determines the outward form and structure, while
the female chiefly determines the internal structure of
the offspring, a somewhat striking illustration of which
is afforded in the breeding together of an ass and a mare,
the produce of which is a mule, and the mule is essen-
tially, with slight modifications, an ass. A she ass bred
to a stallion, produces the hinny, which is essentially a
modified horse, the mule and the hinny each having the
outward form, muscular structure, locomotive organs,
and voice of its sire.
Assuming that these premises are correct, it must be
apparent to the breeder and farmer, that the judicious
selection of a boar is of prime importance, and that suc-
cess is not assured in this branch of his business with-
out it.
Among the prominent characteristics of the boar should
be a fine external form, which is the result of a superior
90
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
internal organism; a short, broad face, with round heavy
under jaw, and thick, short neck, indicate strong vitality
and assimilating powers, two functions requisite in every
first-class, meat-producing animal; width between the
fore legs, and large girth immediately behind them, de-
notes room for large and active lungs, the very founda-
tion of any animal. Ribs that are long and well sprung
outward from the back, show capacity of stomach. The
broad loin and well developed ham are signs of active
kidneys. A clean, fine, and elastic skin, covered with
soft, lively hair, free from bristles, denotes a healthy liver,
and freedom from internal fever. A fine muzzle and
limbs, clean, small joints, and standing square up on the
feet, denote solidity, strength, and firmness of the ani-
mal's framework; while the dished, or concave face, and
slightly drooping ear, are unerring signs of an easy
keeper, and a quiet, contented disposition.
These are some of the features demanded in a good
boar, and such an animal in perfect condition will not be
sluggish and clumsy, but 'have a lively animated appear-
ance, and move about freely and nimbly, unless kept in
too close confinement on too much fattening food.
The herd, or family of hogs from which it is designed
to select a boar, should be closely scanned, and if the
animals show uniformity of breeding, good forms and
constitutions, with even feeding qualities, it is a safe one
to select breeders from; on the other hand, the weedy
herd, wherein no two animals are alike, should be given
a wide berth.
It is essential to choose a boar in some measure with
reference to the style of females it is desired to cross him
on, with a view to having deficient points in the sows cor-
rected by the boar in the offspring. Should the sows be
light in the ham or shoulder, the boar should be especially
good there; sows inclined to be razor-backed, should be
bred to a boar with broad back, and well sprung ribs. If
THE BOAR.
91
the sows are too coarse about the legs, neck, head, and
ears, attention should be paid to securing a boar with
short neck, fine ear, dish face, fine bone, and heavy jowls.
If too "light and airy," too far from the ground, too
active, too restless and uneasy, the opposite should be
prominent characteristics of the boar. He should, in a
majority of cases, be selected from a family or strain that
is, and should himself be, somewhat smaller and more
compact than animals upon which he is to be crossed, and
in the swine herd, as in all domestic stock, constitution
is of prime importance, and no animal without broad and
deep fore-quarters has it.
He should be pure, of such breed as the owner may
deem best, for if not pure, he cannot be depended on to
stamp his own qualities on his offspring, as none but
thorough-breds will invariably do so. The boar of mixed
and unknown breeding is to be shunned as a snare and a
delusion. If the Berkshires or a Berkshire cross is pre-
ferred, a pure Berkshire boar should be used. If the
Essex seems most desirable, use a pure Essex boar; or if
the Poland-China cross promises the best results, use a
pure Poland-China boar. Do the same with any breed
that may be preferred, and success is certain; but to use
a boar that is a mixture of several breeds, however pure.
they may individually be, is to progress backward.
It is an undeniable fact, that many who pay a liberal
price to obtain a boar that suits them, afterward treat
him in such a way that they derive but small benefit from
the investment. One of the two most common modes of
mistreatment is, to confine him in a close pen, where he is
deprived of exercise and fed upon the richest and most
fattening food the establishment affords: lack of activity
and of virility are the results. The other mode is, to turn
him with an unlimited number of sows, gilts, and stock
hogs, to fight, and fret, and tease, until he becomes the
shabbiest, the most ungainly, unthrifty hog on the place.
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
[
Either of these extremes must be avoided, and a more
rational method pursued, or the best results cannot be
secured. While too close confinement is bad, it is not
so bad as to allow a boar to roam at will among the other
hogs of a farm, where he is as much out of place as a
stallion would be if turned loose with a herd of horses.
He should be kept in a comfortable pen, with a lot or
pasture adjoining, and supplied with a variety of nutri-
tious food, which means something more than dry corn,
with an occasional drink of diluted dish-water. His con-
dition should always be that of thrift, and vigorous
health, not too fat, nor yet so lean that as a barrow he
would be considered unfit for pork. If too fat, he will
be clumsy, slow, and in no wise a sure getter. As to the
age at which he should begin service, we have, after con-
siderable observation and experience, come to the conclu-
sion that it is unwise to permit the boar to be with a sow
at all until at least seven months old, and then only in
exceptional cases and very sparingly. Immature sires
cannot be expected to generate vigorous progeny.
At
a year old, moderate service will not injure him, and
properly kept, he should be at his best as a sire, when
from eighteen months to five years old, when he is matured
and developed, and has every advantage over a half-grown
immature pig; the finest, strongest litters are invariably
obtained from large old sows, bred to aged boars.
We well understand that it is of little use to recom-
mend farmers, who raise or purchase fine boar pigs, to
keep them until a year and a half or two years old, before
using them, as not one in ten thousand would do so, yet
those who properly keep their boars that length of time,
will find the value of their breeding greatly enhanced.
Aged boars are generally looked upon as unpleasant ani-
mals to keep, especially if they have become vicious and
disposed to use their tusks-a view in which the author
himself shares somewhat-but they are certainly less dan-
THE BOAR.
93
gerous and troublesome than the gentlest bull or stallion,
while, of course, none of them are desirable, or intended
for, household pets or door-yard ornaments.
A pen or fence sufficiently high and strong to restrain
the other hogs of the farm, cannot be depended on to
keep the boar in his place, and if opportunity offers, he
will soon become unruly; consequently, it is much the
best to keep him, from the first, in an enclosure which
will afford him no practice in the art of breaking out.
If his quarters are isolated from those of other hogs,
especially sows, and sow pigs-some of which are likely
to be in heat most of the time-he will usually be quiet
and gentle,-in fact, a pretty well behaved hog, though
much depends upon his natural disposition, and more
upon the treatment given him.
With a fair chance, some of the first litters will enable
his owner to judge of his merits as a sire, which, if satis-
factory, will make it worth while to keep him for several
seasons. Unless certain of doing very much better, we
would not hesitate to breed him to his own pigs, even
though we consider indiscriminate in-and-in breeding as
reprehensible in the extreme. We advise even this cross,
only when the parents are both healthy, and it is desired
to fix and retain in the offspring certain points, or quali-
ties, that are of great value, and prominent in both boar
and sow.
Turned with a sow in heat until one service
is given, she will have as many, and as good pigs as there
would be if the boar was permitted to chase and worry
her for three days and nights. The most experienced
breeders concede this, and many will not allow but a
single service.
It is safe to say that the bulk of the hog crop is pro-
duced by farmers who breed less rather than over a dozen
sows, on an average, at any one season of the year. To
keep a matured boar in the best condition, is felt to be
quite an expense by one man who has but a few sows, and
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
where three or four farmers live in proximity to each
other, we think it much the best and cheapest plan for
them to jointly own and keep one strictly good boar, in-
stead of each keeping, wholly at his own expense, one
that he thinks will do, though not so good as he would
like, if the first cost and subsequent expense and trouble
were less.
Properly managed, one boar would, in many cases,
answer every purpose as well as a half dozen, for that
number of small farmers, and if his cost and keep were
shared by all, it would scarcely be felt, and at the same
time the temptation to use some mongrel, or immature
pig, would be removed.
Among the benefits resulting from this method would
be, the use of a good boar, matured, and fitted for good
service; an improved class of pigs, and a generous rival-
ry, encouraging each of his owners to keep a better grade
of sows, under improved and more profitable conditions.
In sparsely settled neighborhoods, or where too many
sows were to be bred, it would not be so practicable; but
where possible, it would be a little of that much-talked-of
coöperation among farmers," which, when really prac-
tised, as well as preached, will indeed be found one of
the touchstones of success.
66
When the time arrives for him to be superseded as the
head of the herd, and it is desired to make him a barrow,
it can be done by one active man operating as follows:
After drawing up one hind leg, and fastening it securely
to a post, or stake, fasten another rope around the upper
jaw, back to the tusks, draw it tightly, and fasten it to
another stake; in this position the animal can offer no
serious resistance. The cut should be low down, and as
small as possible; the low cut will afford a ready means of
escape for all extraneous matter, and allow the wound
to keep itself clean, there being no sack, or pocket, left
to hold the pus formed during the healing process. It
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
95
#
is not best to perform this operation when the boar is
very fat, or the weather too warm, as the risk is much
greater. If castrated early in the season, and kept on
grass during the summer, the flesh, when he is made fat,
will be but little more rank than that of other hogs. Kept
with other hogs, if quarrelsome, there is danger of his
doing them great injury with his tusks, and hence it is
desirable to fatten a stag hog by himself. It is at this
period that the old boar's true proportions will show
themselves, as he will take on fat very rapidly, and pre-
sent a greatly improved appearance; but when sold, the
buyer will quite probably insist on paying for the "stag"
only two-thirds the price of other hogs, which, in many
cases, we have considered entirely too great a deduction.
CHAPTER XI.
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
The measure of success attained by those who raise
hogs, depends in no small degree upon the judicious se-
lection, for breeding purposes, of sows that are best cal-
culated, in their form, and general make up, to give birth
to, and to nourish for several weeks, a reasonable number
of well-formed, thrifty, vigorous pigs. The sow is the
laboratory, wherein are developed the germs of the future
herd, and, other things being equal, it is plain that this
laboratory, or, if we may so call it, this machine-shop,
must, to furnish the best results, be as near perfection as
possible. She should be selected from a stock, or family,
in which fertility is a characteristic; for this essential
quality is hereditary, though lacking in numerous strains
of the various breeds. The most promising pig at six
96
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
or eight weeks, may fall far short of being so promising
at six or eight months; and, for this reason, where it is
practicable, it is better to defer the selection of sows for
breeding purposes, until they have made considerable
growth, and exhibit prominently certain characteristics
which they should possess, and enable the breeder to
form a more nearly correct judgment as to what their
forms will be when they have matured.
At this time, she should appear to be of a form known
as "rangy,” i. e., the opposite of compact, of loose and
open build, long, yet quite broad on the back, with
short neck and head, fine ear, heavy jowl-sure indica-
tions of an easy keeper, wide between the fore legs, deep
sides, and heavy hams, well let down on the gambrel
joint. She should be large and roomy, (in some respects
rather the opposite of the boar), from healthy stock, a
greedy feeder, and of great vitality, as indicated by large
girth back of the fore legs, and a robust appearance gen-
erally. Coarseness is allowable in the sow, much more
than in the boar, especially if she has great room for car-
rying a large litter, with indications of being a good
suckler, as shown by having at least twelve prominent,
well developed teats, or "dugs." The venerable Paschall
Morris, of Philadelphia, one of the oldest and most in-
telligent breeders and improvers of swine in the United
States, wrote: "I have always found that a hog with a
dish-face, short nose, small head, and wide between the
eyes, is an easy, quiet feeder. On the other hand, a
long, large head, indicates, in a general way, a hard, un-
easy feeder, and a great consumer."
Sows, well kept, will, in some cases, come in heat when
not more than three months old; but, in all such cases,
care should be taken to keep them separated from, or out
of reach of, any boar pigs on the place. Eight months
is as young as it is judicious or proper to breed them,
and we would much prefer to have them a year old before
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
97
letting to the boar. In all breeds, and especially those
noted for early maturity, the vitality of the young animal
is taxed to its utmost in making a rapid and vigorous
growth, and to impose upon it, at the same period, the
further burden of production, tends to make a failure of
both. The sow not being matured, it is unnatural to
expect the perfection in the offspring that the dam may
possess ; nature is, at the same time, perfecting the unde-
veloped mother, and promoting the growth of the young,
and the result is, that both are losers, and deficient at
maturity, and the mother can never recover from this
division and deficit of nature's work.
A comparison of the litters from matured sows, with
those of others, that were mere pigs themselves when
bred, will furnish a practical illustration of this; the pigs
from the large old sows, will be more in number, and fre-
quently double the size of the others, at a month old;
and with the same care, they will not unfrequently weigh
50 per cent. more, at nine or twelve months old. For
this reason, sows that have proven themselves extra valu-
able as breeders and sucklers, should be retained as among
the prized animals of the farm.
Those who pursue the plan of obtaining but one litter
from a sow, and then converting her into pork, can never
compete for size, style, and vigor, with those who raise
stock from vigorous sows, from eighteen months to six
years old.
Usually, when not with pig, or suckling, a sow will be
in heat about three days out of twenty-one, or once in
three weeks, and when she is to be bred, she should be
free from fever, her system cooled and cleansed by a va-
riety of food and loosening slops.
There can be no doubt that many valuable sows have
been utterly ruined for breeding purposes, by over-feeding
on corn and meal, which, alone, possess too much heat-
producing and too little bone and muscle-forming mate-
5
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
፡
rial to supply the needs of the animal economy. On this
account, sows should not be allowed to run with fatten-
ing hogs kept on corn, but in pasture, and allowed a
plenty of slop, made of equal parts of shorts, corn meal,
and wheat bran.
The main crop of pigs should come in the warm days
of April, and that it may be so, sows should be bred as
near the middle of December as may be; though in the
States not too far north, and where the best of care can
be furnished at farrowing time, December 1st is not too
early for old sows, and December 10th for young sows.
Old sows will carry their pigs 112 or possibly 115 days,
and young sows will sometimes farrow their first litter in
from 100 to 106 days from the date of service.
It is generally believed among breeders, that a sow
turned to the boar on the first symptoms of heat, will
have mostly sow pigs, and that if she is not served until
the period of heat is about passed, she will have mostly
boar pigs.
While carrying her pigs, plenty of exercise, generous
supplies of not too rich food, with comfortable quarters,
are indispensable to success, and must not be overlooked.
To allow sows to run among cattle, horses, or colts, ex-
poses them in various ways to injuries that may cause the
loss of valuable litters, especially if the sows are heavy
and awkward.
It is bad policy to have sows fat at the time of taking
the boar, as there are few cases in which a sow, thin in
flesh, approaching to leanness, at that time, does not do
better than one that is fat, or in what is called respecta-
ble show condition. After getting with pig, a sow fat-
tens very readily, and if fed too much strong food, is
likely to become pork-fat, have smaller pigs, and do badly
in farrowing.
As the time approaches for the pigs to appear, the sow
should be separated from any other hogs, and placed in a
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
99
sheltered, yet sunny pen, provided with some short hay
or straw, out of which she will arrange her nest. If given
a large quantity of bedding, she will make her nest too
deep, forming a sort of pit, into which the pigs will roll,
and surely be crushed. A shallow nest is much the best,
and many fine pigs, sometimes even whole litters, have
been lost by giving the sow a too generous supply of
bedding material. In warm weather, but little, if any,
need be given, and in cold weather, the nest should be
thoroughly protected on the outside, and made so com-
fortable that a great pile of hay or straw will not be nec-
essary to prevent the pigs from becoming chilled. About
six or eight inches from the floor, and the same distance
from the sides of the pen, near the nest, a scantling, rail,
or pole, should be fastened; this will prevent the sow from
crushing the little pigs between herself and the wall.
Some-
A sow well fed at the time of pigging, will usually lie
more quietly, and endanger her pigs less by frequently get-
ting up and lying down, than a hungry one.
times young or small sows appear to be in so much misery,
that they cannot be quiet, but if they have been petted
and kindly treated, they will allow an attendant to re-
move the pigs as fast as they come, which may be the
means of saving many of them that might otherwise be
crushed or trampled to death.
Many good farmers have been aggravated beyond meas-
ure, by finding a favorite brood-sow in the act of destroy-
ing her litter of choice pigs, and none but those who have
had such bitter experience, can realize how discouraging
it is. My ideas on this subject are so nearly identical
with those of Mr. A. C. Moore, the well-known breeder
of Poland-Chinas, that I will use his own language to ex-
press them :
"The first losses of our litters are enormous. By improper care
of the sow, and unsuitable places and surroundings for littering
many persons yearly sacrifice their gains in swine growing. Cog
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
tiveness and its attendant evils, are among the impelling causes of
ferocity in the sow. Coles Diseases of Domestic Animals' says it
is because they are kept from earth, coal, ashes, etc., and advises
allowing them as much room as possible, feeding them fresh earth,
grass, sod, rotten wood, charcoal, ashes, etc., and says, after pig-
ging, ‘feed light, on light food for a few days,' and I wish to em-
phasize this last quotation. This applies, of course, more particu-
larly to animals that have been kept on board floors. I do not
believe that a sow will devour her young unless extremely costive,
amounting almost to a state of frenzy-though having done so
once, she may repeat the act without being in that condition.
Breeding sows should not be allowed to run together in the same
yard when pigs are expected; the taste of blood seems infectious,
and opportunities often occur when costive animals will begin by
eating dead pigs, or first destroy part of another's litter, and are
thereby led to afterwards destroy their own.
"Don't do too much for them just before littering, and feed
nothing but thin slop for three or four days after. *** With
quiet, proper feed, and a little care of some one at the proper time,
a very small per cent will be lost in breeding. Insist on every-
thing and everybody being quiet about your breeding pens."
When we find a sow destroying her pigs, or showing a
disposition to do so, we saturate a small woolen cloth
with kerosene, and carefully moisten the hair of the pigs
with it, but are cautious to not get much of it on their
tender skins-and we usually find that the kerosene dress-
ing spoils the sow's relish for raw pig.
The feverish condition of the sow at farrowing time,
will cause thirst, and a plenty of fresh water should be kept
within her reach, notwithstanding the fact that she is
being kept on sloppy food, as this will not prevent her
needing water, any more than a person's having soup at
meal-time will prevent his wanting water. For making a
plenty of healthful milk, skimmed milk, wheat bran, and
shorts mixed, are most excellent, and no careful breeder,
anxious to do the best by his litters of pigs, should neg-
lect to have a supply accessible for use when his sows are
suckling. We have had very favorable results from feed-
ing chopped (coarsely ground) rye, soaked from 24 to 36
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
101
hours, but not allowed to become too sour before feeding,
and consider it as near perfection in the way of a succu-
lent, nutritious mess, for a sow suckling a number of
greedy, growing pigs.
For the first weeks of a pig's life, the mother's milk is
its drink as well as food, and therefore, in caring for suck-
ling sows, it should be the aim to so feed them, that the
largest possible quantity of milk, of only medium rich-
ness, will be furnished, instead of a limited supply of that
which is extremely rich, the latter being less healthful,
and more liable to cause fever, cough, constipation, and
unsatisfactory growth.
Grass, or other green food, is not to be omitted from
the bill of fare, and Red Clover is the standard green crop
for swine, though Blue Grass (Poa pratensis) is by some
considered preferable, but either is most excellent. It is
difficult to satisfactorily manage the pasturing of several
sows with pigs in the same field, on account of the larger
pigs stealing from, and robbing the smaller ones of their
share of milk, causing them to become stunted and very
uneven in size. The only remedy is to separate them.
When pigs are three weeks old, they will usually begin
to eat, if suitable food is placed where they can get it, and
a small trough should be placed in a part of the pen or
lot, inaccessible to the sow, and into this about three or
four times a day, for several days, a little sweet milk can
be poured-whatever they will drink up clean, but not
more, increasing the quantity as they grow older, when
some shelled corn, soaked in water twenty-four hours, or
more, should be given, and, if convenient, sour milk,
corn-meal mush, scalded bran with shorts, and such nour-
ishing food as will make them a healthful variety.
Mr. Moore, before quoted in this chapter, has probably
handled with success as many pigs as any man living,
and gives in his Swine Journal the following as his
method of feeding them :
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"My mode of feeding young pigs is to provide sufficient board
floor, sheltered from the hot sun and the storms, on which to place
the feed troughs. In these I feed shelled corn, soaked in barrels
sunk in the ground, or bins; corn is soaked from 24 to 48 hours,
owing to the weather. With the water that has soaked the corn,
I make up a slop of ground oats and corn, mixed with bran and
shorts from the mill. This slop, and the corn, is distributed to all
the troughs, by means of buckets-those for the corn having holes
in the bottom, to allow escape of water. From the troughs where
the pigs are fed, I exclude the sows by means of bars that will let
the pigs pass in and out of the trough, yard, or pen. I feed the
sows on an adjoining floor, in similar troughs. Thus, pigs that are
weaned, and such as are yet suckling, but large enough to take care
of themselves, are fed from the same troughs. Of course, my
younger pigs, from two to four weeks old, are fed in the stye with
the sow-have a separate trough if necessary, and are not turned
into a herd until they know their dam, and will suckle only at
home; but with all the time and care we can give to the “train-
ing" of young pigs, there will be some thieves in the yards who
will steal from another dam when they can get a good chance.
"All feed troughs must have strips nailed across the top, to par-
tition off the feeding room of each pig. *** In feeding, each pig
must have a fair chance for its share; you should not pour swill
into one end of a trough and calculate that a portion of your pigs
will get their supply from the other end. Notice, and you will
see that the big ones are always near the spout or first end-they
have learned where the best swill is to be had, while the pigs at
the further end-the little ones-are compelled to take the leavings
as it runs to them, and are thus made themselves into "leavings."
Pigs should never be fed on the ground when it is dusty or muddy.
แ Though I have no doubt but that cooked or steamed food will
amply pay for the cost and labor of preparation, I have never
used it."
While believing that they should have as much corn as
they will eat, it is very essential to their rapid growth, that
other and softer food be supplied, making a variety that
will be easily digested, and assist to keep their appetites
sharp.
The boar pigs may be castrated when from two to eight
weeks old, that they may recover from its effects before
weaning time, and at that age, if help is not at hand, it
THE SOW AND HER PIGS.
103
can easily be done by a single person after a little practice.
With the pig standing on his head in a nail keg, or some-
thing of similar size and shape, which confines him so
closely as to prevent much troublesome resistance, the
operation may be easily performed. If flies are trouble-
some, it is well to pour some kerosene into and over the
wound. A preparation sold in the markets as "Frazer's
Axle Grease," is an excellent salve for these and similar
wounds and sores on any kind of stock, but if flies are
not about, we do not use even this, and never had a pig
die or do badly from being castrated.
Sows should be spayed when somewhat older, say at
three months, and there are probably a thousand men
who can do a tolerable job at castrating a boar, to one that
is competent to properly spay a sow; unless it can be
done by a person understanding it, it is risky business.
We have seen an ignoramus ruin a herd of Berkshire
shotes by spaying them in the belly in such a manner
that, when they healed up, their bellies dragged on the
ground.
Considerable observation leads us to the conclusion, that
the only proper place to spay is in the side, and not there,
unless by an expert. Where there is a probability of
doing, or having it done successfully, we think it extremely
desirable, as no hogs keep easier, or fatten better, than
sows that have been properly spayed. (The reader will
find this subject treated by one of the most success-
ful and practical veterinary surgeons in the country, in
the succeeding chapter.)
Weaning is a severe ordeal to many pigs, but those
cared for, and taught to eat some weeks before, do not,
as a rule, appear to have their growth noticeably checked,
while others, that have depended entirely on the mother's
milk, seem to have their growth entirely suspended, some-
times for many weeks.
As to the proper time for weaning, the owner must, to
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
some extent, be governed by surrounding circumstances.
Sometimes it is necessary to wean when the pigs are five
or six weeks old, and in other cases there may be no par-
ticular reasons for doing so until ten, or sometimes twelve
weeks old; but at from seven to ten weeks old, most pigs
are fit to be put away from the sows. If they cannot be
successfully weaned at that age, it is difficult to say when
they could be. Some pigs are really older at seven
weeks than others at ten, and are better fitted for weaning.
.
Nothing is so well calculated to make them grow as a
bountiful supply of sow's milk, and the pigs that have a
plenty of other feed, with the milk of a well-slopped sow,
for eight or ten weeks, will invariably have much the
start in growth of those weaned at five or six weeks, no
matter how much food and attention the earlier weaned
pigs may have had.
If from the tendency of a sow to get too fat, or from
other causes, she is bred the third or fourth day after
farrowing, it is best to wean by the time the pigs are six
weeks old, in order that their longer sucking may not
injuriously affect the succeeding litter. If they have been
accustomed to eating milk, grain, and grass, while run-
ning with the sow, this can be done without perceptibly
checking their growth; but otherwise, the sudden change
not infrequently retards it for several weeks. It should
not be forgotten, that with swine, as with all other stock,
warmth is to a certain extent equivalent to food, for which
reason comfortable shelter and clean, dry bedding, have
a money value, as with these, they not only consume
less food, but grow much faster.
The sow, in most cases, will take the boar from the
second to the fourth day from farrowing, and if she is
not served then, or fails to get with pig, she will not, as a
general thing, breed again until the pigs have been weaned
from two to four weeks-if not too much suckled down,
in about three weeks.
}
CASTRATING AND SPAYING.
105
It is not a good plan to take all the pigs from the sow,
unless one or two of them can be turned with her some
hours after, to draw out the milk she will have at that
time, and again, say after a lapse of twenty-four hours.
The way preferred by us is, to leave about two of the
smallest with her for four or five days, and after that,
leave only one for two or three days more, by which time
the flow of milk will have been so gradually diminished,
that no injury will result to the sow by keeping them
entirely away from her.
After weaning pigs, the pasture is a good place for the
sow, and if a mess of good slop is given her once a day,
it will be fed to good advantage. When bred again, she
should be so fed and cared for, as to gain something in
flesh every day, and yet not become loaded down with fat
from the use of too much heating and concentrated food.
If treated in a friendly way, she will be friendly and well
disposed, and ordinarily come as near paying richly for all
she gets, as any animal kept on the farm.
CHAPTER XII.
CASTRATING AND SPAYING.
The necessity of castrating the boar pigs, for pork-mak-
ing purposes, is generally admitted, but the importance of
spaying such sow pigs, on the farm or in the herd, as are
not designed for breeders, has never been appreciated as
it should, or as it is likely to be, when the rearing of
swine is conducted on such business principles as its im-
portance demands. Open sows, running with other stock
hogs, are a source of great annoyance, and where more
than two or three are kept, there is scarcely a time when
106
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
some one of their number is not in heat, and continually
chasing the others, thus keeping them in a worried,
fevered condition, extremely prejudicial to growth or
fattening.
If all are neatly trimmed, this is avoided, the hogs are
quiet and restful, and much time, trouble, and feed are
saved.
All feeders agree, that no animals in the swine-herd
feed more kindly and profitably, than spayed sows, and
there are no buyers who would not as soon, or sooner,
have them than barrows, when they would not buy a lot
of open sows at any price. An open sow, when fat, of
the same dimensions externally as a spayed sow or bar-
row, generally weighs from ten to twenty pounds less.
To the feeder, the buyer, or the butcher, unspayed sows
are usually, in one way or another, a cheat, as they may
weigh more than they are worth by having a litter of pigs
in them, or may be utterly destitute of inside fat, from
having recently suckled pigs; in either case they are of
less value than their appearance would indicate. Spayed
sows are not troublesome to their mates, are as good as
they look for feeding or marketing, and command in all
markets such prices as are paid for none but first-class
stock.
There is no subject connected with the live stock in-
terests, upon which so little has been written, or upon
which it seems so difficult to get reliable information or
directions, as this. In view of this want, we have had
the following practical and explicit directions prepared
by one of the most experienced and successful veterinary
surgeons in the country, Dr. F. C. Miles, of Charleston,
Illinois, whose practice in this branch of his profession
is very extensive. Doct. M. says:
"As to the time for castrating boars, I would say, do
it whenever most convenient, and the best way is the way
understood by every old farmer, unless the hog is rup-
CASTRATING AND SPAYING.
107
tured, in which case the striffen around the seed (called
the scrotal sack) should be taken out with the seed, and
the seed-string tied within the neck of the scrotal sack
with a small twine. When this is done, cut off the seed-
sack, and all behind the tie, and let the hog go. I do
not like sewing up, as large tumors sometimes result from
so doing. Should maggots develop in the gash where a
hog has been cut, apply either turpentine or butter-milk.
66 'TO CASTRATE A RIDGLING HOG.
"In a ridgling hog, the seeds are not in a scrotal sack,
or in their proper place, but in the body of the animal,
immediately behind the kidneys.
"He should be cut in the side, the same as in spaying
a sow, but the incision should be made of sufficient size
to admit the whole hand, when the seeds can be found
and easily pulled out.
"TO SPAY SOWS.
"One man should be in the pen to catch, and two to
hold the sow, by the feet alone, flat on the ground on her
right side, and stretched out tightly. The spayer, kneel-
ing at the sow's back, will cut the hair off of the place
where the incision is to be made, (a little back of the last
rib, and about midway up and down); then cut a gash-
if on a hundred-pound shote, about half an inch deep
and three inches long, up and down; slip the flesh back
each way, about an inch, making a round gash or wide
incision; then turn the knife, and stick the blade straight
in, gently, deep enough to go through the peritoneal
lining, or inside striffen, at the upper corner of the inci-
sion. Then put the left fore-finger in, and with it and.
the right fore-finger, tear the hole large enough to allow
working room for the fingers; feel inside near the back,
with the first two fingers of the left hand, for the 'pride,
a little knotty lump, which cannot be mistaken, for there
are no others like it within reach, but if it is not found—
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
as is sometimes the case, then feel for small guts, called
the 'pig-bag,' and take them out the best you can, until
the first 'pride' is reached; take this off; follow back
down the pig-bed to a fork where two guts coming to-
gether form a larger one, as two branches running
together form a creek; here take up the other branch
until the lower pride' is reached; take it off, put the
pig-bed back in good order, and see that it is all in the
belly proper, and not left at the gash.
"Slack up the upper hind leg, so as to close the gash,
and sew up with two stitches, taking good hold, but going
only skin-deep; one stitch near the middle of the gash,
the other above it; draw the edges together, so as to touch
from the middle of the gash upward. Both stitches may
be taken before tying either, and then tie the threads or
twine, crossing each other, in the form of a letter X, and
when the sow is let go, press the hand over the gash as
she starts off.
"For spaying purposes, the thread or twine used
should not be too harsh or too tightly twisted:"
CHAPTER XIII.
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
The necessity of providing swine with summer pasture
and green food, is, even in the best corn-producing dis-
tricts, becoming more and more apparent, and it is,
unquestionably, an important factor to be taken into con-
sideration in connection with the economical production of
pork.
So much is this the case that we can safely say, that
no farmer is prepared to raise hogs in any considerable
numbers, unless provided with pasture and grass lands,
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
109
in which abundant water and shade are accessible at all
times; with such, hogs will thrive and grow, with but lit-
tle or no grain, from early spring until the new crop of
corn is fit for use, and the process of fattening should
begin.
This liberty of pasture, affords the growing animals that
exercise necessary to health and proper development, and
the succulent grasses, rich in muscle and bone-forming
materials, are loosening and cooling to the system, tend
to keep it free from disease, and counteract the heating
and feverish properties of corn. A very important con-
sideration in favor of grass and forage for swine in sum-
mer, is its comparatively small cost; as compared with
grain-feeding, the expense is merely nominal.
The loss that occurs every year to farmers, from their
not realizing and acting upon the fact that the hog is, in
in his normal condition, a grass-eating animal, is simply
enormous, and it is well settled in the minds of all who
have carefully studied the subject, that to keep swine
wholly upon the more concentrated and heating foods, is
as unnatural and unprofitable as it would be to keep
horses or cows in the same manner.
A very interesting experiment in feeding some pigs,
and one which illustrates this point, was recently made
by the editor of the National Live Stock Journal. From
a desire to satisfy himself as to whether a portion of grass,
or fibrous food, fed in connection with corn meal, was
not more healthful and profitable than the meal without
other admixture, he made the experiment of which he
thus speaks:
"
Taking a litter of six pigs, five weeks old, we divided them
into two lots, as nearly equal in weight and thrift as could be
done with the eye. This was on the 1st of June. One lot of three
was put into a pen, and fed upon corn meal soaked in water twelve
hours, ad libitum. The other lot was put into a pen alongside, and
fed upon green clover, cut short by a straw-cutter, and mixed with
corn meal. At first only one quart of this cut clover was fed each
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
pig, with all the meal they would eat. This meal, being mixed
with clover, the particles were separated, and when eaten, went
into the stomach in a spongy condition, so that the gastric juice
could penetrate the mass as water a sponge. The gastric juice
came in contact with every part of the mass at once, and the diges-
tion was soon accomplished. This lot of pigs, with the clover and
meal, were always lively, always ready for their feed; whilst the
other lot, with meal alone, ate greedily for a time, then became
mincing and dainty for a few days, showing a feverish state of the
system, contenting themselves for a few meals with water, and by
fasting got over it, and went on eating again. This was repeated
many times during the five months that the experiment lasted. At
the end of the time the two lots were weighed. The lot fed on
meal alone, weighed 150 lbs. each; the other lot, 210 lbs. each, or
40 per cent. more for being treated as grass-eating animals. Each
lot consumed the same amount of meal. The clover, in this case,
was given in small quantity, and intended merely to furnish a
divisor for the meal. The amount never exceeded two quarts of
cut clover at a feed. We have since fed pigs this way, in sum-
mer, giving all the cut clover they would eat. This will be found
the best way to feed pigs where it is inconvenient to give them a
run in pasture. They have always been healthy under this treat-
ment, which we call the normal ration-grass alone, or grass and
grain mixed. But larger growth will be made by feeding a small
portion of oil meal, mingled with the corn meal and grass; the
oil meal being rich in nitrogen and phosphate of lime, to grow the
muscle and bone, giving a larger growth to the frame, and thus
making more pounds of pork in a given time.
"In order further to test this matter of feeding fibrous food with
grain, we experimented, in winter, with two lots of pigs, two in each
lot. Each lot weighed 150 lbs. at commencement of experiment,
and were all of the same age. The trial continued one hundred
and twenty days. One lot was fed corn meal, wet up with hot
water, and allowed to stand for a few hours. The other lot was
fed a little short-cut clover hay and corn meal, wet up with hot
water and allowed to stand. In this case, also, each lot con-
sumed about the same quantity of corn meal. The pigs on meal
alone were healthier than those in the other experiments, as they
were older, and the weather being cold, were not so feverish. This
lot gained 110 lbs. per head, and the lot on clover hay and meal
gained 143 lbs. each, or 30 per cent more.
"There is, no doubt, a great loss every year, to the farmers, för
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
111
not treating the pig as a grass-eating animal, and giving him his
normal ration."
It seems to be an unquestionable fact, that the reason
why many fail to realize what they might from their
swine herds, is that they devote their time and attention
almost entirely to the corn field, and utterly ignore the
necessity for, or value of, pasture and green food in the
summer season. In their eagerness to secure an abundance
of winter and fattening food, they fail to encourage rapid
growth upon healthful and inexpensive food in the most
favorable months of the year.
Various estimates and tables have been prepared by
scientific men, to show the amount of nutritive material
an acre of land will produce, in cereals and grass, and a
fair average of their conclusions on the subject is shown
in the following table: The estimate of the product of
an acre of clover is quite low, as, when well matured, an
acre can, in a favorable season, be made to yield more
than the amount here given. The table is on the basis
that four pounds of the raw material will make one pound
of pork, except that for clover, fifteen pounds is allowed
for a pound of pork.
Gross Product per acre.
Pork per acre.
Value, at 4
No. bush.
lbs.
lbs.
cts. per lb.
Wheat..
.15
900
225
$9.00
Barley.
.35
1,680
420
16.80
Oats.
.40
1,320
320
13.20
Corn.
.40
2,240
560
22.40
Peas..
25
1,500
375
15.00
12,000
800
32.00
Green clover...... 6 tons
2
If this is true in practice, it is evident that an acre
of clover is worth, for pork-making, as much as 3'/,
acres of average wheat, almost as much as 1'/, acre of
good corn, and nearly as much as 2', acres of good
oats. Hogs that have made most of their growth on
corn, have stomachs too small to be the most successful
grass-feeders, or make large gains on bulky food of any
sort. Swine that are expected to make the most gain on a
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SWINE HUSBANDRY,
grass diet, should previously be allowed a portion of food
sufficiently bulky to properly distend their stomachs,
without which they will lack carrying room.
Hog pastures, in July and August, if the weather is
quite dry, are likely to become short of forage, and much
of the ground rooted over; in this case the stock must
have extra attention. Provision can be made for such
emergencies by sowing a crop of peas at the proper sea-
son, and for swine in warm weather, there are few kinds
of food equal to peas. Two bushels, sown broadcast on
an acre of properly-prepared land, should produce about
thirty bushels of shelled peas, which the hogs will har-
vest, and if not too ripe, peas, pods, vines, and all, will
be eaten.
•
The value of the field pea is not known or appreciated
by the western farmers as it should be, and as it is likely
will be, in the future; they produce more flesh in propor-
tion to fat than corn, and are fit for use at a season when
especially needed. In England, where it is impossible to
raise corn, farmers rely largely on peas to fatten their
pork; while in Canada, where very fair corn is raised,
they claim that more hog food can be provided from an
acre of peas than from an acre of corn.
We are of the opinion that the time is near at hand,
when an important food for swine is to be furished in the
Jerusalem Artichoke; sometimes called the Brazilian
Artichoke, an incorrect name, as the plant is not known
in Brazil. While but little information has been given
to the public as to the best variety, or manner of pro-
ducing them, they are held in high estimation by those
who have given them a fair trial.
Mr. A. C. Williams, of Vinton, Iowa, a very promi-
nent and successful breeder of Poland-Chinas, in large
numbers, says:
"The keep of my hogs, in warm weather, is Blue grass, Clover,
and Brazilian Artichokes. Forty head of hogs, and their pigs,
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
113
may be kept without other food on an acre of Artichokes, from the
time frost is out of the ground until the first of June, and from
September, or October, until the ground is again frozen.
"To grow them, the ground should be rich, plowed eight or ten
inches deep, the tubers cut same as seed potatoes, and planted
from early spring to June 10th, ten to fifteen inches apart, in rows
that are three feet apart, with six bushels of seed to the acre.
"They can also be planted in the fall, from October 15th to
November 15th, but the tubers should not be cut, and the ground
should be throughly rolled after planting.
"If planted in spring, plenty of rain in July and August will
make them large enough to turn hogs on in September, otherwise
not until a month later. If in foul ground, they may, when three
or four inches high, be given a thorough working with cultivators,
and when the hogs have been removed, to allow a new crop of
tubers to grow, the ground should be made smooth by harrowing,
that the tops may be cut with a mower, as food for horses and
cattle.
"Enough seed will remain in the ground for another crop, but
they can easily be eradicated by mowing off the tops and plowing
the ground deeply in July and the early part of August.
“The Brazilian Artichoke is red, does not spread and scatter like
the wild, white variety, and produces more hog-feed to the acre
than any crop I am acquainted with, and the hogs will harvest the
crop themselves.
Hogs taken from the artichoke pastures to clover and blue-
grass, will not root up the sod, as they are free from intestinal
worms, constipation, indigestion, and fever, caused by feeding corn
in winter.”
The editor of the Stock Journal, writing of Mr. Williams'
hogs, as seen at the Iowa State Fair of 1876, said:
"Mr. Williams, of Vinton, had on exhibition one of the largest
displays of Poland-Chinas we have ever seen on any fair ground
from a single individual. Mr. W. captured the first prize on sows
over one year and under six months, and the second on a pair of
pigs under six months, in a ring of 28 entries, and a recommended
herd premium. Mr. Williams informed us that his herd was
taken off his pastures and artichoke fields without any previous
fixing up."
""
Considering how the majority of premium hogs and
pigs are pampered and "fixed up" before they are taken
114
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
to State Fairs, this is a very high compliment to Mr.
Williams' "keep." A gentleman writing to the Prairie
Farmer from Wakarusa, Kansas, speaks of artichokes as
follows:
"The Jerusalem Artichoke, in this State, forms a large tuber,
(those of over a pound in weight being nothing unusual), is won-
derfully productive, very nutritious, and is well liked by the hogs,
even in a raw state.
"I planted a few last year to raise seed for this season; and in
digging them I found that they had taken entire possession of the
ground, so that I had to dig up all the ground between the rows
as well as between the hills, and the largest and finest tubers were
found deep down in the compact sub-soil where the plow had never
reached.
“Here I am reminded of the only objection (so-called) that I have
ever heard urged against the artichoke; which is, that if they once
get into a piece of ground they never can be eradicated. This, in-
stead of being a valid objection, is really one of the strongest argu-
ments in favor of its use for the purpose under consideration.
"I think that in seeding hog pastures to the artichoke, a division
fence should be run through the middle, so that one half could rest
cach alternate year, and not be disturbed during the growing sea-
son. Enough, in any event, would be left in the ground for seed,
but in this way the tubers would have a better chance to mature.
"In selecting a piece of ground for hog pasture, (if intended to
be planted with artichokes), it will be best to take a rich, moist
soil, though they will grow in any soil that is suitable for potatoes.
Having made the selection with due care and forethought, let that
piece be dedicated forever to the artichoke, when it will be seen that
the impossibility of its eradication becomes its highest recommen-
dation, for no further labor will ever be required in planting, cul-
tivating, or digging; the swine will have plenty of the best of sum-
mer food, and they will cultivate it and dig it themselves."
The following, to the same journal, was from an Illi-
nois correspondent :
"I have raised the Jerusalem Artichoke on my place twelve
years. Soil the same as the common prairies of Iowa and Illinois,
and my experience proves them to be a very valuable and useful
crop. All kinds of stock, horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, and chick-
ens, are fond of them. I regard them as very healthy food, and
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
115
necessary in addition to grain, in the spring, and at this time, are
feeding them to my milch cows with the best results.
"One can commence using them in September, and from thence
to June, but to use them when the ground is frozen solid, they must
be gathered and heaped, and covered with straw and earth, other-
wise, whenever the ground can be got into they can be used;
being frozen in the ground tends to make them crisp and sweet.
Plenty of artichokes and a little corn brings the hogs out fine
in the spring, and they will dig them themselves, and will do the
same in the fall.
"I was warned by my neighbors, when I got them, to look out
or they would get my farm, and take my place to its ruin, but this
has not been my experience. I always consoled myself that if
they got the advantage of me and grew spontaneously, the struggle
would be between them and weeds, the difference being, the arti-
chokes would have roots at the bottom, and the weeds nothing.
The only difficulty has been to keep a sufficiency of roots beyond
the reach of hogs, to renew my crop with. Cultivate same as pota-
toes, and same amount of seed, will yield five to one of potatoes,
with same culture, and are much easier to cultivate, as they have
a strong upright stalk. Plant in the spring; any time in April
will do best; I would plant in May rather than miss. Soil cannot
be too rich."
The following also appeared in the Burlington (Iowa)
Hawkeye, about the same time:
"Last spring I planted a double handful of small tubers, cut still
smaller, I think about 40 pieces, and about 35 plants grew in two
rows about 35 feet long (11 steps). A few days ago I dug them,
and they were over seven bushels. I threw over the last dug bushel
to the pigs and they eat them with avidity. I knocked the dirt off
a large one, and offered it to the horse at the garden fence, and he
eat it. Three of the best plants yielded each one-half bushel even
full, and the majority yielded over a peck each. They were
planted in good, moist ground, and hoed once. The six bushels
are now in a heap in my garden, and I intend to plant most of
them. In spading up where my garden fence had been, I found
those tubers in the ground. They were there 18 years ago, when
we came here, and how much longer, probably the former owner
could tell. One of your correspondents is wrong about the arti-
choke being impossible to eradicate. I once planted some, and in
the autumn turned in hogs, (without knowing anything about the
116
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
field), and the next spring inclosed it in a calf pasture, and the fol-
lowing spring none appeared. The yield per acre would certainly
be enormous, and freezing does no injury. This saves much labor
of digging before frost, or digging at all for hogs."
The common method of feeding corn, alone, twelve
months in the year, is favorable to the production of the
well-known "land pikes," so common on the farms of
the West, a few years since, and tens of thousands of
hogs have been lost by the so-called "hog cholera," and
other diseases, wholly and directly the result of defective
and unnatural feeding. We look upon more and better
grass, shade, and water, with less dry corn, fed in mud,
filth, and dust, as the great panaceas for the many ail-
ments with which such enormous numbers of hogs are
annually afflicted and lost. A practical and well known
western writer was not far from the facts, when he said,
in 1872 :
"With many of those who raise hogs in the West, but little
attention is paid to their natures, habits, wants, or feed lots; the
latter are allowed to become a noisome pestilence, and the only
wonder is that the whole race of swine is not exterminated by
cholera, blind-staggers, etc., engendered by these sink-holes of
iniquity."
In a series of carefully prepared articles written for the
Prairie Farmer, by Hon. Elmer Baldwin, of Illinois, he
makes the following fair statements about the desirability
of pasture and forage for swine :
"The farmer who proposes to make money by raising pork,
must have a pasture for his swine during the season of grass.
Without it the balance is very apt to be on the wrong side of the
ledger after selling his crop.
"Clover is supposed to be the best, but Timothy is doubtless
equally good. Swine like it about as well, and it is more nutritious.
Blue-grass does well, when better is not to be had; even a field of
weeds is better than no pasture, as many varieties of weeds are ex-
cellent feed. Many a poor widow has made a good porker almost
solely on weeds from her garden.
"Where a sufficient range of pasture cannot be had, soiling does
PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD.
117
well. Clover or Timothy cut when green and fresh, and fed regu-
larly, is the next best feed to a good range of pasture.
"As soon as the grass starts in the spring, the hogs should be
turned in, as they like it best when short and tender. They will
subsist and grow well on grass alone, with a little salt occasionally.
Some prefer to feed a little corn dàily; it may or may not be gcod
policy; they will be farther advanced for fattening, but will not
fatten as well as if none is fed in summer, and with good pasture,
water, and shade, they will give satisfactory results. They will
not fatten on grass, but it prepares them for fattening.
"Their systems are in a healthy state. They have no ulcerated
livers and stomachs, as they will have if fed on corn through the
hot weather.
"Thus kept, they are prepared by the first of September to com-
mence the fattening process, with sound teeth, good digestion, and
vigorous health. They will after that time promptly pay for all
the feed judiciously given. It may be, and doubtless is, true, that
a light feed of bran or light provender might be fed with profit
during the summer; but it is doubtful if corn in any quantity is
beneficial.
"Feeding on corn alone, during the summer, except it to be
send them to a summer market, is bad policy; they become un-
healthy, teeth sore, appetites cloyed, and they will not feed satis-
factorily in the fall, and the comparative expense of grass and corn
feeding must be drawn as to which is the best policy. The cost of
grass feeding, even with other light feed, is merely nominal, while
a hog fed on corn, from the time it is weaned from the sow until
butchered at eighteen months old, can seldom pay expenses.
“The chief end of a hog is the weight and quality of his carcass.
His value depends upon his being well fattened, and the object
aimed at during his whole life is to prepare him for that event. If
he fails in that, his life is a failure.
"Corn is the proper food for fattening, but not for growth; and
the fattening process is always, to some extent, a disease-producing
process, and if too long continued is always so.
"But when the animal commences fattening in vigorous health,
having lived for months on green vegetable and light food, his
health will remain firm through any reasonable time required to
become fat. But if fed uninterruptedly on heavy, hearty, dry
food for all his life, his health, if not already destroyed, is injured,
and will yield to such unnatural living before there is time to fat-
ten, as will be shown by loss of appetite, restlessness, unnatural
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SWINE HUSBANDRY.
craving for lime, clay, bones, hen-dung, etc. A hog thus affected
can not be fattened more that season; he had better be slaugh-
tered, (although it is doubtful if his carcass is fit for food), or turned
out for a year, to recuperate.
"It is a common practice to endeavor to counteract this tendency
to disease by feeding sulphur, coal, bones, clay, rotten wood, etc.,
which may be, to some extent, beneficial; but it is like the drugs
used to infuse life and health into the gouty, rheumatic, apoplectic,
epicurean biped. The health thus obtained is of an inappreciable
amount compared with that of the hardy rustic who never had
gout or apoplexy. The hog is an epicurean philosopher; and as
Providence deals with his biped prototype, (the votary of that phi-
losophy), by throwing in disease at the proper time to close the
scene, so the butcher's knife should do for the quadruped what
Providence does for the biped, but a little in advance, just before
the disease is developed. That is, the fattening process should be
completed as soon as possible, (and before disease supervenes),
both for economy, and to insure a good, healthful quality of meat,
and when the proper amount of fat is laid on, the animal should
be slaughtered at once."
It must appear to any candid observing man that the
use of grasses, peas, artichokes, etc., instead of corn, for
the summer diet of hogs, must be rational and profitable,
in producing healthier animals, affording a fairer remu-
neration to the raiser, and, above all, food more nearly
fit for the human stomach.
PASTURE; let this word be written in capitals, by every
man who raises swine-it is the secret of success.
CHAPTER XIV.
FATTENING.
Healthy swine, of good breed, that have been previously
kept in such a manner, and for such a length of time,
(the latter depending largely on the breed) as to develop
a good-sized and properly formed frame, if put upon full,
but not too concentrated, feed in the early days of Sep-
FATTENING.
119
tember, are expected to, and will, lay on flesh very rap-
idly. The quantity will vary, with different animals,
from half a pound to two and a half pounds per day, the
latter quantity, however, being quite extraordinary.
Whatever the season of the year, or the number of ani-
mals to be fattened, it is important that the enclosure in
which they are kept and fed, should have good surface
drainage; if possible, there should be plenty of running
water, that their feed-lots may not become miry, and to
prevent the necessity of the animals drinking from im-
pure sloughs, or mud-holes.
With the best management, it is not desirable that
more than about forty head should be confined to less
than an acre of ground; though it is frequently the prac-
tice to feed that, or a greater number, in a much smaller
space, where they are compelled to eat, drink, and sleep
in their own filth; after some months of this treatment,
if not carried off by that ever convenient scapegoat,
"cholera," they become a good and fair quality of-car-
rion. If any considerable number are to be fattened,
and the large, medium, and small-sized hogs can be fed
by themselves, in different pens or lots, it is an excellent
plan to do this; and if not more than fifteen, twenty,
or twenty-five are kept together, they will be more peace-
able, feed better, gain faster, and be healthier, than if
huddled together indiscriminately, to spend their time in
continual turmoil and uproar. To be more precise about
the space fattening hogs should have, we consider any
space sufficient in which a reasonable number are afforded
comfort, cleanliness, and a moderate degree of exercise;
while any pen is too small, that compels any number to
be filthy and uncomfortable.
When taken from grass, or other bulky diet, to be fat-
tened, the change to a more concentrated food should be
gradual, as too sudden a change is sometimes attended
with injurious effects, if not the loss of some animals
120
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
outright. They should, at first, have light feed. Bran
and other mill-stuff, made into slop, and given with their
grain, is good, and if the refuse from the orchard and
potato field is given them, it will be beneficial, and espe-
cially so, if cooked and mixed with bran, meal, etc.
Our own custom is, to plant early in the spring
a piece of good, rich ground, with some of the larger
kinds of sweet corn, or an early variety of field corn,
and with it put some pumpkin seeds in every sixth or
eighth hill, each way. Early in the season this corn is
in "roasting-ear," when we begin feeding it to the hogs,
stalk and all-as much as they will clean up. It seems
exactly suited to their appetites, and starts them along
in growth and fattening in a manner that is always grati-
fying. Cutting the early corn from the ground hastens
the growth of the pumpkins, which then begin ripening,
and are soon fit for use.
After the hogs have eaten every mouthful of the green
corn that they will, we give them as many pumpkins
as they want, and usually, each grown hog will eat one
good-sized pumpkin, or more. Before they are given
to the hogs, the pumpkins should be chopped open, and
all, or most all, of the seeds removed, as in large quan-
tities they affect the urinary organs very injuriously, and
so derange an animal's system as to make him nearly
worthless for any purpose.
•
We consider that the pork made in this way, at this
time of year, yields us as much clear profit as any we
produce. We like to cut up corn for the hogs as late in
the season as they will eat a good portion of the fodder,
and after this, it requires but a few weeks of feeding on
clear corn to fully ripen them for slaughter. We differ
from many experienced feeders, in believing that the new
corn will fatten hogs faster than that a year or two old;
but for finishing off a lot of porkers for market, we read-
FATTENING.
121
ily concede that a plenty of old sound corn is good enough
for anybody.
As to continuing the use of pumpkins, we never suc-
ceeded in raising too many, or in keeping them into the
winter longer than we liked to feed them, but fattening
hogs should fill up with a full meal of corn before being
given the pumpkins, else they would eat too much pump-
kin in proportion to the corn, and be very slow in storing
up fat. Pumpkins, like wheat bran, are useful adjuncts
to the more concentrated kinds of food, but alone cannot
be depended on for fattening purposes.
If there is soft, or poor corn to be fed out, it should
be used first, as, after beginning to feed, a change from
strong, sound feed, to that which is poor and chaffy, is
usually for the worse. Any change during the feeding
season should be from light to heavier, and more nutri-
tious food, and never the reverse. When, by gradually
increasing the quantity of fattening food, the hogs have
become accustomed to it, they should be given at regular
hours, early in the morning, at noon, and late in the
evening, as much corn as they will eat up clean, but no
more.
.
This caution is applicable to all other foods as well as
corn, though we are aware that comparatively few hogs
are fattened in the corn-growing regions, except upon
corn in the ear, and probably the time is far off when it
will be otherwise.
So easily and abundantly raised, it has become the prin-
cipal food for fatting all kinds of farm stock, and being
so common, is fed in many cases without a proper knowl-
edge of its adaptability to the animal economy, as is
shown by the constant tendency to disease and degener-
acy in our domestic animals. Its exclusive use is not the
best economy, but being so easily produced, and in such
convenient form for feeding, especially in cold weather, it
is simply courting ridicule to protest against it; we will,
6
122
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
nevertheless, venture to introduce here an item embody-
ing the views endorsed by many of the most learned sci-
entists; it is from the report (see Chap. XXII), made in
the fall of 1876, to the Missouri State Board of Agricul-
ture, by Dr. Detmers, V. S. This gentleman was com-
missioned by the Board to investigate the so-called "Hog
Cholera," in its various forms and phases, its symptoms
and causes, and to suggest means of prevention, and ra-
tional treatment.
He writes as follows:
"Finally, I wish to say a few words in regard to a hygienic mistake
committed on almost every farm in the west. I refer to the practice
of feeding the swine exclusively with corn, a practice which cer-
tainly is not calculated to produce healthy and vigorous animals,
but which necessarily must result, as I shall try to show, in weak-
ening the organism, and in creating a predisposition to disease.
How much or how little this practice has contributed in producing
the now prevailing epizootic influenza of swine I am not prepared
to decide. I have, however, reasons to suppose that this practice
has not been without influence. The organism of a domestic ani-
mal is composed of about fifteen to twenty elements, or undecom-
posable constituents of matter, united in numerous organic com-
pounds. A constant change of matter is taking place, and a part
of these elements, in form of organic compounds, is constantly
wasted, and carried off by the processes of secretion and excretion.
The organism, therefore, in order to remain healthy, and to main-
tain its normal composition, must receive, from time to time, an
adequate supply of those elements, contained in suitable or digest-
ible organic compounds, so as to cover the continual loss, and, if
the animal is young, to produce growth and development. The
simplest way to introduce these elements into the animal organism
is to give food which contains them in nearly the right proportions.
A few of these elements, besides hydrogen and oxygen, are some-
times in the form of suitable compounds in limited, though very
seldom sufficient, quantities in the water for drinking; for in-
stance, calcium, in the form of lime, iron, etc. One important
element-oxygen-enters the organism, also, in large quantities,
through the lungs and through the skin, but all others have to be
introduced wholly, or almost wholly, in the form of food. Almost
all kinds of food, however, milk perhaps excepted, lack some im-
FATTENING.
123
portant elements in their composition, contain others in insufficient
quantities, and still others in greater abundance than required.
Therefore, if such a kind of food is given exclusively-corn, for
instance-which is destitute of some of the mineral elements, and
contains only an insufficient quantity of nitrogenous compounds,
which are of so great importance in the animal organization, irreg-
ularities and disorders, in the exercise of the various functions and
organs, will be the unavoidable results.”
Prof. S. A. Knapp, an extensive breeder of thorough-
bred swine, at Vinton, Iowa, to satisfy himself that too
much corn, without other food, was detrimental to the
health of pigs, made some experiments, one of which he
speaks of as follows:
"Two years since, I experimented in feeding dry corn and water
to a thrifty, vigorous pig, about twelve weeks old. In three weeks
there were indications of fever; the fourth week he became stiff
in his limbs, extremely costive, with skin dry-appetite yet good.
The fifth week there was great weakness in the hind parts-swell-
ing of the sheath, retention of urine, costiveness, and fickle appe-
tite. The diet was then changed to dish-water and cooked bran
drinks; in three weeks the pig was apparently well."
If kept in dry lots, or fed in pens, plenty of trough
room should be provided, and at least twice a day the
hogs should have as much clean water as they will drink,
and practical men know that this is no inconsiderable
quantity.
Whatever the feed may be, it should be given in such a
manner that they will be forced to cat as little filth as
possible, and if corn can be fed on a clean floor, or ground
having a sod, it is an excellent plan. But when the ani-
mals, to get their feed, must swallow as much mud and
manure as grain, but poor results can be expected.
Regularity, as to times of feeding, and quality and quan-
tity of feed, should be observed; no animal should be fed
so as to become surfeited, and only so much food should
be given at once as will be entirely consumed, that all
may come to the next meal with sharp appetites. The
most perfect development does not depend so much upon
124
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
the large quantity they can be made to consume, as upon
the quantity they properly digest and assimilate. Next
to good food for the appetite, a good appetite for the food
is desirable, and should be carefully promoted; the hog
that refuses to eat, even for a single day, is set back in
his fattening for two or three days, and sometimes for a
fortnight. In fact, the failure of a hog's appetite denotes
something radically wrong with him, if not with the
entire herd and its management. The quantity of food
will vary somewhat, and usually in frosty or freezing
weather, more will be eaten, to maintain the animal heat,
than when the temperature is higher and the atmosphere
contains considerable moisture. Good feeding consists in
giving every particle the hogs will eat, without leaving
any, or losing their appetites, and to accomplish this, in-
telligent care and close observation are necessary. The
old saying, that the lazy farmer, who sits on the fence
watching his hogs until they are through eating, gener-
ally markets the heaviest pork, is in exemplification of
the rules of proper care in feeding. Quiet and comfort
are indispensable to thrift, so dogs and boisterous boys
should be kept away from the feed lots and pens. We
have always found it convenient to accustom our hogs to
some particular call, which will bring them together, and
sometimes they can thus be called into places where it
would be about impossible to drive them.
We salt our own hogs, by putting small quantities in
their swill, and sulphur is given in the same way. Bitu-
minous or soft coal, charcoal, wood ashes, and rotten
wood, are relished by hogs as condiments, and we think
that these should be kept within their reach.
Comfortable, sheltered beds, not too deep and dusty,
are equivalent to a considerable amount of food, as stock
suffering from cold cannot thrive, and to warm them
with grain, applied internally, is much more expensive
than good nests and shelter, applied externally.
FATTENING.
125
One hundred pounds of pork from ten bushels of corn,
is the usual estimate made by western farmers who feed
whole corn, but fed in a different form, and in conjunc-
tion with other food, it will make much more, as has
been many times fully demonstrated by careful feeders,
both in America and Europe. The example of the farm-
ers in the New England States is valuable, as they are
noted for raising the best of pork with small corn crops,
and no "cholera." The general method pursued
"Is to commence fattening by boiling potatoes, pumpkins,
apples, or other vegetables, and mix a little bran, shorts, or pro-
vender, with the cooked vegetables when hot, thus thoroughly
cooking the meal. It is then placed in tubs or vats, and allowed
to slightly ferment, when it is ready for use. The amount of meal
is gradually increased until near killing time, when meal well
cooked is given alone.
"The meal is composed of oats, buckwheat, and corn, or any
other coarse grain, or of any two of them, generally finishing with
corn meal alone. Thus treated, they fatten much faster than on
dry corn, and at much less expense. It costs more labor, but at a
season when it can be well spared, and it is well recompensed.
(<
'The English system is still more diversified. They use all
kinds of vegetables-potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, peas, beans,
barley, and oats; the grain steamed or ground; the vegetables
cooked and mixed with slop from the house, dairy, distillery,
brewery, etc. Even grass and clover is cut and mixed with the
feed, and almost every substance of light cost and any nutriment,
is nicely prepared and finds a ready market in the maw of the om-
nivorous hog.'
""
We do not wish to be understood as arguing, in this
chapter, or in this book, that corn is not a suitable food
for swine, or that it is not the best single fat-producing
material for the money in the world, for general use; but
would enforce the fact that a variety is essential to per-
fect health and development in all animals, and a single
article of food becomes satisfactory to none,--not even to
a hog.
A very satisfactory method of fattening hogs, largely
126
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
practised in the west by those who "stall feed" cattle,
is to put shotes, of one hundred to one hundred and fifty
pounds weight, with the cattle whenever grain feeding is
begun-generally about the first of October-at the rate
of fifteen to twenty shotes to ten steers, the number de-
pending on the amount of grain used, and the manner in
which it is placed before the cattle. In the fine weather
of fall and early winter, it is common to feed corn in the
fodder, or in the shuck, by throwing it upon the grass
in the pasture; the favorite way is to feed in two differ-
ent enclosures, and each day to turn the hogs into the one
where the cattle were fed the day previous; this enables
them to pick up the leavings of the cattle, without
trampling on and over the day's feed, until the cattle have
eaten as much of it as they wish.
When full feed is given to cattle in this way, about two
shotes to each steer is not too many, but when corn is
fed in tight boxes and troughs, so that but a small pro-
portion is scattered, from one shote to one and a half per
steer will keep the feed lots well gleaned.
If a greater number are kept, they will need to have
extra grain given them, in order to fatten rapidly; but if
simply growth is the object, three shotes will fare pretty
well in following each steer that is on full feed.
The grain voided whole by the cattle seems to be so
softened and so digestible, that hogs thrive on it amazing-
ly, so that the larger ones are soon in a condition for
market, and others can occupy their places in the feeding
lots.
Hogs seldom fatten more satisfactorily, rapidly, or with
less outlay of labor, than when handled in this way, and
the plan is justly held in high favor, from the fact that
every pound of increase from the droppings and scattered
corn is clear gain, none of which could be utilized with-
out the much-abused hog.
One common defect in this method of managing hogs
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
127
is, that they are not generally provided with suitable
sleeping quarters, where they can be comfortable, without
crowding, and out of danger of being trampled and
horned by the cattle.
Autumn, with its mild weather, is the profitable season
for making pork and lard, and hogs not fed with cattle,
should be far along in their fattening before severe winter
weather sets in. When hogs become so fat as to get up
and about with difficulty, it is a loss to feed them longer,
and the packer and the barrel should take them in.
In feeding soft or cooked food, a kerosene barrel
mounted on wheels will answer, but where something not
quite so high, and less circumscribed at the top can be
constructed, it will be found more convenient.
CHAPTER X V.
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.-FOOD COOKERS.
The question as to the economy and general desirability
of cooking food for swine, has long been a subject of dis-
cussion and speculation, yet there probably is quite as
much diversity of opinion, among farmers in general at
the present day, as at any previous time.
The surrounding conditions and circumstances, have
much to do in deciding the question of economy; and
while one farmer, under certain circumstances, could feed
a considerable portion of cooked grain and secure satis-
factory returns therefor, another, differently situated,
though perhaps in the same neighborhood, and raising
the same class of swine, might be unable to do so without
actual loss.
Under favorable circumstances many have, by careful
experiments, thoroughly satisfied themselves that the
128
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
practice of cooking is largely profitable, and others, from
experiments fully as careful and thorough, have arrived
at conclusions directly the reverse.
There can scarcely be a doubt that cooking hard, dry
corn, renders it more easy of digestion, enabling the ani-
mal to extract the maximum of nutritive material it con-
tains, and that, ordinarily, fed in this form and of the
proper consistency, it affords a larger percentage of flesh
and fat, than if fed in the raw state. A large majority,
we think, of those who have given attention to the sub-
ject, admit this; at the same time, a respectable and in-
telligent minority, vote nay. That it is practically profit-
able, on a majority of farms, to pursue a system of cook-
ing the food for large stocks of swine, is not generally
conceded.
Among the reasons for regarding cooking as impracti-
cable, are, the scarcity of timber for fuel, the extra labor
involved, and the general lack of fixtures and facilities
for cooking, and feeding the food in its cooked state.
Vast numbers of those whose farms are located in the
best corn-growing regions, would, by the single item of
fuel, be deterred from undertaking it, even if convinced
that cooking would give, from the cooked food, a con-
siderable increase of flesh and fat over that consumed raw.
Others, with fuel convenient and abundant, and fully
satisfied of the importance and economy of feeding cooked
grain, are practically prevented from carrying out their
convictions, by the scarcity and expense of reliable, intel-
ligent help. There are others still, with so much wood
and timber, that it is a burden, and who have help to
spare, yet having no very decided views for or against
cooking, suppose that some hundreds of dollars would
have to be expended in buying, fitting up, and learning
to use the very simplest apparatus that would possibly
answer. We shall try to disabuse the minds of this last-
mentioned classs further on in this chapter.
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE,
129
The Messrs. H. M. & W. P. Sisson, of Galesburg, Illi-
nois, in a pre-eminently prairie country, are uncommonly
successful breeders of swine in large numbers, and, at
some seasons of the year, use a considerable quantity of
cooked food. Knowing them to be practical men, pursu-
ing their business for profit, rather than for the purpose
of demonstrating any preconceived theories, we solicited
of them a statement of their conclusions, from experience,
as to the profit and desirability of cooking food for swine,
on a small, medium, and large scale. In their reply, they
express views so nearly identical with those entertained
by us, that we cheerfully present their conclusions in lieu
of our own. They write:
"We have been cooking food for hogs, more or less, for
the last six or eight years, and we state as the result of our
experience and observation, that in the great hog and
corn producing States, cooking food for hogs, generally,
will not pay; still, there are times and circumstances
which will make cooking, to a limited extent, profitable.
"We do not think it profitable to cook corn, or meal,
for hogs, whenever they can have access to good, tender
grass, and the temperature is such that corn can be soaked.
in water. Soaking will then answer every purpose, but
in winter, when there is no grass, and dry corn is the
principal food, is the time that cooking will pay, if ever.
66
'Hogs need something besides dry corn, (it is too con-
centrated), something with more bulk; and to meet this
requirement, we do some cooking. If a slop is made of
corn and oat meal, middlings and bran, and finished up
with potatoes, pumpkins, or squashes, all well cooked,
and fed in connection with dry corn, we think the advan-
tage will be very apparent.
"It is not absolutely necessary that this should be fed
more than once a day, but pigs, especially, should have
enough, once a day, to fill up and properly distend the
130
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
stomach. In speaking of pigs, we mean those six months
old, or more.
"It is our opinion, that the disease known as hog chol-
era, is very largely occasioned by the almost exclusive use
of corn. Hogs should have a variety of food; they need
something besides corn; oats, bran, potatoes, etc., fed
for a change, and for variety, are very beneficial.
"We use a simple pan, or boiler, that has an iron bot-
tom and ends, with plank sides, so that the contents can
be drawn off into a vat. The boiler has a light cover,
and is about eight feet long, three feet wide, and fifteen
inches deep. Such an arrangement is cheap, and can be
made profitable, principally in winter.
"We will say, in conclusion, that we do not believe
that it will pay, either on a small, medium, or large scale,
to generally substitute cooked for uncooked food, for
hogs in the great hog and corn-producing regions of the
West."
Mr. Thomas Wood, the successful breeder of Chester
Whites, mentioned in another chapter, writes us :
"For the last eight or ten years, I have cooked feed
for my hogs, and with the steamer that I have fixed up
I can make one or two hogsheads of mush at a time. I
cook food as a matter of economy, believing that about
one-fourth the grain is saved thereby. I generally feed of
corn two parts, and oats one part, ground together, and
with this I feed considerable whole corn, particularly in
the fall before it gets hard and dry. Feed, when cooked,
should be allowed to get nearly cold before it is given to
the hogs.
"A few days ago, I weighed and put in separate pens,
two sows, in every way the same, and of the same litter.
No. 1 weighed 292 lbs., and No. 2 weighed 280 lbs. I
fed No. 1 for 17 days on unground corn, cooked; she con-
sumed 2 bushels and 21 quarts, and gained 36 lbs. No.
2 I fed the same length of time, on whole corn, raw, of
:
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
131
which she consumed 3 bushels and 13 quarts, and gained
30 lbs.
"The summer before the above experiment was made,
I fed eight shotes with corn and oats, (one part oats, and
two parts corn), ground, and made it into well-cooked
mush, and frequently weighed them, in order to see if it
would pay to make pork at the then ruling prices of corn
(55c.), oats (40c.), and pork (7c.). The result was that
the pork paid nearly two prices, for the corn and oats,
while the manure paid for the labor."
U. H. Stowe, of Indiana, had four pigs of a litter,
which weighed 245 lbs. each, and four of another litter
that weighed 170 lbs. each. He took one of each litter,
and put in a pen by itself, and the other six in another
pen, and gave both an equal chance, allowing both as
much good, sound corn as they could eat, for six weeks.
The corn fed to the six was thoroughly cooked whole,
and that fed to the two was raw, and fed in the usual way.
The hogs on the raw corn gained ten pounds to the
bushel, and those fed on the cooked corn gained just fif-
teen pounds to the bushel consumed.
Prof. Wilkinson, of Baltimore, says: "I conducted
an agricultural school and experimental farm for eight
years, and experimented with feeding cooked food of
every description used for cows, horses, swine, working
and fattening cattle, and poultry, and carefully noted the
results. These were in all cases very remunerative; so
much so, that even with the defective, inconvenient, and
expensive apparatus used-for want of better-in steam-
ing, manipulating, and feeding, I found there was an
average profit of fully 25 per cent."
THE EXPERIMENTS OF S. H. CLAY.
Readers of agricultural papers have, no doubt, fre-
quently seen allusions to experiments made by Mr. S. H
Clay, of Paris, Ky., in cooking food for swine.
132
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
י
Mr. Clay was an extensive breeder of Berkshires, being
the gentleman to whom was awarded the grand prize of
$1,000, for the finest display of swine at the National
Swine Exposition, in Chicago, September, 1871. He
made these experiments to settle, in his own mind, the
question as to what extent, and under what circum-
stances, cooking food could be profitably followed.
The experiments were begun July 16th, with six bar-
rows, each about twelve months old, at which time they
weighed as follows:
No. 1.
แ 2.
"3
" 4.
" 5.
66 6
255 pounds.
.285
66
240
.240
.265
"
.245
"
They were fed together for twelve days on cooked corn
meal, reduced to such a consistency that the animals
could readily drink it. At the end of twelve days, they
were separated, when each pig weighed as follows:
No. 1, 294 pounds, having gained.
.39 pounds.
""
2, 318
3, 290
4, 276
((
CC
66
66
"
"5, 290
[
"
" 6, 282
"
.33
.50
แ
.36
66
25
(C
.37
""
Nos. 1 and 2 were put in a pen together, and for 30 days
fed on boiled corn, consuming 390 pounds, or six bush-
els and 54 pounds, upon which No. 1 gained 50 pounds,
and No. 2 gained 52 pounds, or together, 102 pounds.
For the same period, Nos. 3 and 4 were fed together,
in a pen, on meal, boiled and reduced to a thin slop, con-
suming 254 pounds, or four bushels and 46 pounds, upon
which No. 3 gained 30 pounds, and No. 4 gained 50
pounds, or together, 80 pounds.
Nos. 5 and 6 were for the same period fed on dry
corn, consuming 405 pounds, or seven bushels and 13
pounds. Upon this, No. 5 gained 10 pounds, and No.
6 gained 32 pounds, or together, 42 pounds.
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
133
The following will illustrate the foregoing in tabular
form:
Consumed..
Gain in 30 days….
Pork to 1 bushel corn.
Corn per bushel.
Cost of pork per lb.
Nos. 1 and 2.
Boiled Corn.
6 bu. 54 lbs.
102 lbs.
14 65/100 lbs.
28 cents.
1c. 9 mills.
Nos. 3 and 4. |Nos. 5 and 6.
Boiled Meal.
4 bu. 46 lbs.
80 lbs.
16 61/100 lbs.
28 cents.
1c. 6 mills.
Dry Corn.
7 bu. 13 lbs.
42 lbs.
580/100 lbs.
28 cents.
4c. 8 mills.
At the end of the 30 days, a change was made, and the
hogs fed as follows: Nos. 5 and 6, that had been fed on
dry corn, were for the next 26 days given cooked meal;
they consumed 234 pounds of meal, equal to 4 bushels
and 10 lbs. of shelled corn, upon which No. 5 gained 40
lbs., and No. 6 gained 34 lbs., or together 74 lbs.
Nos. 3 and 4, that had been fed on cooked meal, were
fed for the same period of 26 days, on dry corn; they con-
sumed 364 lbs., or 6'/, bushels, upon which No. 3 gained
34 lbs., and No. 4 gained 10 lbs., or together 44 lbs.
Nos. 1 and 2 were still kept on the diet of boiled corn,
with about the same results as in the former trial. The
following table shows the results of the 26 days' trial :
Consumed....
Gain in 30 days..
Pork to 1 bushel corn
Corn per bushel.
•
Cost of pork per lb.
Boiled Meal.
Nos. 5 and 6.
4 bu. 10 lbs.
74 lbs.
1772/100 lbs.
28 cents.
1 cent 5 mills.
Dry Corn.
Nos, 3 and 4.
6 bu. 28 lbs.
44 lbs.
677/100 lbs.
28 cents.
4 cents 1 mill.
It appears that, during the twelve days, when the hogs
were first put up together and fed cooked meal, No. 5
gained 25 pounds, but when they were separated, and fed
thirty days on dry corn, the same hog gained but 10 lbs.,
while it consumed 202'/, lbs. of corn. With corn at 28
cents per bushel, each pound of pork produced would
cost in this case 10 cents and 1 mill; but when in the
second trial the hog is again fed on boiled meal, it con-
sumes but 117 lbs. in 26 days, and gains forty pounds,
and gives the pork gained at a cost of one cent and four
mills per pound.
+.


134
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
In the first period of twelve days, No. 4 made a gain
of thirty-six pounds, or three pounds per day, on the
cooked meal, and being continued on the same food for
the thirty days following, consumed but 135 lbs. of
meal, and gained thereon fifty pounds, at a cost of one
cent and three mills for each pound of gain. But the
same hog, when fed on dry corn in the second trial, con-
sumed 182 lbs. in twenty-six days, and made a gain of
only ten pounds, at a cost per pound of nine cents and
one mill.
In his experiment, Mr. Clay obtained from one bushel
of corn, fed in the form of cooked meal, about the same
quantity of pork that he did from three bushels, fed with-
out cooking or grinding. In other words, he found one
hundred bushels of dry corn made him less pork than did
forty bushels of corn, when ground and cooked. By
cooking the feed, he was also enabled to make one hog
gain fifty pounds, while another hog, (equal in all re-
spects), gained on dry corn but ten pounds in the same
length of time.
That those gentlemen who believe whole or raw corn
will make as much or more pork than when cooked, or
ground, are not without reasons for the faith that is in
them, we are certain, and the following experiments-
which we must assume were made as carefully as the
others-will not lessen it. The first experiment was made
on the farm of the Iowa Agricultural College, by Mr. M.
Stalker, the Superintendent, and as some, to whom the
results were displeasing, have ridiculed it, and sneered at
its author, as a "book farmer," "theorist," and "col-
lege professor," it is fair to remark that those who know
him, say he is a gentleman pre-eminently distinguished
for his strong common sense, with a thorough practical
knowledge of the every-day business of farm life.
He reports:
'On the first day of July, (1875), an experiment was com-
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
135
menced, for testing the comparative value of different kinds of
food for pigs. The food used was dry corn, soaked corn, cooked
corn, dry meal, and cooked meal. Five lots of pigs were selected,
as nearly uniform as could be taken from a lot of fifty. Three
pigs were put in each pen.
They were placed in
regular allowance of
"The pigs were all of Berkshire blood.
floored pens, and given nothing but their
food, with all the water they would drink.
"The corn was all shelled and weighed.
July and August, each lot consumed fifteen bushels of corn, or the
same amount ground into meal. The pigs were carefully weighed
each week, and a complete record of the results taken.
During the months of
'During the last week in August, when the weather was ex-
tremely warm, pens No. 4 and 5 sustained a small loss, while Nos.
2 and 3 made a slight gain.
"Below are given the results.
Weighed July 1...
Weighed September 1...
Gain.
Gain per bushel.
Pen No. 1,
fed on dry
corn.
Pen No. 2,
fed on soak-
ed corn.
Pen No. 3,
fed on boil-
ed corn.
Pen No. 4,
fed on dry
meal.
Pen No.
5,
fed on cook-
ed meal.
491
5201
468
5031
519

675| 6601
618
678
676
184
1401
150
175 157
12.26
9.33 10.00 11.66 10.46
"On the 1st day of September the pigs were all put upon full
feed, each pen receiving the same kind of food as during the first
two months.
"The experiment was concluded for each pen when fifteen
bushels had been consumed, except No. 2, which had consumed
but 13 bushels up to October 25th."

Weighed September 1
Weighed October 23.
Weighed October 25.
Weighed October 28.
Gain……..
Gain per bushel.
soaked
Pen No. 2, fed
Pen No. 1, fed
on dry corn.
ио
corn.
Pen No. 3, fed
ио
corn.
boiled
Pen No. 4, fed
on dry meal.
Pen No. 5, fed
on cooked
meal.
675
€60
618
678
676
870
880
800
818
780
195 140
162
202
142
13.00 10.24 10.80 13.46
9.46
136
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"Mr. R. L. Bingham, of Bloomington, Grant county, Wisconsin,
states that, after purchasing an Anderson steamer, he commenced,
February 15th, an experiment in feeding nineteen pigs, about nine-
teen weeks old, a cross of Berkshire with common stock. Prior to
the experiment, the pigs had the run of the farm, and had been fed
as much raw corn as they would eat. Then for a period of twenty-
eight days, they were fed as before, with corn in the ear and all
the water they could drink. At the close of this period, the total
gain in weight was 667 lbs., made from feeding 55 bushels of corn
—a gain of 12 lbs. for each bushel of corn. They were then fed
with thick mush, made by bringing the water to a boiling heat, and
then stirring in the meal ground fine, with the steam still on, allow-
ing the meal to cook five to ten minutes, and adding salt; this was
fed to them warm, three times a day, as much as they would eat
clean. At the end of twenty-eight days they were again weighed,
showing a gain of 676 lbs., made on 75 bushels of corn, less toll-
a gain of 9 lbs. for each bushel of corn consumed. He then put
11 of the pigs on raw corn again, continuing to feed the others with
cooked meal. May 25, after a trial of six weeks, those on raw corn
averaged a gain of 44 lbs. each, and the others an average gain of
37 lbs."
"Mr. J. M. Billingsly, of Spring Valley, Indiana, took twenty
hogs, crosses of the Chester White, Poland, and Berkshire. He
divided then equally, to the best of his judgment, ten in each lot.
On the first of December, the lot he intended feeding with cooked
corn meal weighed 2,110 lbs., and the lot to be fed on corn in ear,
weighed 2,200 lbs. He gave them fair treatment, dealing alike as
to quarters and feed, except that one lot was fed on cooked meal,
and the other corn in the ear. They were all fed as much as they
would eat clean. Those fed with meal gained per day 1.29 lbs.
Those fed with corn, 1.46 per day. In fifty-one days the ten hogs
fed on cooked meal, gained 670 lbs., and those fed on corn in the
ear gained 700 lbs."
The New England Farmer says:
According to a series of experiments conducted through a term
of six years, at the Maine State Agricultural College, it was proved
that raw corn meal, for feeding swine, is more economical than
meal that is cooked. This accords with our own experience,
although contrary to common opinion. The extra cost of labor
and fuel required to cook food for swine, is no small item in a
small herd, and must require a considerable increase in the gross
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
137
number of pounds of pork from the food consumed, to make the
operation a paying one."
Many other experiments, and a vast fund of valuable
information have been collated and very lucidly presented
in the elaborate article (Chap. XX.), prepared by Mr.
Joseph Sullivant, of the Ohio State Board of Agricul-
ture. High authority in such matters has said: “No
man engaged in pork-raising can afford to pursue his
business, without giving Mr. Sullivant's paper careful
investigation.
"He will find there embodied, in a reasonable space, a
carefully prepared and full statement of the experiences
of many, that it would require him days, and perhaps
weeks of study and research to obtain.”
A FOOD COOKER.
Much money has been wasted in the purchase of vari-
ous steamers, boilers, cookers, and similar apparatus,
patented, high-priced, and highly extolled, at least by
patentees, makers, and venders. Not a few credulous
persons have been almost persuaded that, if possessed of
one of these wonderful inventions, they could raise hogs
on so near no grain at all, that a fortune was inevitable,
if the business was well followed.
While the apparatus of each different make has some
point to recommend it, no great number of meritorious
features are combined in any one that is simple and
cheap, and we have observed that those who invest in this
class of merchandise, sooner or later permit it to get out
of repair, fall into disuse, and if not left out in the
weather, it is stored in some out-building, or corner of
the barn, while, in time, the room it occupies is looked
upon as being worth more than the old "contraption "
itself.
The royalty to the inventor, the manufacturer's profits,
the margins to retailers, together with the considerable
+
138
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
freights on such heavy wares, make them high in price.
to the farmers, and the results obtained from them are,
in many cases, and from various causes, so unsatisfactory,
that the entire experiment is regarded as an expensive
failure.
For successful operation, and simplicity and economy
in construction, we regard an apparatus made and used

Fig. 7.—MR. CLAY'S FOOD COOKER.
by the late S. H. Clay, of Paris, Ky., as about as good,
if not superior to, any patented cooker that could be
bought for two or three times the cost of this. It con-
sists of a box two feet wide, and six or eight feet long,
and 18 to 24 inches deep, made of two-inch hard-wood
plank, and is somewhat wider at the top than at the bot-
tom. The bottom is of heavy sheet iron, nailed firmly.
to the sides and ends. The box rests on brick or stone
walls, high enough to give a plenty of fire-room under-
neath. A trench in the ground might do in lieu of walls.
The front of the fire-place has a door of sheet or cast
iron, with a damper, by which to regulate the fire. The
COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.
139
door is of sufficient size to permit the use of refuse knots,
and the chunks found about the farm or wood-pile.
At the rear end, a chimney, or suitable escape for
smoke, is constructed; for this purpose large sized stove-
pipe answers well. In making the box, thick white lead
should be carefully spread on the bottom edges, before
nailing on the iron bottom; this will make it less likely
to leak.
After setting the box on the walls, earth is banked up
against them; the earth should extend up against the
sides of the box somewhat, to prevent the escape of
smoke and sparks through the walls.
For drawing off the contents of the box, a sliding gate,
with a tin spout under it, is arranged in the front end.
A cover, made of inch pine, or other boards, cut on a
bevel with the flaring sides of the box, should fit inside
of it, instead of on the top, and have some sort of han-
dles at each end for convenience in lifting it.
A few strips of wood, at intervals, on the bottom, and
upon them a false bottom, with numerous small perfora-
tions, is desirable, as it will prevent meal, or other fine
food, from burning at the bottom.
Whenever the box is emptied, it should be cleaned out
under the false bottom, and if emptied of food when
there is a fire below, some water should be poured in at
once, to prevent injury to the pan.
With such an arrangement as this for boiling corn,
shelled or in the ear, potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, beets,
etc., with cheap fuel, and feeding the mass when cold,
or but moderately warm, we believe that almost any
farmer can secure a fair compensation for the time and
labor expended in cooking a goodly portion of the food
for his hogs, and if he cannot do this, surely cooking
must be unprofitable.
When it is more suitable to soak the corn than to cook
it, the box will be useful for this purpose, and for heat-
140
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
ing water and scalding hogs, at butchering time, it will
indeed be found "a good thing to have in the family."
4
CHAPTER XV I.
HOG HOUSES AND PENS.
We have seen but few expensive buildings, erected for
the use of swine, that were in any great degree satisfac-
tory; the more elaborate and expensive these were, the
less desirable and practically valuable they seemed to be.
Large hog houses, usually bring too many animals
together, where lack of room, ventilation, and exercise,
favor disease and vermin; besides, they increase the diffi-
culty of making suitable arrangements for pasturing,
and fail to afford sufficient sunlight, and general comfort.
On most farms, a small or large number of swine can
be provided with comfortable housing from such material,
and of such construction, as will readily suggest them-
selves to almost any man fit to be entrusted with the care
of stock.
.
Sleeping apartments should be enclosed on the north-
east, and on the west, with a tight wall of stone, boards,
logs, or even hay or straw, covered well; in lieu of some-
thing better, hay or straw makes a very good roof. The
apartments should be open, and front the south, to admit
light and warmth from the sun, and should be provided
with fresh bedding. Such house will, perhaps, answer as
well as one constructed after the elaborate plans of an
architect. Reasonable protection from cold and storm,
dry, clean bedding, and fresh air are requisite in sleeping
HOG HOUSES AND PENS.
141
apartments for swine, and the farms are few where these
cannot be secured at a merely nominal cost.
A well-known western breeder says:
"The common plan of erecting large buildings for the rearing
and keeping of swine, is objectionable, upon the ground that,
during the season of the year when a pen is particularly required,
such buildings are usually cold, dull, and dark, receiving the rays
of the sun only a few hours each day.
"Light, air, and sunshine appear to be especially agreeable to
the animals, particularly during the fall, winter, and spring months,
and are unquestionably conducive to health and growth. Hence,
in erecting buildings, or pens, for hogs, these things should be
especially looked after, as a cheerful pen will be likely to give you
a cheerful pig."
For those desiring a breeding house that is somewhat
elaborate, we present the one shown on pages 142 and 143,
it having probably had as much careful thought given it,
by a practical breeder and farmer, as any similar establish-
ment in the country, and it is not without many useful
features to recommend it.
It was planned and erected by Hon. J. K. Hudson,
(present editor of the Kansas Farmer), on his "Hillside
Farm," Wyandotte Co., Kansas.
The building (fig. 8) is 100 feet long by 30 feet wide,
built of first quality of pine, upon stone foundations, and
arranged with a view to the utmost economy of time and
labor in feeding and care of the stock.
By reference to the ground plan (fig. 9), it will be
seen that there are fourteen pens on each side. These
are divided by movable partitions, so that one or more
Each
pens can at any time be thrown together as one.
pen is furnished with a fender, to prevent the young pigs
from being overlaid and smothered by the sow.
Through the centre of the building is a drive-way, 12
feet wide, through which runs a wooden track and truck-
car, for carrying barrels of feed from the steamer and
feed rooms. Each of the troughs extends through the
112
SWINE HUSBANDRY.

Z
Fig. 8.-VIEW OF MR. J. K. HUDSON'S PIGGERY.
HOG HOUSES AND PENS,
143

STEAMER
MILL
WEEN
珠
​DOOR
DOOR
CORN CRIB
BRAN
SHORTS
ΖΙΧΟΙ
FENDER
+
YARD
TROUCH
DOOR
B
RUNNING WATER
FEED CAR TRACK
12 x 100 FT
YARD
RUNNING WATER
Fig. 9.-PLAN OF MR. J. K. HUDSON'S PIGGERY.
GATE
OPEN
GATE
SHUT
144
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
partition between the pens and the drive-way, so that
feed can be poured into them from the outside, without
interference from the animals within.
All of the pens open into outside lots, (it was found
impracticable to show them all in the view), the gates
between them forming, when open, an alley, through
which animals can be readily moved from one portion to
another, and manure wheeled out to the compost heap.
Fresh spring water runs through all the out-lots on
either side of the building, and extensive clover pastures
are accessible from the north, east, and south.
Mr. Hudson raised hogs by the hundred, and claims
for this establishment that it economizes labor, and affords
excellent care and protection to a large number of ani-
mals, giving warmth in winter, and shelter and ventila-
tion in summer.
By opening the large doors at each end of the building,
and the fourteen small doors on each side, the freest ven-
tilation is secured in both directions; the interior walls
of the pens are, of course, but a few feet high, and the
space above them open.
In Mr. Hudson's opinion, the abundant clover pastures
adjacent, and the strong, never-failing springs, constantly
supplying an abundance of the purest water, are among
the chief recommendations of this structure, and they
are prime necessities to the success of any other swine-
breeding establishment.
Mr. Charles Snoad, Secretary of the National Associa
tion of Swine Breeders, contributes to the Prairie Farmer
Annual the plan of an inexpensive house for swine, a
view of which is given in figure 10, and a plan in figure
11. Of this building Mr. Snoad says:
“The plan submitted is one I have just adopted, and, as will be
observed, it is so simply constructed, that it can be built by almost
any farmer.
"The importance of a southern exposure, for the continued good
HOG HOUSES AND PENS.
145
health and comfort of all animals during the fall, winter, and
spring months, will hardly be questioned. In erecting large build-
ings on the usual plan, these advantages are almost wholly lost
sight of. This building is 70 feet in length, and 16 feet in width,

Fig. 10.—VIEW OF MR. SNOAD'S PIGGERY.
including front platform. The cost of it will not exceed $100,
with lumber from $17 to $21 per thousand.
"The roof is of stock boards, with a groove cut in each edge,
and battened. For cooking or preparing food for the stock, or for
the storage of grain, a portion of the building may be appro-

D
D
A
A
A
ROOM
21 X 14
8 X 14
8x 14
D
D
B
D
C
B
A
Fig. 11.-PLAN OF MR. SNOAD'S PIGGERY.
(The sash doors are designed to swing in, and the gates to swing back over the
troughs, while putting in food.) A, A, Pens, 8×14 feet; B, B, Feed Troughs;
C, Platform in front, two feet wide; D, D, D, Doors.
priated, adding to the hight, length, or width, to suit the conveni-
ence of the proprietor. Such changes in the division of pens
may also be made as may be deemed best.
"The most important features claimed are: warmth, light, air,
146
SWINE HUSBANDRY,
and sunshine. It may be considered an objection, to be obliged to
feed from the outside of the building, but it is believed that the
comfort and thrift of the animals, will more than compensate for
this apparent additional trouble. Many a cold, cutting day, may
be made one of comfort and warmth, by taking advantage of the
sunshine.
"In locating the storage and cooking room, the point best
adapted to the demands of the case, should be selected. If it is
more convenient to do the cooking near the residence, I should
have it done there, in preference to using a part of the piggery.
"
Many of the steamers or boilers now in use, can be placed in a
very small room, and frequently in the dwelling house, conducting
the steam to the point desired for cooking the food, through iron
gas pipe.
"Modifications and changes are necessary in almost all plans, to
adapt them to the wants of different individuals and locations."
An Illinois feeder gives in the Stock Journal, Feb.,
1877, the plan of a good feeding floor and pen, as follows:
"A floor 30 × 30 feet will give room enough to feed 100 to 120
hogs, and may be made to do twice that service, by feeding a sec-
ond lot after the first have had time to eat, as I have frequently
done for months at a time, and with good satisfaction. The floor
should be divided, leaving each part 30 × 15 feet, and each accom-
modating from 50 to 60 hogs at once, which, I think, is as many as
ought to be fed together. The lumber necessary for such floor is
about as follows:
3 pieces 6x8, for sills, 30 feet long...
(6
2x8, joists, 16
16 66
16 "
2×8,
(6
"L
"6
14 "l
1,800 feet 2×6, floor.....
360 feet.
320"
280"
.1,800 "
Common lumber, to enclose (5 feet high).... 600 “
Total.....
.3,360"
except posts, which may be set upon the sill or into the ground,
and will not add materially to the expense-if on the sill, then 28
pieces 4 × 4, 5 feet long, 175 feet, and lumber for division, 100 feet;
lumber, all told, 3,635 feet, costing here $13 per thousand, or
$47.25 for the whole. The floor might be made of inch lumber,
instead of two-inch, as in the bill, but is not so good, nor is it
cheaper in the end.
"The sleeping place I prefer, should not be less than 30 or 40 feet
from the feed floor, as less manure will be taken there, and it will
HOG HOUSES AND PENS.
147
seldom be wet, as is sure to be the case if adjoining. The sleep-
ing house site, as well as the intervening space, should be raised
or filled up several inches higher than the surrounding ground, to
prevent surface water from running in, and also to afford drainage.
Set the house on this: 14 x 32 feet, [mine is], high side 9 feet, low
side 6 feet, shed roof, of common boards; requiring in all-for
siding, roofs, and division-about 1,400 feet of common lumber,
and a few pieces of scantling or straight hard wood poles to nail
tɔ and support the roof; then add six or eight inches of sand or
sawdust to the floor and the intervening space, and you will have
no mud."
When but few pigs are kept, or it is desired to keep up
a small number for some particular purpose, they can in
spring, summer, and early fall in many cases, be kept ad-
vantageously in small portable pens, which can be moved a
few feet every day or two; by doing this the pigs can have
the benefit of fresh clean earth and grass continually.
For easy handling, such pens should be light, and are
best made of pine lumber, the size of the pens varying
according to the length of the boards used, from 10 to
16 feet, and these may be 4, 5 or 6 inches wide—the lat-
ter being much the best for strength.
Instead of nailing the lumber to small corner posts,
we find it better to make four separate panels, nailing
the lumber firmly with wrought nails, to cross-pieces or
cleats, of good 6-inch boards, as long as the pen is to be
high, three to each panel, and when set up, keeping se-
cured by some sort of flexible fastening.
When nailed together at the corners, the frequent
moving of the pen wrenches and breaks the nailed cor-
nors loose, and the pen becomes a wreck, a result which
cannot occur when the parts are jointed.
If a pen 14 or 16 feet square is built, it is sometimes
convenient to have an extra panel, which will fit down in
the middle of it, between cleats, which will at once con-
vert the one pen into two of half its size.
These pens should be provided with a convenient
148
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
trough, and some sort of temporary roof, over one end
or corner, at least sufficient to afford a good shade at all
times of the day, which, with plenty of water, is indis-
pensable.
We have found a movable pen or two, quite a necessity
in the summer season, but cannot recommend any pen,
that is so light and airy as this, for cold weather.
It frequently happens, on a farm where machinery is
used, that four wheels may be found, from 6 to 24 inches
in diameter, that may be fastened to the corners of the
movable pen, on which it may be moved with facility
from place to place, without much effort, or, suitable
wooden wheels, of any size or number, can be made of
the transverse sections of a solid hard-wood log, and at-
tached to the pen, to enable it to be moved with ease.
On nearly every farm, one or more well constructed
movable pens, will be found a good investment, as a few
pigs can be kept clean and healthy in these, if moved
often on solid ground, with less trouble than in any other
way; the farmer who tries them will not readily re-adopt
the old-time four-rail-square pen, that stood in the same
place for a dozen or more years.
.
In whatever style the pen may be built, we would
impress on the builder the convenience and importance
of having the troughs level, with cross-slats on top, six
or eight inches apart, and arranged so that feed can be
poured into their entire length from the outside of the pen.
These assist in the more equal distribution of the feed,
enable each animal to secure its share, prevent the
stronger from monopolizing and fouling the trough, by
standing length wise in it, and also enable the attendant
to feed without being jostled, or charged upon, by the
always importunate swine.
Feeding a dozen or more hogs, by pouring slops into
one end of a long open trough, is excellent for two or
three of the strongest animals, but the others usually have
SLAUGHTERING, CURING, AND PRESERVING.
149
to stand back, and be content with so much, or so little,
of the feed as their more powerful companions reluctant-
ly leave, for want of more capacious stomachs.
Troughs are much more durable if made of good sound
oak, or other hard wood, than of pine, as hogs some-
times get into a habit of gnawing them for the taste of
something that has soaked into the wood, and a pine
trough is, in this way, soon destroyed.
CHAPTER XVII.
SLAUGHTERING, CURING, AND PRESERVING.
Every experiment we know of, that has been made.
to ascertain whether it was more profitable to the pro-
ducer to sell his hogs alive, or kill, and cure the pork
on the farm, and then market it, indicates that, in most
years, the farmer may realize more profitable returns
by marketing the cured product. In fact, we have seen
but few intelligent farmers who did not admit this, but
as they generally need the money represented in the year's
hog crop, by the time the hogs are ready for market, they
prefer to realize on them at once, rather than assume the
risk and wait the longer time necessary to successful
curing, especially with the poor facilities many of them
possess for this branch of the business.
A lot of uniform, well fattened hogs represent cash,
any day in the year, at any point in the country; hence
the temptation to dispose of them as soon as the proper
condition is reached, is exceedingly strong. This, no
doubt, accounts in a large degree for the fact, that the
bulk of the bog crop raised, is sold on foot to drovers and
shippers, to be slaughtered at the immense packing estab-
150
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
lishments near large cities, and only so many are killed
on the farm as are needed for home consumption.
In this, we find the probable reason, why no more at-
tention has been paid to finding out and practising meth-
ods in killing and curing of pork, somewhat improved
over those of former generations.
We are not aware of anything having been written,
nor have we seen practised anything, from which we could
infer that the farmers of the present time slaughter and
dress their swine in a better way than did their forefath-
ers. The old method of knocking down, cutting into
the neck to sever the jugular vein, and pierce the heart,
scalding in water not quite boiling, into which a quart of
ashes has been thrown "to make the hair slip," scraping
with knives, hoes, and iron candlesticks, and then lift-
ing by main strength, the naked, slippery hog to the
pole or fixture, from which he is to hang for gutting and
cooling, is yet in vogue on nearly every farm.
Those who raise the best of hogs, too often have few
conveniences for butchering, and those hurriedly and
awkwardly made, generally by the hired man, while the
water is heating in the morning. A small expenditure of
labor and money would secure such facilities as would
render butchering-day much less disagreeable.
After the hog is secured for sticking, either by being
caught, knocked or shot down, it should be turned square
on its back, and no twist allowed in its neck, so that the
sticker will be sure to sever its main arteries, without
allowing the knife to penetrate, or injure, either shoulder.
We do not deem it best, or even desirable, to pierce the
heart, but prefer to let the animal die from loss of blood,
which it should do in the space of five minutes, or even
less, if the knife has been properly used. When properly
stuck, the blood should leap from the gash, in a stream
as large as the gash itself, while, or before, the sticker
removes the knife.
SLAUGHTERING, CURING, AND PRESERVING.
151
+
A barrel or cask is, for many reasons, a poor vessel in
which to scald a hog, and any farmer who annually
butchers a half dozen good-sized porkers, should provide
himself with something less circumscribed and inconveni-
ent, to say nothing of the difficulty of keeping a suffi-
ciency of water at anything like the proper temperature
in it.
For farm use, the best scalding vessel we have seen, is
a heavy box, 6 or 7 feet long, 30 inches wide at the bot-
tom, and 20 or 24 inches deep, with sides somewhat flaring.
This should have a sheet-iron bottom, well supported
on the under side, and be set over a stone or brick founda-
tion, in which there is a convenient chamber for making
sufficient fire to readily heat the water in the vessel
above, and by which it can be kept thoroughly heated for
the length of time required by any number of hogs. At
its rear end should be a pipe, or chimney, for smoke, and
the sides may be banked up with earth. The description
and engraving of the food cooker in Chap. XV. will afford
some useful suggestions for the construction of a vat for
scalding. The top of the vat should be about 2', feet
above the level of the ground. On a level with the top,
on one side, there should be built a strong platform,
about 6 feet wide, and 8 feet long, from which to scald
the hogs, and upon which they are to be cleaned, after
scalding. At the rear end of this, the ground should be
graded up even with the platform, or a sloping platform
built, to facilitate getting the hogs on to the main plat-
form, after they have been killed. For convenience in
lowering the hogs into, and lifting out of the scalding
water, two or more ropes, 8 or 10 feet long, should be
secured to the side of the platform next the water, and
resting on these, the carcass can be lowered or raised
with comparative ease, by two or three men. On the
bottom of the vat, there should be some wooden strips or
a slatted frame, to prevent the hog from lying directly
152
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
on the iron bottom, as with much fire in the furnace, the
skin would soon cook or burn.
The animal is immersed for a few seconds, and then,
by means of the rope, raised out of the water, to allow the
air to strike it thoroughly, and then immersed again.
When the hair readily leaves the skin, especially on the
head, legs and feet, the hog should be removed from the
water as soon as possible, and speedily stripped of every
hair. When this is done, the hind legs should be freely
cut into, below the gambrel joint, to reach both main
cords, under which the gambrel should be entered. The
gambrel should be of strong wood-hickory or oak is best
-and from 24 to 30 inches in length, according to the
size of the hogs, and should be slightly notched on the up-
per side of each end, to prevent the legs from slipping off.
Posts or forks should be so set, that a strong pole rest-
ing on them, will be in part over the platform, about six
feet from the ground, and on this the hogs can be hung,
and slipped along toward either end, out of the way, after
they have been thorougly scraped and rinsed down.
Opening the hogs should be done by some one familiar
with such work, and no directions here would be of practi-
cal value.
After removing the intestines, the mouth should be
propped open with something, and all blood carefully
rinsed out of the lower part of the body and neck. The
next point, and a most important one, is, to let the car-
cass, well spread on the gambrel, hang until thoroughly
cooled in all its parts; unless this is observed, the pork
cannot be cured or preserved in good condition, however
much pains may be taken with it.
CURING AND PRESERVING.
To cure meat of any kind, it is desirable to have it from
animals that, before slaughter, were in a considerable de-
gree matured, or had attained their natural growth.
After dressing, as before intimated, the first requisite is
SLAUGHTERING, CURING, AND PRESERVING.
153
to thoroughly cool the carcass, and for this it should hang
in a low temperature, for thirty-six or more hours, but on
no account should it freeze, especially not after being
dressed; freezing its outer surface, surrounds the interior
of the flesh with a wall, through which the animal heat,
still remaining in and around the bones, cannot escape,
and the result will be souring and speedy decay at the
centre of hams, shoulders, etc., that outwardly appear in
good condition.
Having so large a per cent of fat, side-pork does not
readily become over salt, and there is really no danger of
injury to any but the leaner portions of the carcass by
too much salt; yet where salt is dear, economy would
dictate that only so much be used as is actually neces-
sary as a preservative.
Salting with and without brine, are both popular
methods, and both are so satisfactory, that we deem one
as good as the other.
If brine or "pickle" is used, no danger is apprehended
from insects during the pickling process; the brine ex-
tracts the blood and other juices from the meat, which
rise to the surface, (more rapidly in warm weather), and
there decomposing, are likely to contaminate the entire
contents of the cask, unless given occasional attention.
The preventive of trouble in this direction is, to occa-
sionally subject the brine to boiling; the impurities will
rise to the top, and are to be skimmed off; in this way,
the brine may be kept pure, and its strength undimin-
ished, for any desired length of time.
In "dry salting," or salting in barrels, boxes, or piles,
without the addition of water to form a brine, it is of the
utmost importance that no chance be afforded for flies to
deposit eggs, or maggots, or to even come in contact with
the meat. If flies have had access to the pork, it cannot
then be saved, unless at once put into brine, or kept in a
154
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
temperature so low the eggs cannot hatch, the latter be-
ing not often practicable.
The season of the year, in which meats may be cured
on the farm with the best success, is from December 15th
to February 15th, the interval between these dates afford-
ing two indispensable conditions, viz.: cool weather and
immunity from insects and pests.
Pork is cut to suit the demands of the different mar-
kets in which it is sold, and the various uses for which it
is intended, but the aim should, in all cases, be to have
it in such form as to pack snugly, and we repeat, never
pack down until thoroughly cooled throughout.
Where it is intended to use brine, the meat may be
packed in layers; salt, at the rate of eight pounds to
each hundred pounds of pork, is to be sprinkled evenly
over and around each layer, until the cask is full; then
clean rain or other pure water, is poured in, until all
the interstices are filled and the meat thoroughly covered.
None of the meat should, at any time, be allowed to re-
main above the brine, and in open casks, or tubs, some
attention will be necessary to keep weights so arranged
as to hold it under.
7
Many persons prefer to prepare the brine by adding to the
salt some sugar, or molasses, and saltpetre, dissolving these
in the water, and pouring the pickle over the packed meat.
A very good recipe is as follows: For 100 pounds of pork
take 4 ounces saltpetre, 3 pints common molasses, or 2
pounds brown sugar, and pounds clean salt; when thor-
oughly dissolved, pour over the meat, which it will cover,
if properly packed. Many boil the pickle before using it,
as the impurities from the salt, sugar, etc., will rise, and
can be skimmed off; when this is done, the brine should
be thoroughly cool, before adding it to the meat.
·
Hams and shoulders, to keep well afterwards, should
be in pickle from one to two months; the length of time
depending on their thickness. For curing them with-
SLAUGHTERING, CURING, AND PRESERVING.
155
out brine, a favorite recipe is: 12 pounds fine salt, 2
quarts molasses, '/, pound powdered saltpetre; when these
are well mixed, they will have about the consistency and
appearance of damp brown sugar, and will be sufficient
for 150 pounds of meat. Rub hams and shoulders thor-
oughly with the mixture, and lay singly on a platform in
a cool, dry place. At the end of the first, and of the sec-
ond week, rub them again as at first, and then expose to
continuous smoke for ten days.
A simpler way, in which any portion, or all, of the hog's
carcass can be cured, is to put a layer of, say, half an inch
of salt on a platform, floor, or the bottom of a large box,
or cask, then a layer of meat, on this a liberal sprinkling
of salt, and so on, until all is packed and the top well
covered with salt.
Such portions as are not to be smoked, should be stored in
brine before insects appear, and the smoked meat may, like
the hams of commerce, be covered securely with canvas,
and whitewashed, or packed well in bran, dry ashes, oats,
or shelled corn. For considerable quantities, packing in
tight barrels is a good plan, and for family use, a swing-
ing shelf, with sides and ends covered with wire cloth, in-
side of which the pieces are hung, is convenient, and is
also secure against rats and mice, as well as insects.
The room where any kind of cured meat is to be kept,
should be dry and cool, and the darker the better.
The preservative principle of smoke is known as creosote.
Smoke made by burning corn-cobs is highly esteemed,
but those engaged in curing meats on a large scale, con-
sider that the purest, sweetest smoke is obtained from dry
hickory sap-wood, stripped of its bark. If the smoking
process is too much hurried, the creosote will not have
time to penetrate the entire substance of the meat, but
ten days steady smoking is, in all cases, sufficient, unless
the pieces are unusually large and very thick.
156
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
LARD.
Lard is almost a pure oil, of quite a permament com-
position, for which water has no affinity, and moisture
and air have but little effect on it. In the rendering of
lard from the tissues in which it is contained, fragments
of membrane and particles of animal fibre are intermixed,
which would, if exposed to the air, yield to decay; but
being surrounded by oil and wholly enclosed, they are
kept inactive. Yet, after some time, if abundant, they
may become changed and give an odor and taste of decay.
Care should be exercised as to the purity of lard that
is designed to be kept, as well as to the exclusion of the
air from the vessel. Stone-ware jars (not earthen) are the
most desirable vessels for storing lard, which should al-
ways be kept in a cool, dry atmosphere.
CHAPTER XVIII.
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
ROOTING AND ITS PREVENTION.
Nothing seems more natural to the porcine family, than
to spend a part of their time in rooting in the ground,
and in this way they sometimes do great injury to pastures
and meadows where they are kept or allowed to roam.
Some way of preventing this has been found a necessity,
and has been the means of introducing numerous pat-
ented articles in the way of "Hog Rings," "Ringers,"
"Hog Tongs," "Hog Tamers," etc., which we think have
generally proven more profitable to those who produce and
sell them, than to the farmers who invest in and try to
use them.
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
157
While most of these much-advertised articles possess
some degree of merit, we have observed that those who
spend their money for them, after a brief trial permit them
to fall into disuse, and finally to be mislaid and lost, the
money paid for them being philosophically regarded as so
much invested in experience.
The patented rings are usually sold at prices not unrea-
sonably high, but buyers of rings are impressed with the
idea that, to use them successfully, tongs, ringers, etc.,
must be bought also, and for these, outrageous prices are
charged, which, altogether, makes the ring investment
like the little parties that are sometimes made, where it
costs one five or ten cents to get in, and as many dol-
lars to get out.
A heavy mattress needle, in a stout handle, or the
small blade of a good sharp pocket knife, answers every
purpose for making the holes in the animal's nose, and
new horseshoe nails, or common No. 12 wire, make rings
as good as those covered by patents. If nails are used,
they should be hammered into a circular form, prepara-
tory to inserting, and when in, they can be closed with a
pair of pincers.
If wire is used, it should be cut into pieces of the proper
length, put in, and the ends twisted with the pincers, on
the awl near the handle. The ends should be well twisted
together, and project half or three quarters of an inch,
as the ring will stay in better, and be more of an obstacle
in the way of the hog in rooting.
Mr. A. C. Moore describes three ways of preventing
swine from rooting:
"1st. Place salt and wood ashes, in some considerable quantity,
at certain places on the ground, so that the earth will become
saturated with the salt and lye. It will be found that the hogs will
frequent these spots, and work out some holes, but thereby satisfy
their rooting desires, and the sod will be left undisturbed.
66
'2d. Cut the rim of the snout with your pocket knife, slanting,
as to the end and top of the nose, and leave both ends attached,
158
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
so that the rim will slip up and down when the hog attempts to
root. This method, in my experience, is less liable to allow the
rim growing fast again, than when the cutting is done by a "hog
tamer," provided it is done correctly.
"3d. Put two rings in the snout. Buy common iron rings, such
as are used by tinners, one inch in diameter, and when the rings are
opened sufficiently, and the animal is secured with the usual cord
loop on his nose, take a clip punch and make a hole on each side
of the centre and in the rim of the snout, insert the rings and force
the ends straight."
EAR MUTILATION AND EAR MARKING.
We wish to enter our protest against the practice so
common with many farmers, of cutting and disfiguring the
ears of their hogs in the brutal manner they do, under the
plea that without it they could not distinguish their own
hogs from those of other people.
It is desirable to have some mark by which the owner
may know his own, and a small hole or slit, in some cer-
tain place in one ear, need not disfigure it, and yet be just
as reliable for identification as the horrible carving and
mutilation of both ears.
Well bred hogs have, naturally, fine ears, which add
much to their appearance of uniformity and quality, and
it seems to a lover of good stock, almost like sacrilege to
have them mangled, as is sometimes done by savage dogs,
and more savage men.
For breeding stock, of which it is desired to keep a
record or pedigrees, we know of nothing superior to a neat
metal tag, with a name or number stamped on it, made
so as to attach to any part of the ear. The best we have
seen are known as "Dana's Ear Marks," made by C. H.
Dana, West Lebanon, N. H., who also furnishes "ear
punches," for marking the ears of stock in any desired
shape.
SOWS EATING THEIR PIGS.
No one but the breeder, who has had the misfortune to
see a fine litter of pigs destroyed by their dam-herself
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
159
perhaps the best sow he has can have a sense of the
annoyance and bitter disappointment such an occurrence
involves.
Of such cases a monthly Report of the Department of
Agriculture says:
"It is well known that sows not unfrequently attack and destroy
their young; or, if prevented from this, will not let down their
milk, so that the young pigs necessarily die from want of nourish-
ment. When this condition of things is not caused by a diseased
condition of the uterus, it is said that the sow can be brought to
terms by pouring a mixture of ten to twenty grains of spirits of
camphor, with one to three of tincture of opium, into the ear. The
sow will immediately lie down on the side to which the applica-
tion was made, and remain quiet in this position for several hours,
without interfering with her pigs; and on recovery from the stu-
por, will have lost her irritability in regard to them. The experi-
ment has been tried in Germany hundreds of times, according to
one of the agricultural journals, without any injurious effects. It
is also said that the eating of pigs by the parent sow can be readily
prevented by rubbing them all over with brandy, and making the
same application about the nose of the sow herself."
John Boynton, of Stephenson Co., Illinois, describes
the way in which he saved a litter of pigs from a vicious
sow, as follows:
"I have a fine Chester White sow that has devoured several
pigs of other sows, and as she was heavy with pig herself, I ex-
pected that when she littered, she would eat them as fast as she
could get to them, I watched her closely; she walked up to the
first pig and very deliberately opened her mouth wide to take it in.
I screamed at her, and she then turned upon me. I continued to
menace her until she had to lay down to have another pig; I then
got quietly into the pen, and as she was naturally very gentle, I
succeeded in getting the pig to her teats, and so I stayed with ber
constantly, all the while petting the sow, and as fast as the pigs
came, would divest them of their entanglements and place them
at the teats, which they took right hold of, and before the sow
was aware of it, a maternal affection was enkindled in her heart
for her offspring. She had, and saved, eight of the finest pigs I
ever saw. They are now over two weeks old, and the mother feels
all the affection necessary for them. It is well to treat sows gently
160
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
at all times; then at "littering" time you can do what you please
with them."
QUARRELSOME AND FIGHTING HOGS.
When a considerable number of hogs are penned to-
gether for fattening, the owner is sometimes much an-
noyed by finding them disposed to chase and bite one
another, and occasionally, to such an extent, that those
least able to defend themselves, are chased and worried
to death.
We have not been troubled in this way with our own
hogs, but as suggestive to those who are, we present the
following from "Berkshire," (a most intelligent breeder,
withal), of Ridge Farm, Ills. :
"Fifteen years ago, I began feeding a large number of hogs on
floored pens, around a flouring mill, and they commenced biting
each other. One hog would give another a bite, when he would
run and squeal, and each hog he passed near would give him a bite,
and thus they kept the poor animal going, until he died. I would
go to the pen and stop them, but they would soon commence again.
"I concluded they were feverish, which caused them to be rest-
less, and that they bit each other for the want of something to
cool their fever.
"I tried a variety of remedies, and at length fed them some
stone coal, which effected a complete cure. I have continued, ever
since, to feed my hogs all the coal they would eat, and have never
had any more trouble with their biting each other."
THE CONDITION OF SOWS FOR BREEDING.
In our efforts, in years past, to get all the information
possible about swine, and their management, we were al-
ways confronted with the statement that, a sow tolerably
fat at the time of taking the boar, would have but few
pigs, and they of such inferior quality as to be worthless,
while it was more than likely that the sow and pigs both
would be lost.
Hearing this so much, we concluded that what every-
body said, must be near the truth.
We are not so positive about this as we were.
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
161
Two neighbors raise some model Berkshires, and run-
ning a flouring mill, have an abundance of the best of
feed, which they use liberally with their breeding sows,
keeping them in pretty good bacon order all the time.
We used to feel that we were doing a good stroke of mis-
sionary work, when we cautioned them about keeping
their sows in so much flesh, and that barrenness and fail-
ure were sure to follow. They accepted the advice kindly,
but continued to feed their sows liberally, and in spite of
it all, raised a plenty of good pigs.
Two sows that they thought very highly of, were kept
uncommonly fat, and we selected these two as the ones
to illustrate our argument, and show by their non-breed-
ing that they had been entirely too well kept.
When the sows farrowed, one had fourteen, and the
other fifteen strong pigs, and since then we have labored
but very little to convince these gentlemen that "a fat
sow won't breed." It has been their turn to laugh.
We cannot doubt that hogs kept and fed at flouring
mills, get much nearer a perfect food, than those kept on
corn exclusively, and especially is this true of brood-sows
and pigs.
IS IT PROFITABLE TO CURE PORK ?
Mr. Thomas Wood furnishes us an account of an inter-
esting experiment made by him, as follows:
"A few years ago I made an experiment or two, in order
to find out whether it was most profitable to sell my
pork or to make bacon of it, and then sell at the prevail-
ing prices.
"I killed a Chester White hog that weighed, dressed,
440 lbs. pork, worth c. per lb.-$30.80. When cut up
for salting, the different parts weighed as follows:
Hams..
Shoulders.
Sides....
Jowl....
116 lbs.
..140
((
(6
81
16"
353+ lbs.
162
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
2
"Leaving 861/, lbs. weight of lard, chine, or back bone,
ribs, face, feet, and other trimmings, worth 5c. per lb.-
$4.32.
"The meat, when cured, was hung in a smoke-house for
six weeks, then sold and weighed, as follows:
Hams, 106 lbs., at......
Shoulders, 130"
at..
.14c.......
..11c....
$14.84
14.30
Sides,
Jowl,
75"
at.
..
.10c..
7.50
15"
at..
..6c
90
326 lbs.
average 111c.
$37.54
Value of bacon sold.
Value of trimmings.
Total..
Value of the pork at market price..
$37.54
4.32
$41.86
30.80
Profit on making the pork into bacon.
$11.06
"This hog was about fifteen months old, and the
shrinkage in weight in making bacon was 27 lbs.
"At the same time I killed a pig five or six months old,
in order to ascertain the difference in shrinkage.
...140 lbs.
The pig weighed dressed..
When cut up, the hams, shoulders, sides, and jowl weighed.....111 “
Leaving the weight of lard, chine, face, feet, and trimmings..... 29 lbs.
"The meat weighed just the same when taken out as
when put in the salt tub; when dried and smoked the
same length of time as the other hog, the weight was as
follows:
Hams, 31 lbs., sold at...
Shoulders, 28"
Sides,
Jowl,
..14c. per lb..
.$4.34
..11c.
""
3.08
30"
"
...10c.
3.00
6"
((
6c.
"(
36
95 lbs.
average 11 c.
$10.78
1.45
$12.23
Trimmings, 29 lbs., at 5c. per lb.
The pork, 140 lbs., at 7c. per lb., was worth...... 9.80
Profit on making pork into bacon...
$2.43
"From this it appears that the shrinkage is proportion-
ately much greater in the pig pork, than in the pork of
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
1C3
the older and more mature hog, also that there is a greater
proportional weight of trimming."
REPORTS OF REMARKABLE GROWTH.
In the January (1876) Number of the National Live
Stock Journal, a correspondent published an item stating
that Mr. A. Messer, of Maukato, Minn., had just butch-
ered a thorough-bred Berkshire pig, five months and
twenty-three days old, that weighed, when dressed, 323 lbs.
This was such a marvelous story that we were incredu-
lous enough to doubt it, and took early occasion to call
through the same journal, for some further proof than
the ex parte statement of one (possibly very much inter-
ested) individual. Other breeders also insisted that, if
such a feat had been accomplished, the parties cognizant
of it should certify to, and make public what they knew.
This elicited an affidavit from the man who bred the
pig, as to its age, one from Mr. Messer, who raised and
fed it, as to its identity, and another from the butcher
who dressed it, as to its weighing the 323 lbs. net, all
three of which substantiated, in effect, the original state-
ment. After this, the breeders of fine Berkshires through-
out the country, who had never raised a pig to half that
weight at the same age, demanded to know how such
rapid and enormous growth had been produced, and in
course of some months it was published to the world in
the following language:
((
'He was kept in a lot 15 × 20 feet, with a few boards laid over
one corner, to form a shelter, and under this shelter was a good
bed of straw. The pig was kept in these quarters until the weather
became cool, when a comfortable little sty was built in one corner,
6×6 feet. The pig was fed on the swill from the house, with corn
meal stirred in; but had no cooked food whatever, except pieces
of bread from the table, which were thrown into the swill.
"He was fed regularly three times a day, and had all he would
eat. He would eat all he could, then go grunting to his bed of
straw-lie down, and continue to grunt. In fact, the most of the
pig's time was spent in grunting, eating, and growing."
164
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
れ
​Although accompanied by proof, this statement sur-
passes our belief, as it seems beyond the range of human
possibilities that such extraordinary pigs can be produced
by any such ordinary means, and we take the responsibility
of advising our farmer friends, when looking around for
extra good pigs to breed from, to discount such stories as
the foregoing at least 50 per cent.
PRIZE ANIMALS FOR BREEDING.
It is a very common practice with farmers and breeders
to attend the County, State, and Inter-state Fairs, for the
purpose of selecting, from those on exhibition, swine for
breeders, and it is considered quite an achievement to
attend one or more of the prominent expositions and take
home to the farm the pig, or pair of pigs, decorated with
the blue ribbon. They look fine, and are fine, but not
fine enough to offset the disappointment and chagrin of
the credulous buyer, who, after patient effort, fails in
nine cases out of ten, to ever produce from them any
stock that looks as those did at the fair.
The show-yard may be the best place to see and buy
stock for show purposes, but not for breeding.
Only the initiated know the various and peculiar meth-
ods employed, in fitting up those animals to which were
awarded premiums, over such strong competition as they
encounter at leading fairs. We recently conversed with
a breeder, whose greatest triumph in life had consisted
in having premiums awarded to two of his pigs, at one
of the great St. Louis fairs.
He said he "scooped" all competitors, and gave the
following as some of the methods used to produce such
meritorious(?) animals:
66
They were fed on beefsteak, cut into small bits, and
dropped into new warm milk, as much, and as often as
they would eat. They had daily a bath of warm, soft
water and castile soap, after which their hair was dressed
with olive, or sweet oil."
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
165
Premium pigs, produced by such treatment, afterwards
getting only common fare, do but poorly indeed, and to
expect them to reproduce a family of show pigs, is to
cherish a dream that will fail of realization.
Breeders of fine swine, as of fine cattle, frequently sac-
rifice their best animals for show purposes, and their pre-
paration for this, in a majority of cases, unfits them for
thereafter successfully reproducing their kind.
FEEDING COOKED WHEAT.
The following statement, of remarkably rapid gain in
weight from feeding hogs on cooked wheat, is given by a
correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette:
On
"On the 4th of August, 1870, I put up 15 hogs, weighing 2,400
lbs., and fed them 5 bushels cooked wheat the first week.
the 11th their weight was 2,600 lbs.; gain, 200 lbs., or a gain of
131 lbs. to the hog, being nearly 2 lbs. a day. The next week I
fed them 6 bushels of the cooked wheat, producing an increase of
215 lbs., or 141 lbs. to the hog, being a gain of over 2 lbs. per head
a day. The third week I fed them 10 bushels of cooked wheat,
resulting in a gain of 260 lbs., or 17 lbs. a head, or 2¹0 21 a day.
The fourth week I fed them 11 bushels of cooked wheat, the
gain being 320 lbs, or 21 lbs. a head, or a fraction over 3 lbs. a day
each. The hogs were then sold and taken away. They gained in
four weeks 995 lbs. on 32 bushels of wheat. In this manner of
feeding I received a good price for the wheat, as the hogs were
sold at $8.25 per 100 lbs."
HOGGING OFF CORN FIELDS.
The Hon. J. M. Millikin, in the National Live Stock
Journal, writes as follows:
"I am aware that the people who reside in the East, where grain
is high, will be greatly shocked to think that any one would pre-
sume to say anything in behalf of such a 'lazy, wasteful, and un-
tidy' mode of using a crop of corn. Indeed, western men can be
found who will denounce the unfarmer-like proceeding in unmeas-
ured terms. But let us see if something cannot be said in support
of what some may regard as a very objectionable practice.
“In managing our farming operations, there are two things that
should not be lost sight of:
166
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"First.-We should aim to so manage our affairs as to realize a
good profit on our labors and investment;
and
"Secondly.—To so cultivate our land as to maintain, if not to
increase, its productiveness.
"If you have a field of corn of a size suited to the number of
hogs you intend to fatten, supplied with water, there is no plan
you can adopt of feeding said corn to your hogs that will produce
better results than by turning your hogs into the field, where they
can eat at their pleasure. As a rule, the weather is generally good
in September and October. If so, there will be no loss of grain,
while the saccharine juice of the stalks will contribute somewhat
to the improvement of the hogs. The expense saved in gathering
the corn, and in giving constant attention in feeding, is quite an
important item to any man who has other pressing work to per-
form. Besides, hogs turned into a field for fifty or sixty days are
likely to do better than they will do under other ordinary circum-
stances.
"There is no plan of using the products of a corn field better
calculated to maintain its fertility than the hogging-off process.
Everything produced off the ground is returned to it; and if the
proper mode is adopted of plowing everything under in the fall,
the soil will be improved rather than impoverished. This is my
theory upon the subjeet, which is sustained by my experience and
observation, and which I have occasionally urged on the attention
of others.
“A very few days since I was in conversation with some farm-
ers upon this subject, when a very reliable, careful, and excellent
farmer gave this account of his own experience, which I give, with
the remark that his statements are entitled to the fullest confi-
dence. He said: 'I have cultivated one field eleven successive years
in corn, and every fall turned in my fattening hogs, and fed it off.
My crops of corn rather increased than diminished. In the spring,
after feeding off the corn for eleven years, I sowed the field in
spring barley. I had a crop of forty bushels per acre. I plowed
the barley stubble under, and sowed the same field in wheat.
The next harvest I had a crop of wheat of forty-two and a half
bushels per acre.'
"Thus you have the theory, the practice, and the result, of the
hogging-off process."
THE RELATION BETWEEN THE PRICES OF CORN AND PORK.
While it is perhaps true, that the bulk of the corn fed
to hogs does not give a return of ten pounds of pork,
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
167
live weight, to the bushel, it is established that a bushel
of corn will make that much, and more, if properly han-
dled, and where it does, the following will serve as a basis
for careful calculations:
We present it for what it is worth, and think it may be
approximatively correct.
Feeding corn worth 12'/, cents per bushel, makes pork
costing 1'/, cent per pound.
Feeding corn worth 17 cents per bushel, makes pork
costing 2 cents per pound.
Feeding corn worth 25 cents per bushel, makes pork
costing 2', cents per pound.
Feeding corn worth from 33 to 40 cents per bushel,
makes pork costing 4 cents per pound.
Feeding corn worth 50 cents per bushel, makes pork
costing 5 cents per pound.
Or pork at 5 cents per pound, gross, gives 50 cents
per bushel for corn.
At 4 cents per pound, gross, gives from 33 to 40 cents
per bushel for corn.
At 2'/, to 3 cents per pound, gross, gives from 25 to
30 cents per bushel for corn.
THE MOST PROFITABLE HOG.
The swine-breeders, in their National Convention at
Indianapolis, in 1872, adopted the following as a descrip-
tion of the most profitable hog for the raiser and con-
sumer :
"He must have a small, short head, heavy jowl, and thick, short
neck; ear small, thin, and tolerably erect, not objectionable if it
droops slightly forward; must be straight from the neck, back to the
flank; must let well down to the knees in brisket; of good length
from head to tail; broad on the back; ribbed rather barrel-shaped;
must be slightly curved or arched in the back from shoulder to the
setting on of the tail; tail smail; long in the ham from hock to
letting off the loins; shoulder not too large to give symmetry to
the animal; ham broad and full; hair smooth and evenly set on;
skin soft and elastic to the touch; legs short, small, and well set
168
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
under; broad between the legs; good depth between bottom and
top of the hog; with pleasant quiet disposition; should not weigh
more than 300 to 400 lbs., gross, at 12 to 18 months old, according to
keep; color may be black or white, or a mixture of the two. The
above described hog will measure as many feet from the top of the
head to setting on of tail as he does around the body, and will
measure as many inches around the leg below the knee as he does
feet in length around the body; depth of body will be four-fifths
of his hight.
"The motion for the committee, as well as the report of the same,
brought out a long discussion, the movers arguing that the ten-
dency was towards growing hogs too large for the greatest profit,
and that the demand for all purposes of packing and ready con-
sumption was for those of a medium weight; testimony from pack-
ers was introduced favoring a medium-sized hog. It was argued
by others that there was a demand, for some purposes, for extra
heavy hogs. The general feeling, however, was in favor of breed-
ing a class of pigs that would mature early, and for weights at from
250 to 300 lbs., net."
WHAT ARE "THOROUGH-BRED
SWINE?
The report (adopted by the Convention) of the Com-
mittee on "What Constitutes Thorough-bred Swine,"
was as follows:
"In the absence of any system of records by which pedigrees of
swine are kept, your Committee can only give an expression, which,
from the nature of the case, must be somewhat general.
แ
'Only such breeds should rank as thorough-breds which are
recognized in authentic history as of sufficiently remote origin, when
bred in a direct line, to result in the establishment of a fixed type,
capable of duplicating themselves with uniformity.
"Your committee would recommend that the leading brecders
of pure bred swine form breeder's clubs, for the purpose of estab-
lishing a herd registry, after the plan adopted by breeders of thor-
ough-bred cattle, in order to secure greater uniformity, and to per-
fect as soon as possible the various breeds.”
At the present time there have been issued two volumes
of the "American Berkshire Record." This is published
by the American Berkshire Association, Springfield, Illi-
nois, the Hon. A. M. Garland being the Secretary and
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
169
Editor. Vol. I., issued May 1, 1876, containing pedi-
grees of 234 boars and 545 sows.
Of Vol. II. we have not seen the date of issue or the
number of pedigrees recorded, but understand it is of
nearly the same size and form as Vol. I., and issued early
in 1877.
The Illinois State Board of Agriculture, at its last ses-
sion, adopted a resolution to the effect that swine, in the
Berkshire class, will not be recognized as eligible to entry
in competing for premiums at their fairs, unless they trace
to animals recorded in the " American Berkshire Record,"
or the exhibitor furnish, in writing, at time of entry,
equally satisfactory evidence as to purity of breeding.
We know of no other public record of pedigrees of
swine, of any breed, in the United States.
CLASSIFYING AND JUDGING SWINE AT FAIRS.
A committee who were appointed to prepare a classifica-
tion of swine, to be recommended for adoption by agri-
cultural societies, reported as follows:
Class 1.
Berkshires.
Class 2. Poland-China.
Class 3. Large white breeds. To include Chester Whites, Large
Yorkshires, Large Lancashires, Cheshires or Jefferson County, and
other similar swine.
Class 4. Small white breeds. To include Suffolks, Small York-
shires, Small Lancashires, and other similar swine.
Class 5. Small black breeds. Essex and Neapolitans.
Class 6. Cross breeds, and all not eligible in the other classes.
For judging swine by a scale of points, the Convention
agreed upon the scale below:
Back
Long Ribs
Short Ribs.
Shoulder...
Ham...
Length of body…….
Flank..
Twist..
Snout..
Jowl..
.10 Ear..
8 Neck.
7 Belly.
8 Skin.
12 Hair...
6 Bone.
6 Legs.
2
4
4
5
3
3
3
6 Feet.
2
4 Tail.....
1
3
Total...
100
Face..
3
8
170
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
GIVING SALT WITH THE FOOD.
While we have always practised on the belief that sea-
soning slightly with salt made any kind of soft food more
healthful, as well as more palatable, for swine, we know
of no efforts, worthy the name, to ascertain whether it
is more profitable to supply hogs regularly, with any stated
ration of salt, than to raise and fatten them without.
Until something more definite is known, we shall favor
giving hogs some salt, as they appear to need it, and
risk any resulting loss, so far as our own are concerned.
An item published in the agricultural press states, that
a party—whom, when, or where, is not stated-experi-
mented in giving salt to swine which he was fattening.
He selected two pairs of barrow hogs, weighing 200 lbs.
apiece. One pair received, with their daily allowance of
food, two ounces of salt; the other pair, similarly fed,
had no salt. In the course of a week, the salted pair had
a much stronger appetite than the others, and after a
fortnight, the salt was increased to two ounces apiece. Af-
ter four months the weight of the salted hogs was 350 lbs.
each, while that of the unsalted, three weeks later, reached
only 300 lbs. It is stated that the experiment was re-
peated, with almost precisely the same results.
IS THE ENFORCED HIBERNATION OF THE HOG PRAC-
TICABLE ?
Dr. Andrew McFarland, late Superintendent of the
Asylum for the Insane, at Jacksonville, Ills., a gentleman
who has given much attention to swine and their habits,
has suggested that the hog can be successfully wintered
in a condition of enforced hibernation. The idea is
both novel and startling, but if practicable, the vast gain
to be derived from its adoption becomes apparent.
He is possessed of many facts bearing on, and tending
to prove the correctness of his views, and is convinced
that the subject is well worth investigation and experi-
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
171
་
ment by Agricultural Colleges, where it can be done with
more efficiency than any single individual is likely to use.
One of his correspondents in Iowa, cites two instances,
coming under his observation, confirmatory of Dr. Mc-
Farland's belief. In one of them, a fat hog was, at
thrashing time, accidentally buried in a straw-stack, where
it remained for several months; at length it was discov-
ered and taken out alive and well, without any apparent
dimunition of flesh. This hog had eaten some of the
straw, but nothing more.
In the other case, a hog was accidentally buried during
a storm, in a large snow-bank, for a period of eleven
weeks, but when the snow melted away, the hog emerged
alive and well, though gaunt and lean, its life having
been sustained exclusively by the fat stored in its own.
body.
As an outline of his views, Dr. McFarland says:
Every movement of the animal in winter is an expenditure of
nerve force, that demands food supply in order to be kept up.
The processes of respiration and circulation, if kept at normal
rapidity, are also constant drafts on nutrition; and so, also, in
a still greater degree, is the maintenance of animal heat. If the
animal could be placed in a situation favorable to a state of hiber-
nation, and these functions of his system be reduced in activity to
the least minimum consistent with vitality, only a small portion of
his store of nutriment would be called for to carry him through.
"The necessary conditions, in any attempt to solve the question,
would be total occlusion from light and sound, so that the senses
would receive no impression whatever, and a greatly diminished
supply of oxygen, in order that the blood should only be partially
decarbonized. This last deprivation the hibernating animal se-
cures by nearly closing the aperture to his retreat. It is, probably,
the most essential of all the conditions, if the experiment were to
be tried. * * * *
"I should essentially copy those accidental instances where it
seems actually to have occurred. The conditions are somewhat
exact, and based on the known laws of life. The two instances
quoted by a correspondent [referred to above] are very opportune
and instructive—the animal in one case being buried under a straw-
T
.
172
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
stack, and in the other under a snow-drift. In one case the result
was a success, and in the other a failure, because the animal's fat
was expended in maintaining the immense difference between
the temperature of its blood and the freezing point of the ther-
mometer. That it lived so long under such a draft on its own
stored resources, shows how economical, as a food, is the animal's
own fat, and how small the expenditure would have been, had its
long winter's sleep been entered upon secundum artem. In this
case, the animal was, literally, to use a common Hibernicism,
"starving with the cold.”
"My idea in regard to enforced animal hibernation is, that we
simply take the facts we already have in sufficient abundance, and
apply to them the equally-proven principles of natural science.
We know, (1) that animals live for long periods on their own food
reserves; and, (2) that classes of animals (we, by no means know
how large) voluntarily place themselves, at certain seasons, in a
state where life is most economically sustained with no food at all.
The problem is: can this class be increased in number to man's
profit ?
"In a practical test of the question, as applied to the hog, I
should take a hint from the instance in the straw-stack, above
alluded to. In a perfectly dry spot, I should place a young,
healthy hog, in good flesh, under an inverted box, containing, say,
from 80 to 100 cubic feet of free air-the box to be perforated with
holes, or made of lattice work. I should say that four feet of
well-packed straw on the sides, running to a cone above, would
allow the quantity of air I would prescribe, and shut out all sound,
(which last I regard most essential), and, at the same time, provide
a temperature in extreme cold weather just suited to the desired
end-say such temperature as the earth maintains below the reach
of frost. I should prefer the evening as the best time for entering
on the experiment."
CHAPTER XIX.
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
BY JOSEPH SULLIVANT, ESQ.
No one familiar with the agriculture of Ohio, need
be told of the high position occupied by the Sullivants;
whether as men of science or as practical agriculturists,
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
173
whose farming operations have been conducted on a scale
unequalled, at least on this side of the continent.
The essay which forms this chapter, is by Joseph Sul-
livant, Esq., whose wide experience and thoroughness as
an investigator, joined to his high scholarly attainments,
are well known to the people of Ohio, where he has long
been prominent as an officer of the State Board of Agri-
culture.
The essay appeared in the "Ohio Agricultural Report"
for 1869. Its value as a contribution to agricultural liter-
ature, and the desire to make it more widely known, are
sufficient reasons for giving it a place in the present work.
Having had occasion to inquire concerning the conditions neces-
sary to make hog-feeding profitable, I was somewhat surprised
and puzzled at all the discordant answers, and therefore undertook
to investigate this subject for myself, and propose here to give the
results arrived at, and the basis of my conclusions. In this way
my labor may at least become valuable by eliciting the truth from
others, who may be induced to enlarge, confirm, or disprove my
work.
As to my sources of information, suffice it to say, my materials
have been collected and elaborated from various chemical works,
agricultural books, reports and transactions of societies, news-
papers and periodicals devoted to rural affairs, and conversations
with intelligent and practical farmers, and from my own experi-
ence.
When we come to know the diverse and varying circumstances
under which pork has been made, we no longer wonder at the dis-
crepant opinions and results, and clearly perceive they are owing to
the different methods pursued, in which, oftentimes, tradition and
caprice have governed rather than an intelligent understanding of
the end in view, and the best and most economical means of
obtaining it.
The farmer who pens his hogs without shelter from the weather
and without bedding, or a dry feeding place, and leaves them to
wallow and waddle belly deep in the mire, where the ears of corn
sink out of sight, and where the hog has literally to root for his
living, cannot expect him to fatten quickly and economically.
Nor can the results be fairly compared to those obtained where
attention has been paid to warmth and protection from the weather,
174
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
a dry feeding place and clean food. And these differing circum-
stances probably make all the difference of a fair remuneration
for food and labor in the one case, or little or no profit in the other.
If we could always command circumstances, we might then
reasonably hope for a greater uniformity and reliability of results.
The discoveries in animal physiology, as well as in agricultural
chemistry, throw much light on our subject, and point us to the
proper path to be pursued, and the direction in which we must
look for a rational explanation of the most successful practices
already pursued by intelligent breeders and feeders
The thorough understanding of the data and principles so
acquired, and the proper application of them, will eventually lead
us to valuable results.
We may undoubtedly anticipate much benefit from a more
thorough diffusion and understanding of the important principles
involved in animal physiology and agricultural chemistry, bearing
as they do directly on some of the most vital questions in agricul-
ture. There is yet, however, a wide gulf separating theory from
practice, although all successful practice is but the right application
of scientific principles, whether we recognize and apply them, or
practice in ignorance of them.
There is one subject of paramount importance so intimately
connected with the question of the best and most economical
methods of rearing and fattening animals on the farm, as to de-
mand the most serious consideration; I allude to the manure pro-
duced and its value in arresting the decreasing fertility of our
soils, which is made evident by the gradual, but certain, diminu-
tion of the product of our crops, and of which the lessened yield
of wheat, in regions formerly productive, is a striking example.
The deterioration of our cultivated lands may be easily account-
ed for in the fact that for sixty years we have constantly taken
from the ground, and, during this long period, returned little or
nothing to it. If this condition of things is to be changed, we
must alter our methods of farming, and by systematic rotation of
crops and by manuring, or by both, endeavor to restore, or, at
least, keep in present condition our severely cropped lands, for
only by returning some portions of the organic and inorganic
matter removed by the crops, can we keep our soil in a fertile
state, for, no matter how rich originally or at present, it will,
sooner or later, become exhausted unless fed in proportion to the
yield required from it. Owing, however, to the great original
fertility of our soil, it still yields a fair remuneration for the labor
bestowed upon it, and we have not yet reached the point where
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
175
manure becomes indispensable to the growing crop, as in many
places in Europe, where the question is, not how much meat, but
how much manure is produced on the farm? And where the
profit of feeding consists simply in the value of the manure pro-
duced by the animal.
Manure is most valuable in proportion to the nitrogen it con-
tains; and as we propose to feed our hogs on a grain containing
twelve (12) per cent of nitrogenized material, the manure should
be valuable to us when preserved and applied to our lands. Still,
fortunately for us, owing to the cheap production of Indian corn,'
so far as the profits of feeding are concerned, we may leave the
manure so produced entirely out of consideration, and I proceed
to the main object of the investigation.
WILL IT PAY TO FATTEN HOGS ON CORN
In answering this question, the first and most important con-
sideration is that of food; and the value of equal weights of the
different kinds used for fattening purposes will depend upon the
proportion of nutritive material in each, and the cost of pro-
duction.
Without going into detail as to the ultimate elements, we shall
content ourselves with adopting the classification of the proximate
principles of food into
NITROGENOUS AND NON-NITROGENOUS.
The first representing the plastic material or flesh formers, and
the last the heat and fat givers; classing these last together be-
cause the surplus carbon not required for maintaining animal heat
and respiration is stored up in the tissues in the form of fat.
It has been proven by direct experiment, that both the nitrogen-
ized and non-nitrogenized elements must exist in due proportion
in the food to maintain any animal in a healthy and growing con-
dition, and if it were fed exclusively on one or the other it would
pine and die.
However, it is highly probable that if the nitrogenous elements
existed in many articles of food in less quantities than is actually
found to be the case, they would still be sufficient for the wants
of the animal organism; for a very considerable portion of the
nitrogen ingested in the food passes away in the excreta without
assimilation, but at the same time adds additional value to the
manure.
The following table gives the proportion of this necessary ele-
ment in one hundred (100) pounds of the different substances that
176
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Flesh
Water. form-
ers.
15.1
are or may be used in the fattening process, and also the non-nitro-
genized or fat giving principles, and the total amount of carbon:
TABLE NO. 1.
""
Table of the Chemical Composition of some Principal Articles of Food.
EXPLANATION.-The column of "Heat and Fat Givers signifies-I.
Starch; II. Sugar; III. Fat or Oil.
Name.
Barley..
Beans...
Heat and fatalent of al mat-
Equiv- Miner- Total
givers.


carbon.
starch. ters.
8.0 I. 74.0
III. 2.0
ΠΙ.
12.0 26.0 I. 57.0
78.8 0.9 38.69
61.8
3.0 40.81
Π.
III.
2.0
Buckwheat Seed....
10.7
I. 52.3
58.48 1.4 31.74
II. 8.3
III.
0.4
Cabbage.....
89.42 1.45 I.
7.011
7.2
0.12
3.89
III.
0.08
Carrots....
Clover (Red)....
Clover (White)……………….
Cotton-seed Cake..
(Decorticated.)
Indian Corn..
86.5
1.3 I.
6.3
11.3
0.80 6.11
II.
5.0
III.
0.15
81.01 4.27 I.
8.45
10.1
1.32 6.785
III.
0.69
79.71 3.8 I.
8.14
10.27
2.08 6.607
III. 0.69
9.28 41.25
I. 16.45
54.4
8.05 46.0
III. 16.05
12.0 12.0
I. 68.5
85.3
1.5
41.72
III. 7.0
Linseed Cake...
10.05 22.14 I. 39.1
67.1
7.25 41.7
II. 11.93
Mangold-wurzel.
Dry.
3.0
II. 73.0
69.0
6.3 32.2
Milk (New)......
87.2
4.0 II. 4.6
12.5
0.7 6.687
III. 3.5
Milk
83.6
4.0 II. 4.6
8.8
0.77 5.532
(Skimmed.)
III. 2.0
Oats..
12.2 18.0 I. 52.5
68.6
2.54 46.8
III. 6.5
Peas (Dry)....
Parsnips
Poa Pratensis.
Timothy.)
Potatoes....
Rye (grain)………
15.0 22.6 I. 58.5
III. 2.0
85.1 1.4 I. 10.0
II. 2.5
67.14 3.41 I. 14.15
III. 0.86
75.0 1.4 I. 22.5
III. 0.1
15.0 8.8 I. 62.7
II. 2.5
63.3
2.5 39.35
12.4
1.0 6.245
16.21 1.95 8.93
22.7
1.0 11.468
71.2
1.36 39.9
III. 2.9
Turnips.....
91.1
Buttermilk.
89.1
Lucern.....
Bread..
48.8
1.2 I. 3.2
II. 3.0
4.0 II. 4.6
III. 1.5
69.95 3.83 1. 13.62
III. 0.82
8.2 I. 44.5
III. 1.0
6.2
1.5 3.39
7.6
0.75 5.147
15.58 3.61 8.98
46.9
1.5 26.93
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
177
The farmer has here a wide range from which to choose, and,
knowing the cost of production or market price per one hundred
(100) pounds of each, can determine which to select as the most
advantageous for his purpose.
If the plastic material, or flesh-formers, be assumed as the basis
of value, then equal weights of the grain and seed foods will stand
in the following order: Cotton-seed cake (decorticated,) beans,
linseed cake, peas, oats, Indian corn, rye, buckwheat, barley; but
on the basis of fat and heat givers, they stand, first: Barley, Indian
corn, rye, peas, oats, beans, buckwheat, linseed cake, cotton-seed
cake. Taking the whole of nutritive matter, they range in the
following order: Indian corn, barley, beans, peas, rye, oats, buck-
wheat, linseed cake, cotton-seed cake, potatoes. Estimated accord-
ing to the total amount of nutritive material, there is not much
difference in the theoretical value of several of these substances,
but Indian corn heads the list, and, containing in itself all essential
elements for the growth and fattening of animals, we shall adopt
it as our standard of value and comparison.
Measured, then, by the theoretic value, one hundred (100) pounds
of corn are equal to the weights, as exhibited in the following
table:
TABLE NO. 2.
In feeding value 100 pounds of corn equals—
Barley...
Beans.
Rye...
Oats
Buckwheat
Cotton cake….
.103 | Peas…...
106 | Red Clover..
665
.103 Potatoes
360 White Clover..
665
117 Mangold-wurzel....665 Timothy grass.
298
.118 Parsnips
618 Lucern...
598
122 Carrots..
721 Cabbage.
1018
117 Buttermilk
508 Skimmed milk……….. 721
865 Turnips...
.1236
Linseed cake………….. .119 Fresh milk.
Although it appears from the first table that cotton cake, beans,
peas, and linseed cake, contain more of flesh givers than corn, and
might very advantageously be fed to young and growing animals,
yet, upon the whole, Indian corn stands pre-eminent as the
cheapest material accessible to our farmers, and the question now
arises-
HOW MUCH PORK IN A BUSHEL OF CORN?
In determining this we shall first consider the composition of
corn from a theoretic and chemical view, and then, taking results
obtained from the vital processes occurring in the human subject,
apply them by analogy to the hog, which, of all our domestic
animals, most nearly resembles man in his digestive apparatus.
Looking only at the chemical composition of corn, and separat-
178
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
ing it into flesh formers and heat and fat givers, at twelve (12)
per cent of the first and forty-one (41) per cent of the latter,
there would appear to be nearly thirty (30) in the bushel of corn, to
be transformed into an equal quantity of pork, through the organ-
ism of the hog. But I shall presently show that, whatever the
value of corn by the chemical standard, it is not all transformed
into pork, and therefore there is not thirty (30) pounds to be ob-
tained from a bushel of corn.
It has been determined by competent observers and experiment-
ers who have carefully investigated the subject, that a certain
amount of nitrogenized and non-nitrogenized matter, or flesh
formers and heat and fat givers, representing the carbonaceous
material, is required to keep an adult man of one hundred and
fifty (150) pounds weight in good condition; that is, neither in-
creasing nor diminishing in weight, under moderate labor, vital,
physical, or mental. As the hog performs no brain work, and is
supposed to be almost in a state of rest while fattening, he will
certainly require no more of the above elements than does the
man, and most probably less. But assuming for him the same
amount, it will be amply sufficient to keep a hog of the weight of
150 pounds in as good condition as the man. But if the hog is to
fatten likewise, he must have an additional amount of food, over
and above that which is merely sufficient to furnish the material
consumed in respiration, animal heat, and the restoration of all
waste produced by the vital processes.
Before demonstrating what this amount of extra food must be,
I premise that the hog is to be sent to market at 300 lbs. weight.
As he increases from 0 to 300, it is evident his mean weight is
150 lbs. ; and if we can determine how much corn is required at
this weight, not only to restore the daily waste, but to fatten him
one pound per diem in addition, we will have solved the problem
of the number of pounds of pork in a bushel of corn.
Dr. Edward Smith, an eminent writer and experimenter, is a
high authority on vital statistics, and was employed by the English
Government to examine and report upon the foods of the laboring
classes.
He states that the actual quantity of carbon contained in the
food of English work-people, according to the severity of the
exertion, is from 30 to 38 grains per pound of body weight. He
also says that 28 grains of carbon to each pound of body weight
gives the measure which, when united with the proper amount of
flesh formers, is sufficient to keep a man of 150 lbs. in good con-
dition under moderate exertion.
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
179
Now, as has already been said, the hog, increasing from 0 to
300 lbs., his mean weight is 150, and the amount of carbon neces-
sary at this weight will give the mean or average amount required
daily for his whole life of 300 days.
Then 150, the mean weight of the hog, multiplied by 28, the
number of grains of carbon daily required, gives 4,200 grains, or
9 ounces of carbon, to supply the waste, and keep him in condition;
and 22 ounces, or a little less than one and one-half pounds of
corn, will furnish the necessary elements.
But to fatten the hog a pound a day, he will require, in addition,
16 ounces flesh and fat material, which will be furnished by two
pounds of corn. Thus, 2 lbs. or 32 ounces, contain 12 per cent of
flesh formers, and gives 384/100 ounces of this material, and the
same 2 lbs. containing 41 per cent of carbon, furnish 13/100
ounces, and 3.84x13.12-16.96 ounces, or material for a little more
than one pound of pork; and therefore 54 ounces, or 3 lbs. and 6
ounces of corn, is the average daily ration while making three
hundred pounds of pork in three hundred days.
As 3 lbs. and 6 ounces are contained in 56 lbs., or one bushel, 16
50/100 times, there are consequently 16.59 lbs. of pork in one bushel
of corn, according to the data here given.
And if the amount assumed to restore the waste in the hog and
keep him in condition be correct, then there cannot be made more
than the 16.59 lbs., because the elements would be wanting. The
amount assigned for waste is certainly high enough, most probably
too high; and if we take the amount of carbon and flesh formers
simply to keep a man of 150 lbs. in condition when in a state of
rest, and modify our statement, the result would be 24 ounces of
flesh formers and 7 ounces of carbon derived from 14 ounces of
corn; but two pounds, or 32 ounces, being still required for the
fattening process, we have, altogether, 46 ounces contained in 896
ounces, the weight of a bushel of corn 194 times; equal to 19
lbs. of pork.
I have found from a careful examination of experiments in
feeding, but not herein set forth, that usually not more than one-
third of the food is returned in the form of flesh, even in well
conducted experiments; and 3 into 56 lbs., or one bushel, gives
182/3, and the mean of 16.59, 19.50, and 18.66 gives such a close
agreement of theory with the best practice, that I conclude it is
very nearly correct, and that chemistry and physiology have
answered our question satisfactorily, or at least fixed a limit beyond
which it is not likely we will be able to pass, unless under excep-
tional circumstances, and the pork from a bushel of corn will not
!
180
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
exceed twenty pounds, and will approach or recede from this
according to circumstances.
Shelling, grinding, and cooking, the corn cannot increase the
existing amount of elements, and has for effect only to render the
matter more soluble and digestible, and make the approach to the
figures given more probable, than if the corn was fed in the whole
and raw state.
But it has been well observed, "in every case in which life is
concerned, it is not at once to be concluded that, so much material
being consumed, there will be uniformly and necessarily so much
product." There are so many modifying circumstances to vary
our results, that it is not probable our practice will ever give con-
stant uniformity or perfect coincidence with theory, or the
chemical constituents of the food we employ in stock feeding.
And, although we may to a great extent master the circumstances
under our own control, there still remain unexplained difficulties,
arising from the inherent differences belonging to special breeds
and constitutions of the animals we have to deal with, as well as
the anomalies we have to encounter whenever we attempt to apply
theory and chemical principles to living organisms and vital func-
tions, which perhaps, for a long time to come, will continue to baffle
our best endeavors and prevent uniform and constant results.
However this may be, the conclusions drawn from the scientific
principles I believe to be entirely trustworthy, and are satisfactory,
to myself at least, as determining, not only the possibilities, but
the high probabilities, and it now only remains to see how far our
chemical view is confirmed or substantiated by the average results
in actual practice, obtained from a great number of experiments
and records; for it would not be safe to draw general conclusions
from one experiment alone, however successful.
We proceed to determine, as well as we can, what answer prac-
tice and experiment returns to our question:
HOW MUCH PORK CAN BE OBTAINED FROM A BUSHEL OF
CORN?
This is so important a question, bearing so immediately and
directly upon the value of corn, that we might suppose it had been
settled long ago, beyond all controversy. If such be the fact we
find no record of it, and it is here our real difficulty commences;
for, as we said in the beginning of this paper, the answers are dis-
cordant and apparently contradictory.
I find plenty of opinions and guesses, with loose assertions, but
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
181
comparatively a very few results based upon actual, reliable, and
recorded experiments; and, after a somewhat minute research, I
propose now to give the condensed results of my examinations,
without going into much detail, remarking, however, that, although
finding many records of experiments, I have been obliged to re-
ject most of them, on account of irregularity and want of pre-
cision. In most of them the corn has been fed in a mixed state
with roots, milk, potatoes, and other substances, as well as, some-
times, whole and raw for part of the time, and then in the form of
meal, cooked, and raw; and I retain those only which give precise
results on the heads we have selected for examination.
RAW CORN FED IN THE EAR.
Taking the experiment of Clay, of Kentucky, for what it is
worth, I remark that I am certain there must have been some
error or local circumstance vitiating the result; for 5 lbs. of pork
from a bushel of corn is much the least I have found recorded in
any experiment, and much less than was obtained by Renick and
Buckingham, whose hogs roamed at will through a cornfield,
wasting corn, and from the very fact of exercise and labor in get-
ting their own food, making far less return than if the same corn
had been fed them in a pen.
Buckingham also tried the experiment of feeding corn in the
ear to hogs in a pen, and got a return of 8 lbs. of pork from a
bushel of corn.
Thomas I. Edge, of Chester county, Pa., fed 5 pigs, of the same
litter, five bushels of shelled corn, and received 47 lbs. of pork,
or 93/5 lbs. from the bushel.
B. P. Kirk fed 49/1. bushels, and had a return of over 12 lbs.
of pork per bushel.
An experiment at North Chatham, Columbia county, N. Y.,
gave a fraction less than 12 lbs of pork from a bushel of corn.
Mr. Ellsworth, of Indiana, had 12 lbs. of pork per bushel from
corn fed in the ear.
Marcus E. Merwin, of Litchfield, Conn., fed 95 days, and made
9 lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn.
A. S. Proctor, of Illinois, fed 61 days, and gained 10 lbs. of pork
per bushel.
Wiseman E. Nichols, Morrow county, Ohio, fed 100 bushels of
corn in 63 days, and made from it 1,130 lbs. of pork, or 110/100
lbs. per bushel. This corn, however, was simply soaked two days
in water.
182
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Mr. Van Loon, of Ill., fed 20 days, and made a fraction over
9 lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn.
Mr. Behmer, of Columbus, Ohio, made 10 lbs. from one bushel
of corn.
Even including Clay's experiment, which, I think, ought to be
excluded from any comparison of results, the eleven records here
presented give an average of over ten pounds of pork from one
bushel of corn, fed in the ear and upon the ground.
An experiment, partly of corn in the ear, which was made at
Duncan's Falls, Ohio, in 1859, and communicated to the Ohio
Farmer, is so instructive in several particulars, that I insert it here
in a condensed form.
“Last fall, (1859), I turned my hogs into the cornfield on the
10th of September, after having weighed them all; they were
taken out October 23d, weighed and placed in a small lot. During
this time, from September 10th to October 23d, they ate down 40
acres of corn, and, estimating it at 40 bushels per acre, the in-
creased weight of the hogs, at 4 cents per pound, just paid 40 cents
per bushel for the corn they had eaten. Two days after, or 25th
of October, I selected of the lot one hundred hogs, averaging 200
lbs. each; they were placed in large covered pens, with plank
floors and troughs, and fed as follows: The corn was ground up,
cob and all, in one of the 'Little Giant' mills, steamed and fed
five times a day all they could eat, and in exactly one week they
were weighed again, the corn they had eaten being weighed also,
and calling 70 lbs. a bushel of corn, and pork as before 4 cents
gross, it was equal to 80 cents a bushel for corn. The weather
was quite warm for the season of the year. The first week in
November I tried the same experiment on the same lot of hogs,
and the corn only brought 62 cents per bushel, the weather being
colder." "Third week, same month, same lot of hogs, and corn
fed in the same way, brought 40 cents per bushel, the weather
getting still colder." "Fourth week in November, weather still
colder, fed as above, and the corn brought 25 cents a bushel. This
lot of hogs was now sold and another lot put up, which had been
fed in the lot on corn on the cob. This lot was weighed and fed
as the last for five weeks in December, and the corn averaged 25
cents; the weather being about the same as in November."
"This
lot was weighed again in the middle of January, and the corn fed
during that week averaged 5 cents per bushel, the thermometer
being down to zero. Again the lot was weighed, and they just
held their own; the temperature being below zero from one to ten
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
.183
degrees." And from the above the writer concludes it will not, as
a general thing, pay to feed after November.
An analysis of this experiment shows that the hogs made 10 lbs.
of pork to the bushel of corn while hogging it down, September
10th to October 25th.
The first week they were fed on ground corn and cob-meal,
steamed, they made the extraordinary amount of 20 lbs. of pork
to one bushel of corn. Second week, weather colder, 15½ lbs. ;
third week, still colder, 10 lbs.; fourth week, weather colder yet,
61 lbs. of pork to one bushel of corn, and the first lot was sold.
The second lot of hogs was fed five weeks in December, on the
same food and in the same way as the first lot, the weather being
same as in the last week of November, and the corn averaged but
64 lbs. of pork to the bushel. In January, the weather being very
cold, the corn returned but 1½ lbs. of pork per bushel; and when
the temperature sank to zero and below, the corn returned nothing
at all! Certainly a most instructive example, showing how the
product ran down from 20 lbs. to the bushel to nothing, from the
influence of cold alone, and demonstrating beyond all doubt the
advantage and the necessity of warmth and shelter.
Although irregular, I will here also insert a remarkable experi-
ment by S. M. Wherry, Shippensburg, Pa., and communicated to
the Practical Farmer, December, 1869. Here the object was
growth, not fat; and this practical experiment is valuable in several
particulars. Ten pigs of one litter, Berkshire breed, were fed in
pairs, having been equalized as near as possible. They were
twelve weeks and four days old at the commencement of the ex-
periment, which continued eight weeks, or fifty-six days.
•
The first pair gained from five bushels of old shelled corn at the
rate of 84/100 lbs. per day, making 94 lbs. of pork, or 184/5 lbs.
from one bushel of corn.
The second pair ate 280 pounds, (or 5 bushels), of old corn,
ground into meal and cooked, gaining 91 lbs., or 18¹/5 lbs. of pork
from one bushel, but less than from the whole and raw corn!
The third pair consumed 140 lbs. of meal and 280 lbs. of pota-
toes, and gained 93 lbs.
The fourth pair, fed on 560 lbs. of cooked potatoes, made a gain
of 89 lbs.; showing that cooked potatoes, fed alone, have a little
less than half the value of corn.
The fifth pair, fed green corn in the ear, 350 lbs., or 5 bushels,
reckoning 70 lbs. to the bushel, and they gained the very extra-
ordinary amount of 100 lbs., or 20 lbs. of pork to the bushel.
During all this experiment, each pig consumed but 2 lbs. of
184
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
corn per diem, or the supposed equivalent in potatoes or green corn.
This experiment alone, without being supplemented and con-
firmed by others, is insufficient from which do draw a general
application; but, as the writer observes, is very suggestive, indicat-
ing that pigs not pushed, but steadily and moderately fed, make
flesh instead of fat, at the rate of 4/100 lbs. daily, and that, being
so fed, they can do their own grinding and cooking with advantage.
It is evident that the greater the number and the longer the
time experiments are continued, the higher is the probability that
they approach to a reliable and constant average, and if we admit
that the thirteen experiments here set forth, were made on adequate
numbers and continued a sufficient length of time, they should
have great weight in establishing a general rule, which, in this
case, would be that one bushel of corn, (or 56 lbs. of corn), fed on
the ear, returns, under ordinary circumstances, ten pounds of pork.
But, intending to be cautious and moderate, we shall assume, for
comparison and calculation, that one bushel raw and whole corn
makes 9 lbs. of pork.
RAW MEAL
is supposed to increase in value over raw corn to the extent of 33
per cent; this is the opinion and statement of the Shakers of Leb-
anon, New York, after a trial of thirty years. If this increase
be true, then, according to our basis of 9 lbs. of pork to one bushel
of corn, the corn, when ground, should make 12 lbs. of pork.
This agrees with an experiment of Mr. Thomas Edge, making
60 lbs. of pork from five bushels of meal.
And this rate of return coincides with two elaborate and extend-
ed experiments—one in England and one in this country.
I give here the result of these experiments by Prof. Miles, of
the Michigan Agricultural College, and by Mr. Lawes, of Rotham-
stead, England; and a full account of these very interesting and
instructive experiments by Prof. Miles may be found in the "Ohio
Agricultural Report for 1868," and that of Mr. Lawes in the "Jour-
nal Royal Agricultural Society of England," vol. xiv.
The experiment of Prof. Miles commenced May 2d, and ended
December 15th, embracing a period of 203 days, or 29 weeks, and
was made on six grade Essex pigs, two weeks old, and from the
same litter, and were divided into two pens of three pigs each.
During the first few weeks they were fed on a mixed diet of milk,
meal, and a portion of roots, and therefore we select the last
period of 20 weeks, during which they were fed exclusively on
corn meal. The three best pigs, one from pen A and two from
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
185
pen B, were killed December 15th, and averaged 145 lbs. each; and,
deducting the original weight at the commencement of the experi-
ment, each gained in the total period of 203 days 141 lbs. or 69¹/100
lbs. per diem-during a part of this time, (8 weeks), being fed on
a mixed diet. One of the pigs from pen B having died, the other
two were fed for 20 weeks on corn meal, and in 140 days gained
205 lbs., or 9859/100 lbs., each pig, over their original weight, and
at the rate of 73/100 per diem for this period. In the 20 weeks
935 lbs. of meal were consumed, equal to 167/10 bushels of corn,
and giving a return of 123/10 lbs. of pork for each bushel, and re-
quiring 44 lbs. of meal to make one of pork.
The experiment of Mr. Lawes, of England, commenced Febru-
ary 2d, 1850, with 36 selected pigs in twelve pens, and were fed
on several prescribed dietaries. The pigs were 9 to 10 months
old, and at the time of selection differed among themselves but a
pound or two, and when the experiment began averaged 1434 lbs.,
but a fraction less than those of Prof. Miles when his were killed,
and the two might be considered in the light of a continuous ex-
periment-Lawes beginning were Miles ended.
We select for investigation and comparison pen No. 5, contain-
ing three pigs, averaging 1431 lbs., because they were fed exclus-
ively on corn meal.
The experiment lasted 8 weeks, or 56 days, during which time
each pig consumed 362 lbs., or 646/56 bushels of meal, and 646/100
lbs. daily, and gaining 796/100 lbs. of weight, or 142/100 lbs. per
diem, and at the rate of 12 lbs. per bushel; a very remarkable
agreement betwixt Edge, Miles, and Lawes.
An analysis of the experiments, both of Miles and Lawes, shows
very clearly a rapid decrease in the rate of consumption of food to
a given weight of animal as it fattens; and, although less food is
eaten, it takes more of it to produce one pound of increase, so
that, as the animal approaches his maturity of fatness, or, as it is
termed in England, "ripeness," he may reach a point where the
return in pork will not pay for the corn consumed. This point
should be watched for and the pig at once sent to market.
At the conclusion of Miles' experiment, the pigs increased less
than two per cent in a week.
Prof. Miles remarks of his experiments:
"In the manufacture of pork the best return of the food con-
sumed will undoubtedly be obtained by liberal feeding during the
early stages of growth; and we cannot reasonably avoid the con-
clusion that the same rule is applicable to all animals reared for
the purpose of the butcher.
186
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
.
"As animals are employed to convert the vegetable products of
the farm into animal products of greater value, the greatest profit
in fattening may reasonably be expected from liberal feeding dur-
ing the period of growth, in which the organs of nutrition are
capable of converting the largest amount of material into animal
tissues in a given time."
And Mr. Lawes established by his experiment "that the larger
the proportion of nitrogenous compounds in the food, the greater
the tendency to increase in frame and flesh; but that the maturing
or ripening of the animal-in fact its fattening-depended very
much more on the amount, in the food, of certain digestible non-
nitrogenous constituents."
And this accords perfectly, I believe, with all experience.
STEAMED OR BOILED CORN.
I find a number of experiments in which steamed or boiled corn
entered as part of the food, for longer or shorter times, and mixed
with other things, and only three experiments conducted wholly on
boiled corn; one by Clay, gaining 14 lbs. 7 oz. of pork from a
bushel; one by Van Loon, of Illinois, who obtained 18 lbs.; and
the other from Montgomery county, Indiana, giving a fraction
less than 12 lbs. of pork to the bushel of corn; and all three give
an average of a little less than 15 lbs.
The Indiana experiment has most of the elements of time and
numbers to make it reliable, and I give some analysis of it.
Eight pigs from one litter were put in a pen when one week old
and fed nine months, consuming 220 bushels of corn, and gain-
ing 2,644 lbs. of pork, averaging a gain of 330 lbs. each pig, or
11/5 lbs. each per day for the whole period; and the following
tabular statement shows the amount of corn fed during each
month, the gain in weight, the number of pounds of pork made
to one bushel, and the amount of corn required to make one
pound of pork:

Pounds of Pounds
No. of Month.
Amount
consumed.
Total gain. pork per corn to one
bushel. pound pork

Bushels. Pounds.
1st month.
15
168
11.20
5.
2d
24
224
9.33
6.
3d
26/
272
10.30
5.43
4th
""
27
316
11.76
4.78
5th
29/
352
11.96
4.68
6th
""
27
360
13.30
4.21
7th
"(
261
350
13.20
4.20
8th
26
327
12.60
4.40
9th
21
275
13.00
4.30
Average.. 11.85
4.77
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
187
Observe how regular is the increase in weight up to the eighth
month of their age, when they averaged 2414 lbs-a regular de-
crease in the amount of food from the sixth month of feeding,
and a diminished quantity of corn to make one pound of pork,
instead of an increase, as in Miles' and Lawes' experiments, which
goes to corroborate what we have already said, that we meet with
some unaccountable anomalies which, as yet, we are unable to
reduce to any uniform rule. Perhaps these pigs had not yet
reached their full capacity of fatness.
I add here two extracts, one from "Evening Discussions" at the
recent New York State Fair, 1867; subject: Cooking Food for
Domestic Animals."
"C
Hon. G. Geddes, of Syracuse, New York, said: "He had thor-
oughly proved, years ago, that cooking, independent of grinding,
at least doubled the value of food."
George A. Moore, of Erie county, New York, said he had fully
satisfied himself that the value of food was tripled by cooking."
I quote from "Transactions of the American Institute, 1864.”
Prof. Mapes says: "The experiment often tried has proved that
18 or 19 lbs. of cooked corn is equal to 50 lbs. of raw corn for
hog feed, and that Mr. Mason, of New Jersey, found that pork fed
with raw grain cost 12 cents per pound, and that from cooked
corn 41 cents."
COOKED MEAL.
I find here, as in other cases, much of assertion, but backed by
more of experiment; some claiming, on apparently good grounds,
that grinding and cooking the meal thoroughly, doubles the value
of the raw corn.
5
Rejecting here, as elsewhere, the many mixed and irregular ex-
periments, we find that Clay obtained 17 lbs. of pork from a
bushel of corn so prepared; Marsh, of Glen's Falls, New York,
161 lbs.; A. G. Perry, 18 lbs.; Thomas I. Edge, Chester county,
Pa., 16³/ lbs.; Nathan G. Morgan, New York, 20 lbs.; Bucking-
ham of Illinois, 20 lbs.; Jonathan Talcott, Rome, New York,
17.9/100 lbs.; Robert Thatcher, Darby, Pa., made two experiments—
one on five very ordinary pigs, getting 16°/10 lbs.; the other on five
superior Chester pigs, and gained 174/100 lbs. from a bushel of
cooked meal, and remarks: "The surprising gain for food con-
sumed was the result of very careful feeding, clean and warm bed-
ding, and a tight house."
The average of all these experiments is 178/100 lbs. per bushel.
David Anthony, of Union Springs, New York, convinced him-
188
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
self by experiment, that when corn fed in the ear was worth 62
cents, ground into meal it was worth 87 cents, and ground into
meal and cooked, one hundred and eighteen (118) cents, the last
being 91 per cent better than raw corn.
From an examination of the records at my command, I think
that, taking the return of pork from a bushel of corn at nine
pounds, there can be no doubt that corn ground into meal and fed,
increases in value about 33 per cent over corn fed in the ear. That
thoroughly steaming or cooking the whole corn, raises its value to
but little less than that of cooked meal, which I estimate at 66
per cent over raw corn fed in the ear.
I arrive at this conclusion, not only from the experiments I have
herein set forth, but from an examination of quite a number not
here given, on account of their mixed and irregular methods. It
is true that grinding, steaming, or cooking the corn can in no wise
add a single atom to the elements already existing, and raises its
value only by rendering the whole nutritive matter available by
making it more soluble and of easier digestion, so that the maxi-
mum of nutrition is more readily and certainly obtained.
I conclude that nine pounds of pork from a bushel of raw corn
fed in the ear, twelve pounds from raw meal, thirteen and a half
pounds from boiled corn, and sixteen and a half pounds from
cooked meal, is no more than a moderate average the feeder may
expect to realize from a bushel of corn under ordinary circum-
stances of weather, with dry and clean feeding pens. All this is
within the amounts we have shown to be probable and attainable
upon our chemical basis.
Higher percentages have been frequently obtained in practice
than any we shall now assume as our basis in making practical
application of our researches. And if it be true that what has
once been done can be done again, there is great encouragement
for the feeder to study and master the circumstances that will give
the higher results. And in this connection, it is important to con-
sider that animals live constantly in a medium colder than them-
selves for the greater part of the year, and that the lower temper-
ature continually abstracts and wastes animal heat which, in the
fattening process, must be maintained in proportion to the temper-
ature in which they live, and that this heat is obtained from the
food which, under other circumstances, would be transformed into
fat and stored up in the tissues.
And we can readily perceive that warmth and shelter from the
vicissitudes of the weather is not only important, but almost in-
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
189
dispensable, and without them we cannot expect the highest return
for the food consumed; and of the truth of this the Duncan's
Falls experiment is a most striking and instructive example.
Having established the fact from chemical elements, that 16 to
19 lbs. of pork are possible, and that 18 and 20 lbs. are not unfre-
quent in actual practice, under the circumstances indicated, we
shall not be deemed extravagant if we take 15 lbs. per bushel as
the basis of our calculations in ascertaining per pound the
COST OF PORK,
which, it is obvious, must depend upon the cost of corn and feed-
ing; and in ascertaining this, we intend assuming such a scale of
wages as would in any part of the country secure the necessary
labor, supposing, as we do, that it is all to be hired, and that the
laborers board themselves; and if our estimates are too high, or if
the farmer, with his own labor and teams, can reduce the cost
below what we state, it will be easy to correct our tables and make
them conform to the reduction, which would only increase the
farmer's margin for profit.
We assume the wages of a hired man at $2 per day, and two
horses with plow or wagon to be worth the same, or four dollars
a day for the whole
TABLE NO. 3.
Showing the cost of raising an acre of corn; one man and team
plowing two acres per day:
One acre plowed costs...
$2.00
Harrowing 8 acres a day, 1 acre costs..
50
Planting with machine 8 acres, 1 acre costs
50
?
Seed for 1 acre………..
30
Double shovel plowing, or cultivating 6 acres-1 acre costs 6623
cents, or cultivating one acre three times..
2.00
Deeper plowing, hoeing, extra labor, or rent, as the farmer
chooses, or as the season demands..
3.00
Total...
$8.30
whether raising 35 or 60 bushels to the acre, the labor being the
same—that is, the farmer is obliged to bestow upon his crop dur-
ing the season a certain amount of labor.
Whatever difference of opinion about the distribution of the
items here, the sum total for raising the crop I believe to be ample
and ought to command a return of 60 bushels.
190
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
,"
TABLE NO. 4.
Cost of Gathering and Feeding.
Husking 33+ bushels per day to the hand, at $2.00………….. 6 cts. per bu
Wages of man and team, at $4.00 per day, hauling and
cribbing 150 bushels...
One man with steam power will shell, grind, steam, and
feed 75 bushels per day, wages $2.00; fifteen bushels
coal at 15 cents per bushel, $2.25..
Or say..
which we will take for our future tables.
TABLE NO. 5.
2.6 cts. per bu.
5.66 cts. per bu.
14.26
1433/100 cts. per bu.
Shows cost of corn per bushel at $8.30 per acre, and raising 35
to 60 bushels per acre:
35 bushels.
231 cents. | 40 bushels.
17
15
50
60
((
20 cents.
1611
45
66
55
"
133
By adding the cost of grinding, steaming, and feeding, to that of
raising and cribbing, we have the total cost of the corn in
TABLE NO. 6.
40
394858
35 bushels per acre cost.
37.50 cents per bushel.
""
34.83
((
31.66
"(
50
"
55
66
""
60
"
""
30.00
29.00
66
28.00
TABLE NO. 7.
Showing the gross value of a bushel of corn when fed on the
cob, or in the form of raw meal, boiled corn and cooked meal,
rating the return of pork per bushel at 9, 12, 134, 15 lbs., and sel-
ling from 4 to 10 cents per pound:

Pounds of pork from 1
bushel of corn.
On the ear
Raw meal
Value of pork from 4 to 10
cents per pound.
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
10
9
36 45
12 48 60
54
72
.13
54 67 81
63 72 81
84. 96 108
94 108 121 135
CO
Gross value
120
of a bushel
of corn in
60 75 90
105 120|135 | 150
cents.
Boiled corn.
Cooked meal……………….15
2285
$252
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
191
TABLE NO. 8.
Showing cost per pound of pork, the number of bushels of corn
per acre, cost per busshel of raising and feeding, and return in
pork-being given according to our calculations:
Bushels per acre.. 35 40 | 45 50 55 60
Cost per bushel... 37.50 34.83 31.66 30.00 29.00 28
94.16 3.87 3.51 | 3.33 3.22 3.11
|12|3.12 2.90 2.64 2.50 2.42 2.33
13 2.78 2.58 2.34 2.22 2.15 2.07
152.50 2.37 | 2.07 | 2.00 1.93 1.87

Pounds of
pork return-
ed per
bushel.
TABLE NO. 9.
Cents.
Cost of pork in
cents, and 1/100
of a cent.
Showing the total amount of pork per acre, the number of
bushels of corn and return of pork per bushel, being given accord-
ing to our calculations :

Pounds of pork from Bushels of corn per acre.
one bushel of corn.
35 | 40
On the ear..
9
Raw meal..
12
45 | 50 | 55 | 60
315 360 405 450 495 540
420 480 540 600 660| 720|
Boiled corn.
13
Total pounds of
pork per acre.
Cooked meal. . . . .
472 540 607 675 742 810
15 525 600 675 750 825 900
If we find the price per pound of pork in Table No. 8 cor-
responding to any particular yield of corn per acre and pork per
bushel, and deduct it from the market price at any given time, and
multiply by this difference the number of pounds of pork obtained
from the bushel, we have the net profit on a bushel of corn. Thus,
at 45 bushels per acre and 13 lbs. per bushel, we find the cost of
pork per pound to be 2.34 cents. Supposing pork to be selling at
6 cents per pound, the difference is 3.66 cents; multiplying 134 lbs.
(the yield per bushel), by which we get 49.4 cents as the profit per
bushel of corn. If, as before, we find the price of pork in Table
No. 8, and deduct from market price, and multiply by this differ-
ence the number of pounds of pork per acre, as found in Table
No. 9, corresponding to any given yield of corn per acre, and
pork per bushel, we have the net profit per acre from pork. Thus,
we find by table No. 9, at 45 bushels per acre and 134 lbs. per bushel,
the amount of pork per acre to be 607 lbs. Multiplying this number
of pounds by 3.66 cents the difference between cost and selling
price, we have $22.21 as the profit per acre of corn.
We have already satisfactorily shown from chemical data above
192
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
that, after allowing a sufficiency of the elements to restore the
daily waste and keep a hog in good condition, there is enough in
the corn to bring him from 0 to 300 lbs., at the rate of 15 lbs. of
pork per bushel of corn. And practice has shown that there is
more than we have assumed in our calculations, and adhering to
our maximum of 15 lbs. as one we believe to be easily attainable,
and supposing also that the feeder will strive for the higher result,
we have prepared a table to show what profit he may expect for
his corn with good cultivation, and getting a return of 15 lbs. of
pork from one bushel of corn.
TABLE NO. 10.
Whole cost of corn per bushel according to product
per acre, at-
50

Selling price of
pork per pound in
cents.
35
Cents.
40 45
4.
5
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
55 60 Bushels.
Cost per
37.50 34.83 31.66 30.00 29.00 28.00 bushel.
22.50 25.17 28.34 30.00 31.00 32.00
37.50 40.17 42.34 45.00 46.00 47.00
52.50 55.17 58.34 60.00 61.00 62.00
67.50 70.17 73.34 75.00 76.00 77.00
82.50 85.17 88.34 90.00 91.00 92.00
97.50 100.17| 103.34 105.00 106,00 107.00
110.50 115.17 118.34 120.00 121.00 122.00
Net pro-
fit per
bushel.
It appears from our first and second tables, given in a former
part of this paper, that, from the chemical elements, there is but
little difference in the fattening value of several of the foods there
given, but, in so far as they contain more of the phosphates and
flesh formers than corn, they could be very advantageously fed to
young and growing animals; but the cost of producing equal
weights of these must, after all, determine their economic value
in the fattening process.
And now, having satisfactorily to ourselves, at least, set forth
and established the close agreement of theory with the best prac-
tice, not by guesses and loose opinions, but by solid facts and ex-
periments, we might here leave the subject for each one to secure
the results we have shown to be attainable by the methods best
suited to his own circumstances and according to his own notions.
But, in consequence of important questions which now arise, we
must pursue the subject a little farther, even if it lead us, for the
moment, from all well-established facts into the field of hypothesis
and conjecture, for we have not here any recorded experiments to
assist us in determining a question of much practical importance-
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING,
193
THE RIGHT AGE AT WHICH TO FATTEN A HOG?
Whether it is better to keep him as a store or stock animal, in
moderate order and growing condition, on grass and clover with
a little corn during winter, until he is matured in growth, at 12,
18, or 20 months old, and then in three or four months feed him
up to 400 or 500 pounds, or to winter him only and fatten him in
the spring; or is it best to push the pigs from birth and feed them
up to 300 lbs. at nine or ten months old?
In order, if possible, to get some light on this point of our in-
vestigation, let us take two pigs from the same litter, as near alike
as possible, subject them to the same treatment and the same food,
terminating one experiment at nine months and the other at
eighteen. Then with pigs littered, say April 1st, let them run
with their mother on grass and clover until October 1st, a period
of six months, or 183 days. It will be reasonable to assume they
will make three-fourths of a pound of daily growth and increase
for that period, or weigh 138 lbs. each.
We will now take pig A and put him up to fatten, and, as three
months or thirteen weeks are amply sufficient to ripen a hog, we
will full feed him that length of time, or 92 days. We also desire
to bring him up to 300 lbs.; and, as he already weighs 138 lbs.,
there remain 162 to be added, and, if our estimate of 15 lbs. of
pork from one bushel of corn ground into meal and boiled be cor-
rect, he must eat 10 */ bushels of corn and get a daily increase of
one and three-fourths (14) pounds, and so, having arrived at 300
lbs., we dispose of him.
4
5
Pig B, also, at the end of six months, or the first of October,
weighs 138 lbs., same as pig A, but, instead of being put to fatten,
we wish to continue him to May first, or 212 days, and, gaining at
the same rate as before-that is, three-fourths pounds daily-as
from April to October. During this period, from October to May,
he consumes 11 bushels of corn, gains 159, and then weighs 297
lbs. Again, he pastures from May to October, gaining, as before,
138 lbs., and now, at October first, when he is put up to fatten,
weighs 435 lbs., and, being fed for the same period as was A, or 92
days, and making the same increase, he now weighs 594 lbs., and
has eaten altogether a little over 22 bushels of corn and twelve
months of pasture. Pig A, for six months pasturage and 10%
bushels of corn, returns 300 lbs. of pork, while pig B, for twelve
months pasturage and 22 bushels of corn, returns but 594 lbs. of
pork-being a difference of six (6) pounds of pork and one-fifth
of a bushel of corn in favor of feeding two hogs like A rather
:
9
194
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
than one as B, making the same amount of pork and returning
the money invested in one-half the time.
From the fact that both Lawes and Miles found, as the hog ap-
proached ripeness, or full maturity of fatness, the quantity of corn
to make a pound of pork increases, and the time also, it may be
that our suppositious cases are very near the truth; I think they
are, and that it will take less food to make 600 lbs. of pork from
two animals than from one. And the rates of increase and total
weights given of the animals is rather strengthened and corroborated
by the fact that from an examination of the weights given of
several hundred extra heavy hogs (upwards of 350,) of the age of
20 and 22 months, very few reached 600 lbs., and none made an
increase of one pound a day for that whole period.
There are many experiments proving that hogs of 18 to 22
months frequently increase during the fattening process at the rate
of 2 to 3 lbs. a day, and even more; and that young hogs are very
often made to weigh 300 lbs. and over at the age of 9 to 10 months.
There is no doubt a certain proportion betwixt muscle and fat
while feeding, which will be found to give the most advantageous
results; but it is so apparent that, to obtain great weight in any
animal, we ought to have a good supply of bones and muscle to
begin with, and a sufficient frame-work on which to build and lay
the fat, that I think it would be advisable to devote the first few
months of the pig's life to growth rather than for fat-making, and
to this end S. M. Wherry's experiment, on page 183 furnishes a
good example. And it will be well to remember that Miles' pigs,
with an insufficient frame-work to carry more, were ripe at seven
months old, with a weight of 145 only pounds, having been pushed
from the start.
Having shown how much pork is to be expected from a bushel
of corn, prepared and fed in various ways, we will devote a brief
space to considering the expense of preparation. It will be ob-
served that in estimating the lowest cost price of pork, we assumed
15 lbs. as our maximum return from a bushel of corn.
But in obtaining this result we have shelled, ground and cooked
our corn meal with steam power, and it may be said, with truth,
perhaps, that this can only be applied economically on a large
scale-say to feeding upwards. of 250 head-to feed less would
hardly justify the necessary outlay for machinery and apparatus,
and we must try some other plan more suitable for smaller opera-
tions.
From an examination I am satisfied it will cost upon an average
15 cents to have corn shelled and ground, including toll and trans-
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
195
portation to and from the mill. That is to say, taking our yield
of nine pounds of pork from raw corn, and 12 from raw meal, we
must get 15 cents from the three additional pounds, or five cents
per pound for the pork, to pay the cost of grinding.
It is obvious that this pork must sell at some price greater than
this to afford any profit on the three pounds so produced, and to
gain even five cents per bushel above the product, and nine pounds
per bushel, we must get 63 cents per pound for the pork. But
now, having our corn ground into meal, let us proceed to cook it,
which I estimate will cost seven cents per bushel on a moderate
scale, with simple apparatus; and 15 cents, the cost of grinding,
added to seven cents, the cost of cooking, equals 22 cents.
From corn so prepared, we expect a return of 15 lbs. of pork
per bushel of corn, and a gain of six pounds over raw corn, pro-
ducing but nine pounds. These six pounds have cost 22 cents, or
3 cents per pound, and it is evident that, for every cent per pound
above this cost that the pork brings, we gain six (6) cents more.
than when getting but nine pounds per bushel. Then, at 64 cents
for pork, our profit would be 18 cents for these six additional
pounds per bushel.
Suppose now, instead of incurring the expense of grinding, that
we steam or cook the whole grains of corn, at the same cost as
the meal-seven cents per bushel-and gain thereby 44 lbs. over
the product of raw corn (to wit: nine pounds,) then, at 6 cents
per pound for pork, our profit would be 23 cents per bushel for
these 44 additional pounds, and in like proportion for any higher
selling price for pork.
In all calculations of expense throughout this paper, we have
intended to make ample and liberal estimates.
It is plain, from a comparison of the above statements, that,
although getting but 134 lbs. of pork from a bushel of boiled or
cooked corn, it is yet the most economical method of preparing
the corn on a moderate scale, and affords not only a possibility, but
a high probability, of a larger return than we have given.
And, fortunately the apparatus required is simple and inexpen-
sive, for any vessel with a capacity to turn into steam 26 gallons of
water per hour is sufficient, if we assume that corn has the same
capacity for heat as water, to raise 10 bushels of corn to the boil-
ing point in one hour and keep it there, and furnish a daily ration
for 60 hogs. But it is evident the corn must be kept some time at
the temperature indicated to cook it. No doubt on many farms
there already exist the pans and brick arches used in the making
of sorghum molasses; and these pans, with some alterations and
►
196
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
inexpensive additions, would, no doubt, answer an admirable pur-
pose. So, also, will a large kettle set in an arch, answer to cook
corn for 10 to 30 hogs. The corn, whether cooked in the pans or
kettle, should be shelled and placed in trays with stout wire bot-
toms just close enough to hold the grains of corn; and, placing
these trays, if need be, one on top of the other, just above the
water in the pan or kettle, let all be covered and steam away. I
think that for about 75 or 80 dollars, an apparatus on this principle
can be made, sufficient for 150 hogs. In any apparatus for cooking
or steaming the food, one square foot of pan or kettle exposed to
the fire, is the minimum space capable of evaporating one gallon
per hour-14 feet is better.
It is propable the corn could be ground on the farm with horse-
power, cheaper than we have estimated, if the feeder will invest
in a mill and necessary power.
Opinions differ as to any real value in feeding the cob ground
with the meal; some attaching great value to the method, others
rejecting it altogether.
Chemical analysis of the corn-cob gives six to ten per cent of
matter that may be rendered, by long maceration and boiling,
capable of assimilation by the animal.
I myself believe there is not nutriment enough in the cob to pay
for getting it out; but an occasional feed of cob meal would be
of service, for in the fattening process, a certain amount of inert
matter seems not only to be beneficial, but to be absolutely re-
quired by the hog, and it is, no doubt, this instinctive want and
necessity, that induces the hog to eat coal, rotten wood, and even
clay and dirt.
Having now considered the various methods of preparing and
feeding corn, there yet remains one subject to be discussed which
is of too great importance to be ignored or overlooked in any
scheme of pork-making, I allude to
THE VALUE OF GRASS AND CLOVER.
We have already mentioned it; but, in the absence of any care-
fully conducted experiments on this point, it is somewhat difficult
to determine the pork-making value of grass and clover, as com-f
pared with corn. I find great differences of opinion as to the
number of hogs an acre of good grass or clover will support during
the season; the number varying from three to six-the higher
number being assigned to an acre of good clover.
Of course the number must depend upon the quantity of grass
or clover, whether it be thick or thin, and also a good, moderate,
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING.
197
or poor crop. In this dilemma let us see if theoretic statements
will help us in the solution of this question.
We will assume, to begin with, that one acre, with a good set
of timothy and clover, occupying the ground in equal proportions,
will give a product of 12,000 lbs. during the season. We think
this a moderate estimate, for the reason that it requires less than
one ounce of green food per month from each square foot during
five months of pasturage. Suppose the average of the hogs,
when turned on to grass, to be 125 lbs., and that it be the fact, as
has been frequently stated, that an animal requires three per cent
daily of his live weight in dry food, or its equivalent in green
food, to keep him in a growing and fattening condition, then 7
lbs. of grass and clover will be consumed by one hog daily from
May to October, or 153 days, or 1,1464 lbs. during this whole period.
Then it is evident the acre of grass and clover will support as
many hogs as 1,1461 is contained in 12,000 lbs. (the product of one
acre,) or 101 hogs, nearly! But we prefer to base our calculations
on the data given in a previous part of this paper, that it requires
one and one-third pounds of corn to maintain a hog of 150 lbs. in
condition merely, and of course requires a corresponding portion
of green food to do the same thing; and if, according to our
Table No. 2, it takes 6.75 lbs. of clover to equal one of corn, then
1.33 lbs. of corn, (the amount to keep the hog in condition), re-
quires nine pounds of green clover, or an equivalent, to supply
the daily waste in the animal organism, and of course an additional
amount is necessary to increase the hog in weight; and if we take
the increase at one-half pound daily, then 6.75 lbs. more of clover
is needed, or 15.75 altogether; but as timothy (of which an equal
portion of our green food consists), is in value to clover as 298 to
675, a less amount, or eleven pounds, will suffice than if feeding
clover alone. But as some is wasted and trampled down, we
think a daily allowance of fifteen pounds to each hog is none too
much.
Fifteen pounds of green food, which we have determined as the
› ration to sustain the hog and fatten him one-half pound daily, is
contained in 12,000 lbs., (the product of one acre), 800 times, and
would support one bog for 800 days, or 5¹/s hogs one hundred and
fifty-three days, or five months, from May to October, the period
of pasturage. Omitting the fraction, our five hogs increasing one-
half pound daily for 153 days, we have a total return in pork of
382 lbs. from one acre of timothy and clover, and its value can
be compared with the amount of pork produced from an acre of
corn in Table No. 9.
198
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
I estimate the cost of getting a good set of clover and timothy
at four dollars ($4) per acre, and that we will have two seasons of
pasturage from it; and dividing this cost into two years it will be
but two dollars for our 3824 lbs. of pork, or a fraction over half a
cent per pound; or, assigning to our grass and clover pork the
lowest selling price in our tables, or 4 cents per pound, it gives us
3824 × 4—$15.30-and, deducting the cost of the grass and clover,
leaves us a net profit of $13.30 for one acre of our pasture. Of
course all this is hypothetical, and each one must determine for
himself how nearly these calculations are correct. I believe they
are within the truth, and will be exceeded in actual practice.
-
If any one takes the trouble to compare the values of pork and
corn on our data of 9, 12, 134 and 15 lbs. of pork from a bushel of
corn, it will be found that, at nine pounds, one pound of pork
must bring six and two ninths (62) times as much as one pound
of corn to make the pork equal in value to the corn-at 12 lbs. per
bushel one pound of pork must bring 4 times as much as one
pound of corn-at 13 lbs. per bushel the pound of pork must
bring 4/10 times the price of the corn, and at 15 lbs. per bushel
the pork requires to be 32/3 times the value of one pound of corn.
Finally, after a careful and somewhat extensive examination
and analysis of quite a number of experiments, regular and
irregular, of all the various methods of feeding corn, including a
wide range of country and seasons, I find, upon the whole, that,
amidst the apparently discrepant and contradictory statements,
quite uniform and accordant results have been obtained under
similar circumstances. And, notwithstanding the subtle influences
of life and the vital processes may continue to evade us, and may
never be brought entirely under our control, and made subservient
to our purposes, yet, aside from all this, we have the power of
perfect command over many of those circumstances, which do un-
doubtedly exercise a most important influence over the young and
growing animal-such as foods in various quantities, forms, and
proportions, regular feeding, cleanliness, warmth, and shelter from
the weather; and last, but not least, a judicious selection of the
breeds and aptitudes best suited to our wants.
And I conclude, upon a review of the whole subject, that it will
pay to fatten hogs on corn alone, when properly prepared, and it
will be easier and cheaper if a portion of the pork be made on
grass and clover.
Where the farmer prepares for pork-making, and pursues it with
system and regularity, I believe it will pay him better than to sell
HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-RAISING.
199
his corn, (no matter what be the market price), even at his own
door. And especially I think will this be found true by those so
situated as to be obliged to haul their corn any distance to market,
which increases the cost of the corn 5 to 15 cents, according to the
distance to be traveled.
My investigations have led me to some unexpected conclusions,
but, having no theory to begin with, I have simply followed where
truth seemed to lead, determined to collect and tabulate facts and
be guided by them alone, avoiding all mere opinions and assertions.
If we have proved anything, it is, that it is possible and com-
paratively easy to get 50 per cent more for corn than we now do
for all the millions of bushels fed to hogs in the process of pork-
making. Sustaining in this industry alone a loss of millions of
dollars annually, the question of how much pork in a bushel of
corn is not an insignificant one.
It strikes me that the different State Agricultural Societies could
engage in no more beneficial work than to arrest the enormous
losses of our wasteful feeding processes, by the dissemination of
correct information, and by a series of well-conducted experiments
lend their powerful aid to elucidate so important a subject.
DISEASES OF SWINE.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION AS TO
THEIR CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, PRE-
VENTION, AND CURE.
N..
DISEASES OF SWINE.
203
CHAPTER XX.
DISEASES OF SWINE AND THEIR TREATMENT.
INTRODUCTORY.
We desire to preface this portion of our volume by say-.
ing that we are not a hog doctor, and have but little faith
in sick hogs, or in giving them medicines.
A sick hog is, as a rule, very poor property, and he who
permits this class of stock to become diseased through
negligence or mistreatment, under the impression that
"anybody knows enough to doctor a hog," is boldly court-
ing disaster.
The hog has an appetite beyond his powers of diges-
tion; if he is allowed to gorge himself on unsuitable
foods, is made to live in filth and mire, from first to last,
and is also exposed to burning sun and biting frosts, it
can be but small wonder if he becomes the prey of disease.
Prevention, by rational, decent treatment, should be
the watch-word; but, if an animal appears ailing, note
carefully all the symptoms.
Physicians say that the internal organs of a hog are
located much as are those of a man, and that in a major-
ity of cases it will be safe to treat a sick hog, so far as
practicable, in the same manner as a sick man should be
treated. Medicines ought never to be given without well
defined ideas as to what they are expected to accomplish
-remembering that "the catalogue of medicine fur-
nishes few, if any specifics, that is, medicines that will
always cure certain diseases.”
There are, however, a great number of medicines that
appear to be specifics for certain symptoms.
The only really successful way of administering medi-
cine to hogs is, to mix it in their feed or drink, as they
204
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
are so obstinate and unmanageable that drenching is usu-
ally unsatisfactory and always dangerous. If too far gone
to eat or drink a little, the case may be considered quite
hopeless. They should be made as comfortable as pos-
sible, and if they will eat, give them food that is light,
and easy to digest, not too much strong medicine, and
trust to good care, to time, and to nature, to effect a cure.
The veteran Elmer Baldwin says:
"In winter, I would separate the sick from the herd; give them
a good warm sty and access to water, and in summer would turn
them where they would have water for both drinking and bathing,
with a dense cool shade, and where they would not be disturbed,
withhold their feed, and let them take their chances. Such a course
I have ever found more successful than any medicine.
"Prevention is better than cure; for a herd of swine properly
fed and cared for will seldom be sick, if they are native; their
own vital power must cure them; man cannot.
"If they have been improperly fed, until disease has been devel-
oped, the best remedy is to change the diet to a proper one.
"If they have been kept in a close pen, exposed to the heat of
summer, turn them into a fresh pasture where they can have water,
exercise, and shade.
"If they have been kept in a dirty, muddy pen until they have
scurf and mange, clean the skin, and give them a clean, comfort-
able pen to live in. But, better still, give those better conditions
before the difficulty occurs. Care for them in advance, both as a
matter of duty and profit. And as in morals, the path of duty is
the path of happiness and safety, so in the treatment of our domes-
tic animals, generous, kind, and humane treatment brings the most
money."
Nothing is more natural than that those who have capi-
tal invested in swine should, if disease appears, desire to
make some effort to arrest its progress. Appreciating the
importance of this, we present here recipes that have
been tried, recommended, and endorsed by practical men,
who have found them valuable; and we believe them to
be more nearly adapted to the wants of swine-breeders
than any collection heretofore made.
They are not recommended as infallible, and we would
DISEASES OF SWINE.
205
again impress it upon our readers and fellow-breeders,
that the treatment of diseased swine is very uncertain in
its results, for when it is so often impossible to ascertain
the precise character or location of the ailment, it is in-
deed difficult to prescribe and administer efficacious reme-
dies. Hence the "ounce of prevention " is all-important.
The information given of the disease or diseases known
*as Hog Cholera, is unquestionably the best and most
thorough that the ablest scientific authorities in the
country have as yet arrived at.
ANTHRAX* DISEASES IN SWINE.
The obscure diseases in swine generally-but quite im-
properly-designated by farmers as "Hog Cholera,” have
created such fearful ravages in the principal hog-raising
districts as to prove the main obstacle to profitable pork
production.
There has been witnessed annually, for a generation
past, the loss, by epidemic diseases, of millions of dollars
worth of swine in this country, at a time of year when
they were of maximum value.
It is to be regretted that a scourge so prevalent, carry-
ing disaster and financial ruin to such numbers of our
people, has not been made the subject of thorough scien-
tific investigation by a commission, composed of men
eminent for their scientific and practical knowledge.
We believe a portion of the appropriation to our Na-
tional Bureau of Agriculture could, and should, have
been used, years ago, to assist in researches to wrest from
nature the secret causes of the wide-spread destruction,
which, in such numerous instances, makes hog-raising,
as a business, so precarious.
If the active pursuit of knowledge so valuable as this
does not come within the province of the Department of
Agriculture, of State Agricultural Boards and Societies,
* Anthrax is the Greek word for carbuncle, or virulent ulcer.
206
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
and the richly endowed and richly officered Agricultural
Colleges, organized ostensibly in the interests of the pro-
ducing classes, by whom they are largely maintained, we
have failed to comprehend their mission, or importance.
While such ruinous devastation is abroad in the land, and
millions of dollars worth of swine sometimes die in a sin-
gle month from diseases scarcely understood at all, it is
small comfort to the tax-ridden Western farmers to read,
in its voluminous reports, that the Department of Agri-
culture is engaged in investigating the Cranberry-rot in
New Jersey, or the Orange-blight in Florida, or that the
Massachusetts Agricultural College is making elaborate
experiments to test the lifting powers of a Squash, which
has, at considerable expense, been properly harnessed for
that purpose.
No investigation that does not extend through several
States, and include thousands of cases, as found under
varying and widely different circumstances, and is not
made with a liberal and faithfully continued expenditure
of time, labor, and some money, can be satisfactory. The
necessary expense precludes private investigations from
being sufficiently extended, and if properly conducted,
the results obtained would be of such general interest
that the General Government should lead in the under-
taking and bear the expense. Managing our own hogs,
on the theory that the "ounce of prevention" was of
paramount importance, we have never lost even a single
animal by any disease we could call cholera, and as it
comprehends conditions and causes regarding which the
most learned scientists are as yet groping in comparative
darkness, we shall not weary the reader with mere sur-
mises of our own.
Fortunately some two or three of the leading veterina-
rians in the country have devoted much attention to it,
and while none of them claim to have at all solved the
mystery in which epidemic diseases are enshrouded, we
DISEASES OF SWINE.
207
are able to present, in this and the succeeding chapters,
the latest conclusions to which their labors have brought
them.
From our standpoint, we consider "hog cholera" as
caused by a putrid poison in the blood, induced by unwhole
some foods, drink, and surroundings productive of disease,
essentially a contagious fever, of which inflammation of
the lungs, diarrhoea, vomiting, abscesses, and similar feat-
ures, are simply complications. Law, and others, do not
hesitate to pronounce it as having been known in the Old
World, as well as this country, and all authorities encoun-
tered by us agree that the unwholesome conditions of life
contribute largely to its diffusion, if not its development
anew.
Every farmer should realize the necessity of prevention,
and grasp the fact that the great "cure-all" will never
be found, and that trusting to any remedies, specifics, or
patent nostrums, is more than likely to result in a disas-
trous failure, to avert which too much care cannot be
taken in securing the best sanitary conditions of life for
this class of domestic animals.
Dr. H. J. Detmers, a distinguished veterinarian, who
has devoted much research to diseases peculiar to swine
in the Mississippi Valley, prepared for and published in
the Rural World, (St. Louis, April, 1876,) an extended
article on Anthrax Diseases in Swine, of which the
following is a synopsis :
"Although I have had considerable experience, not only when
practising as veterinary surgeon in Europe, but also during the
seven years which I have resided in the State of Illinois, I write
with some reluctance, because I know that a good deal of what I
shall have to say will conflict with some long-cherished notions and
prejudices of a great many readers. In the first place, I wish to
banish the name of
'HOG CHOLERA,'
which is ill-chosen, entirely without meaning, and leads to confu-
sion, as it naturally conveys the impression that the disease, or dis-
208
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
eases so named, are similar to, or identical with the Asiatic cholera,
or cholera of men, which is not the case. In fact, what our farmers
and swine-breeders are used to call 'hog cholera,' is not a single
or separate disease, but rather a group of several kindred diseases,
similar to each other in regard to causes, morbid process, conta-
giousness, and final termination, but differing very much as to symp-
toms, seat of morbid process, course, and duration. Hence, the
proper name,
ANTHRAX DISLASES,
which is understood everywhere, is much preferable to the mis-
nomer 'hog cholera.'
"All anthrax diseases-and those of swine not excepted-make
their appearance usually as enzootic diseases. They spread over
large districts, and attack a large number of animals of the same
kind, and in some cases of different kinds, at once, or in quick suc-
cession. Only in comparatively rare cases, one or the other form
of anthrax presents itself as a sporadic disease—that is, attacks
only a few animals, or remains limited to a farm, a pasture, or a
stable, or a yard. This, however, is but natural: in the first place,
the presence of the pernicious agencies or influences which consti-
tute the causes is seldom limited to a farm, a pasture, a stable, or a
yard, but extends usually over whole districts; and secondly, all
anthrax diseases develop a more or less intense contagion, able to
communicate the morbid process to other healthy animals, which
have not been exposed to the causes, and in severe cases even to
The morbid process in all anthrax diseases consists in a
peculiar decomposition of the blood and of the animal tissues; con-
sequently, everything that is able to introduce or to promote such
a decomposition must be considered as a mediate cause.
men.
66
CAUSES.
"The causes of the anthrax diseases of swine are essentially the
same as those of the anthrax diseases of other domesticated ani-
mals. The same proceed, to a great extent, from certain peculiari-
ties of the soil and of the weather, and have their source also-par-
tially at least—in the mode and manner in which the animals are
kept. It is possible, according to the scientific investigations and
experiments which have been carried on with great zeal during the
last decade, that various cryptogamic parasites, the bacterii, vibri-
ones, and others, found in the blood and in other fluids of anthrax
patients, act either directly or indirectly like a ferment upon the
blood, effect a decomposition of that fluid, act in that way as a
DISEASES OF SWINE.
209
causal agency, or a cause, of the morbid process and its usually
fatal termination.
"The experience of our present age, as well as the earliest
observations on record, show that anthrax diseases are apt to occur
wherever large quantities of stagnant water, surcharged with de-
composing vegetable substances, are evaporating. Hence, anthrax
diseases may be expected on naturally wet or low land, in a dry
season, and on naturally high and dry land, provided the soil is
rich in humus, in very wet seasons. The various forms of anthrax,
therefore, make their appearance especially as epizootic, or rather
enzootic, diseases, in all localities or districts in which the top soil
is rich in humus and decomposing vegetable matter, and the sub-
soil impervious to water, at the end of a wet season, or after an
inundation; and in localities or districts in which swamps, sloughs,
and pools of stagnant water are numerous and extensive during a
hot and dry season, particularly if the animals are compelled to
drink foul or stagnant water containing a considerable quantity of
decomposing vegetable substances. The water of ponds in which
flax has been rotted, must be regarded as extremely dangerous, for
this reason.
"Pastures and stubble fields, rich in sulphates, or manured with
mineral fertilizers, which effect a more rapid decomposition of the
vegetable substances, are also more dangerous than others.
"The weather, too, is not altogether without influence. Weather
that is too hot and too sultry for the season of the year, or that is
very changeable, (for instance, very warm during the day, and cold
at night), seems to promote the outbreak of anthrax diseases. The
climate, or the average temperature of a country, is without any
consequence, for anthrax makes its appearance as well in the polar
regions as in the temperate and in the torrid zones.
"As to the keeping of the animals, it has been observed that sties
or pens, full of dung and rotting vegetable substances-clover,
weeds, etc.—especially if the latter are wet and exposed to the rays
of the sun, have a decidedly bad influence, and are able to act as
a cause. Further, certain kinds of food, that contain an abund-
ance of nitrogenous compounds, and are difficult to digest, or very
juicy, and of rank and rapid growth, have a great tendency to pro-
mote the development of anthrax diseases. As such kinds of food
-though some of them are scarcely ever fed to swine-may be
named aftermath clover, the grasses and weeds grown on stubble
fields in a wet and warm season, green rye, and green wheat,
distillers' mash, moldy hay, spoiled or moldy garden vegetables,
210
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
musty and moldy grain, and especially grain that contains a great
deal of smut. It has been stated time and again, that grasses
grown on places or spots where animals diseased with anthrax
had died, or had been buried, are able to produce anthrax in living
animals. Whether this is true or not, I am unable to decide; I
give the statement for what it is worth. Still, it seems that scarcely
any one of these more or less injurious kinds of food is able to pro-
duce anthrax by itself, but, if acting combined with the influences
of evaporating stagnant water, surcharged with decomposing vege-
table substances, the same may become very pernicious.
"A great and dangerous predisposition to anthrax diseases is
originated, also, by a sudden increase of very nutritious food, caus-
ing a rapid improvement of the condition of the animal from poor
to good, or from middling good to very good, by accelerating and
augmenting rather excessively the organic change of material, or
process of wasting and repairing, that is constantly going on in
every living organism. If the change of matter is increased too
suddenly, or to such an extent that the organs (lymphatics, kid-
neys, skin, intestines, etc.,) which have the office of disposing of
the waste material, and excreting the same, but have been accus-
tomed to only an ordinary quantity of water, cannot absorb and
carry off the extraordinary amount that is produced, in conse-
quence of the rapidly-promoted change of matter-a quantity of
wasted material, consisting of nitrogenous (urea, for instance,) and
carbonaceous compounds, will be retained, and will accumulate in
the system, but especially in the blood, where they are apt tɔ
become a source of decomposition.
"The predisposing influence of a very rapid growth and im-
provement in condition, explains why, in every anthrax epizooty,
or enzooty, just the most thrifty and fastest improving animals
become the victims, and contract, almost invariably, the disease in
its most acute and most malignant forms; while the poorest ani-
nals in a herd remain either exempted, or take the disease in a less
acute, or comparatively mild form. Age and sex seem to be with-
out influence.
THE CONTAGION.
“A very important source of the spreading of the disease con-
stitutes the contagion. The same is of a fixed, rather than of a
volatile nature, and all parts of the animal body (but especially
the blood and the fluid products of the morbid process), must be
looked upon as its bearers. The vitality of the contagion, and the
resistance of the same against external influences, is very great; it
DISEASES OF SWINE.
211
is not easily destroyed by exposure to the air, to warmth, cold,
moisture, etc. Its intensity, however, is not always the same, but
differs according to the form and malignancy of the disease, and
the genus of the animal; for it has been repeatedly observed, that
contagion in neat cattle, is usually more effective than that devel-
oped in horses, or in hogs. It is destroyed most effectually by
chemical agencies for instance, by carbolic acid, chloride of
lime, etc.
"The fact that carbolic acid, a most deadly poison to all parasite
growth, (vegetable, as well as animal,) destroys also, quicker and ·
more thoroughly than anything else, the efficiency of the conta-
gion developed in anthrax, and in other contagious diseases, may
be looked upon as a strong support of the theory which assigns to
the cryptogamic parasites, found in the blood and in several other
fluids of patients diseased with anthrax, or with any other conta-
gious diseases, a close connection with the contagion.
"The period of incubation (that is, the time which elapses be-
tween the exposure to the influence of the contagion and the out-
break of the disease resulting from it), is not always the same,
but extends from a few hours to about two weeks. The form of
the disease resulting from a contagious infection, is not always
identical with the form of anthrax which produced the contagion,
but depends upon the seat of the morbid process; and the latter
usually localizes itself in the same parts of the body which have
been the principal recipients of the contagion.
“Anthrax in swine, as well as in all other domesticated animals,
makes its appearance in different forms, which may be divided into
two groups-one without any localization of the morbid process,
and another one, in which a localization is taking place. The
forms belonging to the first group, are characterized by their ex-
tremely acute course, and great malignancy. The morbid process
affects the whole organism, and has no time to localize itself, but
destroys life usually within a few hours, and in some cases even
within a few minutes. The forms of anthrax belonging to the
second group, are less acute in their course; they last from several
hours to several days, and the morbid process, too, is less violent,
and has time to effect a localization in one or another part or organ
of the animal's body.
GANGRENOUS ERYSIPELAS.
Gangrenous, malignant, or contagious erysipelas-St. Antho-
ny's fire, or Wild-fire-must be considered as the most frequent an-
thrax disease of swine. Its outbreak is usually preceded by some
212
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
more or less plainly developed precursory symptoms, which, how-
ever, often remain unobserved. The animal, a short time before
the evident outbreak of the disease, appears to be dull and weak,
refuses its food, has an unsteady gait, lies down a great deal, roots
in its bedding, and shows a tendency to bury its head (or, if the
litter is abundant, its whole body), in the straw. The temper-
ature of the body is changeable, cold shiverings and feverish heat
alternate with each other in quick succession; pulse and respira-
tion are accelerated; the bowels are constipated, or the excrements
that are voided are hard and dark-colored; in some cases, the pa-
tients make efforts to vomit. In about twelve or twenty-four
hours, the symptoms become more characteristic. Red spots,
which soon become confluent, make their appearance on the inside
of the legs, on the lower part of the abdomen, on the breast, and
neck, and soon present an erysipelatous swelling of (at first) a
blood-red or crimson, afterwards a purple, and finally (if the ter-
mination is to be fatal) a bluish-black color. In some cases, small
pustules, with gangrenous, corrosive contents, make their appear-
ance on some parts of the swelled surface; the fever increases in
intensity; the mucous membranes present a purple, or lead-gray
color; the breathing becomes very laborious; the temperature of
the body, at first considerably increased, is much reduced; the
hind quarters of the animal become paralyzed, convulsions set in,
and the sick animal dies, sometimes within six or twelve hours,
but usually on the second or third day after the outbreak of the
disease. In those cases in which the animal recovers, the red spots
either remain limited, or become less confluent; the fever does not
reach so high a degree of intensity, and the other morbid condi-
tions abate, if not before, on the second or third day. Still, some
morbid changes, such as partial paralysis in the hind quarters, in-
sufficient appetite (the animals frequently cannot be induced to eat
any more than the least amount necessary to keep them alive), de-
fective digestion, etc., often remain, and the recovery is seldom a
perfect one.
·
"The treatment has to be essentially the same as in gangrenous
angina. At first an effective emetic, and afterwards calomel, or
sulphate of soda, and if the latter is chosen, diluted acids, espe-
cially diluted carbolic acid (one part of the crystallized acid to two
parts of glycerine, or alcohol, and one hundred parts of water), to
be given with extreme care, with a spoon, and in repeated doses,
often have a favorable result, provided the treatment is begun
before the morbid process has made too much progress. Exter-
nally, subcutaneous injections into the swelled parts, of diluted
1
DISEASES OF SWINE.
213
carbolic acid (2) or 3 parts to 100 of water), have also proved to be
of some benefit, and may at least counteract, to a great extent, the
septic process.
"MALIGNANT OR GANGRENOUS ANGINA.
Malignant, or gangrenous, angina is one of the most frequent
forms of anthrax, at any rate, more frequent in swine than either
apoplectic or gloss anthrax. It usually presents itself as an en-
zooty, and is therefore often complicated with other forms, espe-
cially with malignant erysipelas, so-called St. Anthony's fire, or
Wild fire. The morbid process has its principal seat in the throat,
in the mucous membranes of the larynx and of the windpipe, and
in adjoining parts, but is, in some cases rather concentrated in, or
limited to, a certain part-the larynx, for instance-and in other
cases more diffused. Consequently, some patients present more
outside swelling, or show greater distress and difficulty of breath-
ing than others, although the disease is the same.-
"The principal symptoms, though not all of them are alike con-
spicuous in every patient, consist in wheezing and laborious breath-
ing, hoarse grunting, great heat, and dryness of the snout, swelling
of the tongue, a brown-red color of the mucous membranes of the
mouth, difficulty in swallowing the food, and attempts to vomit.
In the larynx region, and along the windpipe, appears a hot, hard,
and painful swelling, which not seldom extends downward and
backward to the forelegs, or even to the lower surface of the chest
and abdomen. The swelled parts present, at first, a saturated red
or crimson, afterwards, often, a reddish lead-gray, and finally a
purple color, and an oedematous character. The fever is usually
very high; the sick animals breathe with increasing difficulty, and
either lie down, or sit on their haunches, like a dog. Finally, the
difficulty of breathing becomes so great, that desperate attempts
have to be made to catch a little air by opening the mouth, and
protruding the livid-colored and swelled tongue. The mucous
membrane of the mouth, at first red-brown, changes its color to
lead-gray; the temperature of the body, at first considerably
higher than in a healthy animal, decreases below the normal de-
gree, and the patients either die of suffocation, or in consequence
of the spreading gangrene, within one or two days. In those
cases in which the morbid process has concentrated itself in the
larynx, the patients suffocate a great deal sooner, and die, some-
times, within an hour after the appearance of the morbid symp-
toms.
"If the disease does not terminate in death, which is but seldom
214
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
the case, unless the patients are subjected to a rational treatment
during the very first stages of the disease, the morbid symptoms
are gradually reduced. In such a case, the respiration becomes
freer and less laborious; the wheezing disappears; the difficulty
in swallowing food and water abates, and the external swelling
ceases to spread, and finally decreases gradually in size. Malig-
nant angina, as well as other forms of anthrax, has either an idio-
'pathic origin, or is the consequence of an infection brought about,
in most cases, by eating meat, blood, etc., of animals that have
died of anthrax.
'A treatment, to be of any avail, must be instituted during the
very first stages of the disease. It is best to commence by giving
a good emetic, consisting of two to twenty grains (according to
the age and size of the patient) of powdered White Hellebore (Vera-
trum album), or of Tartar Emetic. The former, however, is more
reliable, and therefore to be preferred. Both medicines must be
given, either with a little milk-if the patient will take them vol-
untarily—or, mixed with a pinch of flour and a little water, or a
piece of boiled potato, in form of pills-if force is necessary, but
under no circumstances in the shape of a drench. If the animal
should not vomit freely within twenty minutes, the dose has to be
repeated. Afterwards, the so-called antiphlogistic salts—sulphate
of soda, sulphate of potash, sulphate of magnesia, saltpetre, or cal-
omel, may be given to some advantage. Diluted acids, vegetable
as well as mineral, but especially diluted carbolic acid (1 to 100 of
water), and subcutaneous injections of diluted carbolic acid (24 or
3 parts of the acid, 5 parts of glycerine, and 95 parts of water), made
into the swelled parts at various places, have been used to advan·
tage, and have given, in many cases, at least, much better satis-
faction than anything else. Some authors have advised to draw
setons or rowels, to fix the swelled parts with a red-hot iron, or to
apply cold water douches, but if the nature of the disease is taken
into consideration, it is difficult to see what good such remedies
can do. Blood-letting, too, has been recommended, but if resorted
to, it must be done during the very first, or incipient, stage of the
disease, otherwise it will only accelerate the fatal termination.
-
As preventive remedies, diluted acid, sour buttermilk, unripe
sour apples, once a week a dose of sulphate of soda, and especially,
now and then, a little carbolic acid in the water for drinking, have
proved of some value.
“ANTHRAX CARBUNCLE, OR WHITE BRISTLE.
"Real anthrax carbuncle is of comparatively rare occurrence in
hogs. Its outbreak is always attended with very severe fever, and
DISEASES OF SWINE.
215
(6
the carbunculous swelling usually makes its appearance on the
neck, in close proximity to the larynx, and is extremely painful.
The bristles, or hair, on such a carbuncle, become bleached, hard,
and brittle, and stand on end, therefore the name white bristle."
Finally, great difficulty of breathing, groaning, gnashing and grat-
ing of the teeth, and convulsions, constitute the last symptoms
and the precursors of death, which ensues usually within a few
days.
"The local treatment consists in destroying, or cauterizing, the
carbuncles as soon as possible, by means of a red-hot iron, or with
a concentrated acid. The general treatment has to be the same
as in malignant angina.
"APOPLECTIC ANTHRAX.
"The apoplectic form of anthrax, the most acute of all, is not so
frequent in hogs as in cattle and sheep, but wherever it occurs, it
usually terminates within so short a time, that the owner of the
smitten animals will either find them dead, or will just come in time
to see them break down and die, before he even suspected them of
being sick. Death is almost instantaneous, and treatment, there-
fore, is out of the question. Some twelve or fourteen years ago,
one of my own pigs, a nice, thrifty animal of common stock, died
of this form of anthrax. It stepped back from the trough, turned
around, squealed, tumbled down, and died in less than half a minute.
In some-though still rarer-cases the termination is not quite so
rapid; the diseased animals manifest sickness, by showing symp-
toms of distress; their gait becomes unsteady and swaggering; the
visible mucous membranes appear very much reddened; the tem-
perature of the body changes from feverish heat to cold shiver-
ings, which follow each other in rapid succession. After this
stage, the sick animals frequently vomit a bloody or discolored
fluid, and usually die very soon, under convulsions. In some cases,
carbuncles or erysipelatous swellings make their appearance a short
time before death, indicating a tendency of the morbid process to
localize itself.
THE MOUTH, GUM, OR GLOSS ANTHRAX,
or malignant pustule of hogs, is one of the most acute forms of the
second group, and a comparatively rare disease.
Restlessness, loss of appetite, a distressful and staring expres-
sion of the eyes, abnormal heat in the mucous membranes of the
mouth, gnashing the teeth, and slavering, constitute the first mor-
bid symptoms, and the first indications of the presence of disease
216
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
+
and high fever. Very soon, however, (at any rate within an hour
or two), one or more, but seldom many, pustules, each the size of
a pea, or a bean, make their appearance on the tongue, the gums,
and in other parts of the mouth. These pustules, surrounded at
their base by an erysipelatous swelling, are first yellowish-white,
but change their color very soon to brown, and finally to black,
according to the changes which their fluid contents are undergoing.
The fever, at the same time, has become very severe.
These pus-
tules, if not early enough removed and destroyed, together with
their contents, will soon break and discharge their gangrenous
fluid, which will cause mortification in every tissue with which it
comes in contact. In such a case the animal will die, usually with-
in a few hours, but at any rate within a few days. As a general
rule in this, as well as all other forms of anthrax, the better the
condition of the patient, the sooner does it terminate in death.
The treatment, on account of the very acute course, and of the
peculiar seat of the disease, is difficult. The pustules have to be
opened, and emptied of their contents, by means of a small spoon
with somewhat sharp or thin edges, (one made of tin will answer
best), and the remaining sores have to be cauterized, with either
sulphuric, hydro-chloric, nitric, or carbolic acid. The opening and
destroying of the pustules, and the application of the acid, are
attended with some danger to the operator, unless he is very care-
ful not to soil his hands with the contents of the pustules. A per-
son with sores on his hands should never undertake it. The whole
operation, however, is useless, unless the pustules are opened in a
very dexterous manner, and their contents removed at once, so as
to prevent the animal from swallowing them. The general treat-
ment has to be the same as that of the foregoing forms of anthrax.
"PREVENTION.
"As to prevention, really not much remains to be said. Remov-
ing the causes, and, as the disease is contagious, separating the
healthy animals from the sick ones, and destroying the contagion
wherever it exists, by means of crude carbolic acid or with chloride
of lime-constitute the principal and most important measures of
prevention. Besides this, care must be taken, wherever it is in-
tended to improve the condition of an animal, to do so gradually—
to feed regularly at all times, and give nothing but what is healthy
and sound. That pure, clean water for drinking, is absolutely
necessary, and that troughs, sties, or pens, and yards, have to be
kept as clean and dry as possible-need to be specially mentioned.
In those sections of the country, in which the natural condition of
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
217
the soil is such as to invite a development of anthrax diseases,
where, in other words, the top soil consists of a rich humus, and
the subsoil of an impervious clay, or where sloughs and swamps
are extensive and numerous, or where the country is subject to
inundations—proper draining, thorough cultivation, drying of
the swamps and wet places, and building dykes or levees, or
digging canals, to prevent the inundations, constitute the only pre-
ventives that can be applied. Medicines, in such cases, are of no
avail; they can be used to advantage only where it becomes neces-
sary to assist the organism in ejecting waste material. Hence, the
feeding of copperas, charcoal, sulphur, saltpetre, salt, ashes, and all
the hundred and one other things, that have been recommended, is
perfectly useless, if not injurious, and has never prevented a soli-
tary case of anthrax, or so-called hog cholera. I am sure my own
Berkshires are as healthy and thrifty animals as can be found any-
where, and they never receive anything of that kind; but they are
regularly fed, have good sties, spacious yards, and, what is most
important, plenty of pure spring water to drink, and to take a bath
in, whenever they feel like it."
CHAPTER XX I.
THE SO-CALLED "HOG CHOLERA."
THE REPORT OF DR. H. J. DETMERS.
During the year 1875, and for the greater part of 1876,
there prevailed, in Missouri, a disease among swine, to an
alarming extent, which was called by the farmers "hog
cholera." The same disease, or one closely resembling it,
was´exceedingly destructive in Illinois, and other hog-
producing States. The Missouri State Board of Agricul-
ture, recognizing the fact that a disease must be under-
stood before proper curative, or even preventive means
could be employed, assigned to Dr. H. J. Detmers, Pro-
fessor of Veterinary Science in the State Agricultural
College, the duty of investigating the disease in its vari-
10
218
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
ous forms and in all its stages. His examinations were
made in different parts of the State, on both living and
dead animals, and animals with the disease in various
degrees of development were killed, to allow of post-
mortem examinations, careful inspections were made of
localities in which the disease was most prevalent, etc.
The results of his labors are embodied in a Report to the
Board, dated Sept. 8, 1876. This Report, with the ex-
ception of a few unimportant paragraphs, is here given:
"THE NATURE OF THE DISEASE.
"The morbid process presents itself in a majority of cases as a
catarrhal rheumatic, and in others as a gastric rheumatic or billious
rheumatic affection, and exhibited always more or less plainly, a
decidedly typhoid character. As a catarrhal rheumatic affection it
has its principal seat in the mucous membranes of the respiratory
passages, in the substance of the lungs, in the pulmonal pleura or
serous membrane coating the external surface of the lobes of the
lungs, in the costal pleura or serous lining of the internal surface of
the chest, in the diaphragm, and in the pericardium, or serous bag
enveloping the heart. As a gastric-rheumatic affection, the prin-
cipal seat of the disease is found in the abdominal cavity, but
especially in the liver, in the spleen or milt, in the large and small
intestines, in the kidneys and ureters, and in the peritoneum or
serous membrane lining the interior surface of the abdominal cav-
ity, and constituting the external coat of most of the organs situ-
ated in that part of the body. Hence, the name Hog Cholera is an
ill-chosen one; it tends to convey the idea that the disease in ques-
tion is similar to, or identical with, the cholera of men, which is
not the case; therefore the application 'hog cholera,' which has
already led to a great many mistakes in regard to treatment and
measures of prevention, should be abolished at once, and a more
appropriate name should take its place. As such a one I wish to
propose 'Epizootic Influenza of Swine,' for two reasons: First, the
disease in question bears, in all its morbid features, and especially
in the diversity of its forms, produced by the differences in the seat
of the morbid process, a striking resemblance to the yet well-
remembered epizootic influenza of horses, which swept the whole
country a few years ago from the Atlantic to the Pacific; second,
I admit it might be more convenient to select a name derived from
a conspicuous and characteristic symptom, or from an important
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
219
and constant morbid change-pleuro-pneumonia of swine, for
instance-if the main seat of the morbid process was always in the
respiratory organs, or invariably the same in every patient. But as
this is not the case, as the seat of the disease is found not only in
the respiratory apparatus, but also, in a large number of cases, in
the parts and organs connected with the digestive process, and, in
some cases, even in the centres of the nervous system, a name had
to be chosen that is comprehensive enough in its meanings to cover
all the different forms under which the disease is able to make its
appearance, and, at the same time, sufficiently distinct to prevent
any diagnostic confusion. As such a name I cannot think of any
that would answer better than that of Epizootic Influenza of Swine,
which, therefore, I recommend for a general adoption.
"SYMPTOMS AND MORBID CHANGES.
"As the morbid process has its seat in various organs or parts of
the body, the disease presents itself in different forms, and mani-
fests its presence by different symptoms, so that, at any rate, besides
other complications, two principal, and two subordinate, forms er
varieties must be discriminated.
1. The Catarrhal Rheumatic Forms.-This is the most frequent
of the two principal forms. The morbid process has its main scat
in the respiratory organs; the disease presents the features of a
respiratory disorder, and either the catarrhal or the rheumatic
character predominates, or both are equally developed. If the lat-
ter is the case, the whole respiratory apparatus may be found dis-
eased. If the catarrhal character is the one that is most devel-
oped, the principal seat of the disease will be found in the larynx,
in the windpipe, in the bronchial tubes, and, to a larger or smaller
extent, in the substance of the lungs; and if the rheumatic form is
the predominating one, the principal morbid changes occur in the
serous membranes of the chest, (the costal and pulmonal pleura and
the pericardium), and also, to some extent, in the tissue of the
lungs. In most cases, however, the catarrhal and the rheumatic
character are blended with each other, and the respiratory pas-
sages, the tissue of the lungs, and the serous membranes, or parts
of them, are more or less diseased.
"Animals afflicted with the catarrhal rheumatic form indicate
the presence of the disease by a short, more or less hoarse, hacking
cough—generally one of the first symptoms-by difficulty of
breathing, a panting or drawing motion of the flanks at each
breath, by holding the head in a peculiar, stretched, and somewhat
drooping position, by a slow and undecided gait, a peculiar hoarse-
220
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
ness when caused to squeal, etc. The attending fever is severe
enough to announce its presence by unmistakable symptoms, such
as accelerated pulsation, changeable temperature, etc. Some of
the sick animals show at the beginning of the disease a tendency to
vomit, and have diarrhea, while others are more or less constipated
from the first, and remain constipated till the disease is ready to
terminate in death. If the catarrhal character is the most prevail-
ing, but especially if the morbid process has developed itself prin-
cipally in the throat and in the windpipe, more or less swelling
(quinsy) will make its appearance.
"At the post mortem examination some important morbid
changes will invariably be found in the lungs. Portions of the same
have become impervious to air by being gorged with exudation. The
diseased tissue has lost its spongy feature, has become heavier, and
more solid, similar in appearance and consistency to a piece of liver
—a condition called hepatization. In some cases the diseased or
hepatized parts of the lungs present a uniform red or reddish-brown
color, and indicate that the exudation has been produced, and been
deposited in the tissue of all the diseased lobules, at the same time,
or without interruption. In other cases, the single lobules in the
diseased portions of the lungs present different colors; some are
red, some brown, and others gray or yellowish-gray, which gives
the whole hepatized part a somewhat marbled appearance, and
shows that the exudation has been produced and been deposited at
different periods. The gray hepatization, which is the oldest, and
the brown, which comes next in age, contain frequently a few
tubercles, or even here and there a small ulcer interspersed. Other-
wise neither ulceration nor suppuration has been observed. Im-
portant morbid changes are usually found also in the serous mem-
branes of the thorax. The same consist in a more or less firm coales-
cence between parts of the pulmonal pleura and the correspond-
ing parts of the costal pleura, and in an accumulation of a larger or
smaller quantity of straw-colored water or serum in the chest. In
other cases, those in which the rheumatic character has been pre-
dominating, the morbid products of the diseased serous mem-
branes are frequently very copious; the adhesion between the pul-
monal and costal pleura, or between the external surface of the
lungs and the internal surface of the walls of the thorax, is usually
very extensive; and in some cases parts of the posterior surface of
one or both lungs are found firmly united with the corresponding
parts of the diaphragm or membraneous partition which separates
the chest from the abdominal cavity. The quantity of serous ex-
udation, or straw-colored water deposited in the chest is often
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
221
very large, and the pericardium, too, contains in most cases a larger
or smaller quantity, sometimes enough to interfere seriously with
the functions of the heart, and to constitute thereby the imme-
diate cause of death. The blood is found to be thin and watery
in every case, and coagulates rapidly to a uniform, but somewhat
pale-red clot and of loose texture. Its quantity is always very small.
"2. The Gastric Rheumatic Form.-This form presents itself
not quite so often as the catarrhal rheumatic, but is fully as malig-
nant, and constitutes the second main form which the disease is
found to assume. The morbid process has its principal seat, and
produces the most important morbid changes, in some of the or-
gans situated in the abdominal cavity, but especially in the liver,
in the spleen or milt, in the kidneys, the ureters, in the intestines
or guts, and almost invariably in the peritoneum or serous mem-
brane, which lines the interior surface of the abdominal cavity,
and constitutes the external coat of nearly every intestine.
"The symptoms which present themselves while the animal is
living, differ not very essentially from those observed in the catarr-
hal rheumatic form. The short, hacking cough, characteristic of
the latter, is more or less wanting; the difficulty of breathing is
less plain; the weakness in the hind quarters, and the staggering or
unsteady gait, observed only in limited degrees in the catarrhal
rheumatic form, is more conspicuous, and the fever is fully as
high in one form as in the other.
"In severe cases, the affected animals arch their backs, or rather
the lumbal portion of the same to a very high degree, so that the
outline of the back resembles somewhat the shape of an ʊ. I ob-
served this especially in those cases in which the morbid process
has established itself in the kidneys and in the ureters, and in
which a large quantity of serous exudation, or straw-colored water,
had accumulated in the abdominal cavity.
"Animals affected with the gastric form, show usually more or
less costiveness of the bowels. The dung is of the consistency of
shoemaker's wax, and is voided in small, irregular-shaped balls,
which are usually coated with a layer of grayish or discolored mu-
Still, if the disease is near its fatal termination, the consti-
pation, in many cases, gives way to a profuse and fetid diarrhoea,
which may be looked upon, in every instance, as a very fatal sign,
and a forerunner of death.
cus.
"The principal morbid changes, as I have found them, are as
follows: 1. Degeneration of the liver, brought about by a copious
exudation infiltrated into the tissue of that organ. Such a degen-
222
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
}
eration, although not a constant morbid change, is found quite
often. In some, not very frequer cases, a few tubercles, and in
others, still less frequent, even a few very small abscesses, have
been found imbedded in the diseased substance of the liver. 2.
Morbid enlargement of the spleen or milt. I found this change in
nearly every case. In some cases, the enlargement was not very
conspicuous, but in others the spleen was more than three times its
natural size, was perfectly gorged with blood, presented a dark
black-brown color, and was so soft that very slight pressure with
a finger was sufficient to sever its tissue. 3. In quite a large num-
ber of them I found one or both kidneys diseased, enlarged, and
presenting an inflamed appearance. In one case, both kidneys and
both ureters exhibited a high degree of inflammation, and consid-
erable gangrenous destruction. The latter, however, was probably
not a consequence of the disease; the animal had been drenched
repeatedly with oil of turpentine, and was the only one in which
I found any gangrene. In another animal, which, by the way, was
already convalescent, and was killed by bleeding, I found one kid-
ney enlarged to three times its natural size, its pelvis very much
distended, and its funnel-shaped ureter dilated to such an extent,
where it proceeds from the kidney, as to present a diameter nearly
one inch and a half. The walls of the ureter were very thick and
callous, especially at the anterior, funnel-shaped end, and the lat-
ter contained in its interior a semi-solid, fibrous substance, which
occupied the whole cavity, and extended even into the kidney. 4.
In some cases, I found the membranes of the intestines, or guts,
but especially those of the jejunum or small intestine, of the cœcum
and colon, or larger intestines, and also the rectum, in a more or
less inflamed and degenerated condition. In two cases, a whole
convolution of the jejunum had united to an almost solid bunch.
On opening the latter, I found, in each case, all three membranes,
but particularly the external or serous membrane, and the internal
or mucous membrane, very much swelled and degenerated, the
passage nearly closed, and in a small cavity in the centre of the
bunch, one or two large round worms (Echinorhynchus gigas) im-
bedded. In another case I found, besides other morbid changes,
a few round worms in the stomach, and in the mucous membrane
of the guts or intestines, a large number of callous scars, such as
are usually left behind where the gigantic Echinorhynchus, or hook-
headed worm, had been fastening itself. These three cases just
mentioned, are the only ones in which I have found any entozoa,
or worms, in the digestive canal. 5. In almost every case, I found
larger or smaller portions of the peritoneum or serous membrane
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
223
which lines the inner surface of the walls of the abdominal cavity,
and the external surface of nearly every intestine, swelled and
more or less inflamed, and mobility changed. In some cases, even
a coalescerce between parts of the intestines, especially the jejunum
and rectum, and the walls of the abdominal cavity had been
effected; in case, a part of the jejunum had become firmly united
to the lower border of the right lobe of the liver, and in another
the whole rectum adhered so firmly to the upper wall of the pelvis
and of the posterior part of the abdominal cavity that it required
the use of a knife to affect a separation. 6. I found in every ani-
mal that had been affected with the gastric rheumatic form of the
disease, a larger or smaller quantity of the straw-colored water or
serum, and small lumps and flakes of coagulated fibrine in the ab-
dominal cavity; in some cases, the quantity was quite a large one,
and in others the quantity was comparatively small.
"Two cases must be considered as subordinate forms, in which
either one of the principal forms-the catarrhal rheumatic and
gastric rheumatic-is essentially modified by being complicated
with an affection of the brain and its membranes, or with a seri-
ous disorder of the lymphatic system. Hence, two subordinate
forms have to be added.
"The perspiration-perceptible and imperceptible perspiration-
can be interrupted, or in other words, the skin can be disqualified
to perform its functions by several means; for instance, by a dis-
turbance or partial interruption of the circulation of the blood in
its capillary vessels, by congestion, inflammation or degeneration
of its tissue, or of a part of its tissue, by a closing of its pores by
mechanical means, etc. This granted, it remains to ascertain, if
those hogs and pigs which have been, or which are yet, affected
with the epizootic influenza of swine (erroneously hog cholera),
have been subjected to one or more of those just named influences,
or agencies, able to cause an interruption or partial cessation of
the perspiration. Taking these facts just as they have presented
themselves, that question must be answered in the affirmative. My
investigations and my inquiries have convinced me that in all
those hogs or pigs which have suffered from, or died of, that dis-
ease, one or more of those influences or agencies have been at
work, as I shall try to show.
“1. All animals affected with that disease-at any rate, all those
which I have seen, and I have seen a very large number—were
exceedingly lousy. Lice irritate the skin, keeping it in a semi-
inflamed condition, cause swelling, and finally a gradual degenera-
224
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
tion of its external layer, and constitute, therefore, beyond a doubt,
a cause disturbing to some extent the normal perspiration.
"2. All the hogs and pigs which have contracted the disease,
have been exposed, night and day, to all the sudden changes of
temperature and weather so frequent in our Western States. Some
of the animals have been kept in small, wet, and dirty yards, or
inclosures, without a roof to protect them; they had to suffer
during the day from the rays of the sun, and from the heat which
naturally accumulated in a small space, or lot, walled in by a tight
fence, and is constantly increased by the wet manure and other or-
ganic substances. During the night, the same animals were ex-
posed to the chilling influence of the cold night air, and frequently
very heavy dews, not to mention the effects of severe rains and
thunder storms. Further, after each heavy rain, the animals thus
kept had a chance to get their whole body covered with mud, and
the pores of their skin thoroughly closed, but an opportunity to
get rid of the mud by taking a bath in clean water, was never
given. Such influences, evidently, are very apt to cause irregular-
ities in the circulation of their blood in the capillary vessels of the
skin, and, in consequence, an interruption of the perspiration.
Other animals have been kept in comparatively large herds, and
have been allowed to run at large in the barnyard, in a so-called
hog-lot, in the woods, etc. These, too, were exposed more or less
to the burning rays of the sun during the day, but during the
night, the same, in most cases, found shelter under a corn-crib, un-
der an old stable, or an old barn, or, at any rate, in the closest and
dirtiest places, where they lacked room, and where they were often
crowded on top of each other when retiring to sleep.
As a con-
sequence, the animals became heated and perspiring; and took
cold and became chilled when they rose in the morning from this
common lair. A sudden cooling, however, or a sudden reduction
of temperature of the surface of the body, is apt to effect a con-
traction of the capillary vessels of the skin, hence diminished sup-
ply of blood, and, in consequence, a decrease or partial interruption
of the functions of the skin. The animals, thus suddenly cooled
by the cool morning air and the wet dew, become, in the course of
the forenoon, again exposed to the rays of the sun and the heat of
the day, which induces them to go into the first pool of water
—if one was accessible-to take a bath. This is all right and well
enough, because, in the summer, a hog should have access to water,
and an opportunity to take a bath as often as it desires. In all
those places, however, in which the disease has made its appear-
ance, I have found the water to which the hog had access, almost
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
225
invariably so shallow, and of such a limited quantity, that the
bathing and wallowing of one of a few animals was sufficient to
convert the same into a sticky, semi-fluid mud. Consequently, if
the berd was a large one, only a few animals--and these invariably
the stronger and most active ones-had now and then a chance to
find clean water, and to reap real benefit from taking a bath. All
others, but especially the younger and smaller animals (shotes),
were compelled to wait till the first comers were through with
their bathing, and had changed the water to mud; the former,
therefore, had scarcely ever an opportunity to clean themselves
from the mud of the preceding day, and to open the pores of the
skin by taking a bath in clean water. If they wish to take a little
cooling, they have to be satisfied with a mud-bath, and as every
new bath is a mud-bath again, the pores of the skin, as a conse-
quence, instead of being opened, will become closed more and
more effectually from day to day, until finally the perspiration will
be thoroughly interrupted, and the result, disease, will make its
appearance. It is different if the herd is a small one, for then
nearly every animal will have, sometimes, a chance to open the
pores of its skin by a bath in tolerably clean water, and the per-
spiration will not be seriously interrupted. That these directions
must be correct, can be proved by my observations, which show
that in almost every large herd, nearly all the younger and weaker
animals (shotes), have become a prey to the disease, while the large
and stronger, or most active animals, which are usually the first
ones to go to the water in the morning, when the same is yet tol-
erably clean, and which usually secure at night the best places in
the common lair, have either remained exempt, or have had the
disease in a milder form, and have mostly recovered. Finally,
small herds have either suffered fewer losses, have been less se-
verely attacked, or have remained exempt altogether.
"2. Agencies which interfere directly with the process of breathing,
and foreign substances which enter the respiratory passages. These,
too, as already indicated, are of a different character. When I
first commenced my investigation, it struck me that all these swine
-pigs, shotes, and grown hogs, of every age and description-
which run at large in the streets and thoroughfares of Kansas City,
Westport, Independence, Lexington, and other places, and lead the
most independent life possible, but do not congregate, go home in
the evening, and belong to parties who own but one, two, or may
be three animals, as also all those swine which are kept by them-
selves, either one by one, or only a few together, and, finally, all
those which are kept in comparatively small herds, in pastures,
226
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
orchards, or woods, coated everywhere with grass, and perfectly
destitute of dusty, bare ground, and of old manure heaps, are, re-
main, and have been, with rare exceptions, perfectly healthy. I
say, with rare exceptions, for it has been reported to me that a few
of these swine running at large in the streets have died, but I have
not been able to ascertain with certainty the causes of their death.
On the other hand, all those animals which have been kept in
yards, pastures, or fields, etc., which consist partially or wholly of
bare, dusty ground, or which contain heaps and accumulations of
old manure, have suffered, and are suffering severely, and the more
so the larger the herd, and the worse the dust of soil and ma-
nure. In large herds, composed of 100 head or more, the mortal-
ity has been as high as from 70 to 90 per cent; in smaller herds,
the same has been from 25 to 60 per cent, and where only a few
animals have been kept together, and consequently each animal
was compelled to inhale only the dust kicked up by itself, and oc-
casionally, by one or two others, the mortality has been very low,
has seldom exceeded 10 per cent, or no fatal cases have occurred
at all.
Further, in all those cases, in which the hogs or pigs have
been compelled to inhale, with each breath, a large quantity of
soil and manure, ground to a fine powder by the rays of the sun,
and by heat, rain, wind, tramping, and rooting, all the post mortem
examinations-and I have made a large number during the last
four weeks-have revealed as principal morbid changes a morbid
affection of the eyes, inflammation of the respiratory passages
(throat, wind-pipe, bronchial tubes), hepatization of the lungs in
various stages of development, and, in some cases, even some
tubercles, or a few small abscesses in the pulmonal tissue, while
the serous membrane (pulmonal and costal pleura, pericardium,
and peritoneum) presented themselves in a comparatively healthy
condition, except in those cases in which the causes described un-
der 1 had acted with those under discussion.
"If these facts just related are duly taken into consideration,
scarcely any doubt can remain that the constant inhalation of
powdered soil and manure constitutes one of the principal causes
of the epizootic influenza of swine.
As another noxious influence, injuring the organs of respira-
tion, may be considered the effluvia emanating from old, decom-
posing manure heaps, or farm accumulations of filth, and dirt in
pig-sties or hog-yards; but as these are only of subordinate import-
ance, I do not deem it necessasy to enter into further details.
'3. The auxiliary, or aggravating, and predisposing causes. As
such, I have to consider all the injurious agencies, or noxious in-
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
227
fluences, which are calculated to promote or to develop the typhoid
character of the disease, to weaken the constitution of the animal,
or to produce a predisposition. As belonging to this class, I have
to mention first, as having a very injurious effect upon the animal
system, an impure, foul, or filthy condition of the water for drink-
ing; and secondly, the filth and manure which the animals are
obliged to consume with their food. On most farms, the swine
are fed with corn in the ear, which, on a great many farms, is
thrown to them with great carelessness, in the very filthiest and
dirtiest places, so that scarcely a kernel of corn can be picked up
free from dirt or manure. That such a wholesale consumption
of dirt and excrements must finally undermine the constitution
of even the healthiest and most vigorous animal, and must give
to any disease that may happen to affect the same some typhoid
character, is too evident to need much explanation.
"3. The Cerebro-Rheumatic Form.-The same, though always
blended with, and in a certain degree subordinate to, one of the
two principal forms, has been observed in a large number of sick
animals. The latter, besides exhibiting all the symptoms of one or
another of the principal (catarrhal-rheumatic or bilious-rheumatic)
forms, show also plain indications of morbid affection of the
brain. These indications consist principally in partial or perfect
blindness, a very staggering gait, and aimless movements in general.
"On opening the skull, I found, invariably, more or less swell-
ing in the membranes enveloping the brain, a larger or smaller
quantity of serum deposited inside of the hard membrane (dura
mater), the substance of the brain more or less softened, and the
small cavities or ventricles of the latter organ filled with serum.
The other morbid changes found at the post mortem examinations
are the same that have been described under the head of their re-
spective form.
"4. The Lymphatic-Rheumatic Form.-The same, too, has been
observed quite often, but always as a complication of one of the
principal forms, described under 1 and 2. The whole morbid pro-
cess presents a somewhat scrofulous character. The lymphatic
system is plainly affected; tumors and ulcers showing a scrofulous
character, are found in various parts of the body, but especially
on the gums. Hence there can be no doubt that such cases, al-
though complicated and blended invariably to such an extent with
one or another of the main or principal forms, as to make it impossi-
ble to draw distinct lines, have to be looked upon as a subordinate
form, with a lymphatic character.
228
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
"I have been informed repeatedly, by reliable persons, that in
some of the sick animals cutaneous eruptions have constituted one
of the most conspicuous symptoms of the disease. If this is a
fact, it is possible that yet a fifth (erysipelatous) form has been
added. Still, I have had no chance to examine such a patient,
notwithstanding that I have seen a large number of sick animals,
exceeding, I should judge, one thousand; I am, therefore, not pre-
pared to decide whether the cutaneous eruption is a product of
the same morbid process which is at the bottom of the other mor-
bid changes, or whether the same is an independent disease, and
merely an accidental complication.
"It is probably not necessary to mention that the morbid changes
which have been described as the products or attendants of a certain
form, are but seldom found as a total in one and the same animal,
as one or more of them are usually missing, or but little developed.
Neither will it be essential to state that even the two principal
forms of epizootic influenza of swine-leaving the subordinate
forms out of consideration—are scarcely ever observed entirely
independent of each other, or without being complicated in the
least with any other form; that, on the contrary, the gastric rheu-
matic and the catarrhal rheumatic are, in many instances, blended
and complicated with each other to such an extent as to make it
impossible to decide which one has to be considered as the most
predominating. In such cases, the symptoms, too, are blended
with each other, and morbid changes, frequently of equal import-
ance, are found in both large cavities in the chest and in the ab-
domen. These facts are easily understood by any one who is at
all familiar with pathology and with morbid anatomy. The main
or fundamental character of epizootic influenza of swine is always
rheumatic, and principal seat is the system of the serous mem-
branes, abounding in every large cavity of the animal body.
Serous membranes not only line the interior of those cavities, but
constitute, also, the external coat of nearly every internal organ.
Hence it is but natural that such disease should localize in many
different parts of the animal organism, to produce, in consequence,
different morbid symptoms, and to cause different forms of disease.
It is true, that, in some cases, the disease exhibits a prevailing
catarrhal character; but if it is taken into consideration that the
causes of rheumatic affection and of catarrhal diseases are often
essentially the same, and that the seat or character of a disorder
depend, frequently, upon an individual predisposition of the ani-
mal, a further explanation will not be needed.
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
229
'THE CAUSES.
"To ascertain the causes has been my principal object. It was,
therefore, necessary to observe a large number of cases, and to
investigate the disease in different localities. This I have done,
and have come to the conclusion that some of the causes-and
I think I am not mistaken if I say the most important ones—
are of such a nature as to admit removal, notwithstanding that
they are diverse and numerous, and have their source, to a certain
extent, in the manner of farming and stock raising in the West.
Although I will not deny the possibility of an existence of certain
agencies of a so-called cosmic or telluric character, calculated to
act as a cause or to contribute to producing the disease, I must
confess I have not been able to discover anything in the whole
morbid process, or any morbid change that cannot be the product
of those noxious influences which I consider as the main, if not
the exclusive, causes of the disease, and which, in my opinion, are
well able to produce every one of those morbid changes, which I
had an opportunity to observe. Those injurious influences, or
agencies, which I am obliged to consider as the principal causes,
act in different ways, for a better survey, may be divided into two
classes.
(C
As belonging to the first class, I look upon everything that is
apt to cause an interruption of the perspiration, and in the second
class I place all such noxious influences as are able to interfere,
directly, with the process of respiration, and all such foreign sub-
stances as enter the respiratory passages, and cause, thereby, con-
gestion and inflammation of the respiratory mucous membranes
and of the tissue of the lungs. There are, also, as I have already
mentioned, some other minor causes or agencies which contribute,
in one case more, in another less, to the development of the dis-
ease, or which are able to cause the character of the same to be
more typhoid. These I will discuss under the head of aggravating
or auxiliary causes, after I shall have disposed of the main or prin-
cipal causes.
"1. Injurious influences which act as a cause of the disease, by
producing an interruption or partial cessation of the perspiration.
These influences are numerous, and of much greater importance
than one, who looks at them superficially, may be inclined to sup-
pose. The skin of an animal is a very important organ; it not
only serves as a protecting tegument, but has also other vital offices
which are scarcely of less consequence to the welfare of the ani-
mal organism than those of the lungs. The skin discharges,
230
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
through its pores, a large amount of wasted material, gaseous and
fluid, and absorbs æriform and fluid substances from the outside
world. Consequently, it may be looked upon as an organ whose
duty it is to supplement the functions of several other organs, but
especially those of the lungs and of the kidneys. To ascertain
the effect of a total interruption of the functions of the skin upon
the animal organism, interesting experiments have been made by
Bouley, Magendie, Gerlach, and others. A complete interruption
was brought about by covering the skin of various animals with
an air-tight coat of varnish, grease, or tar, and the results, accord-
ing to Gerlach, have been as follows: 'Accelerated pulsation, extra-
ordinary fullness of the arteries until an increased discharge of
urine made its appearance, somewhat accelerated breathing, trem-
bling of the whole body, rapid emaciation, great debility, aug-
mented secretion of an albuminous urine of gall (bilifulvin and
bitiverdin), and a decrease of the animal temperature. The latter,
however, became not very conspicuous before the animal had be-
come emaciated and was near dying. The animals (horses) so
treated died in three to ten days.' Pigs coated all over with
grease, for the purpose of killing lice, died within a week, and
showed the same symptoms.
"2. The office of the skin, at least so far as the processes of eli-
mination and absorption are concerned, bears also a very close rela-
tion to the functions of the diverse serous and mucous membranes.
It is true, if the skin is disqualified to perform its allotted duties,
or if the latter are interrupted by some means, the same will par-
tially be performed, but partially only, by those organs named, the
lungs and the kidneys, which, in such a case, will make extraordi-
nary efforts to maintain the equilibrium in the organic change of
material, as indispensable to the preservation of health. Still, as
I have said, these organs, in addition to their own duties, can only
partially perform the functions of the skin; certain parts of the
wasted material, constantly produced, will not be discharged, but
will remain in the organism. The lungs, the kidneys, the serous
and the mucous membranes, if I may use the expression, will be
overburdened, and the consequence will be that just those organs
will be the first ones that become diseased, or that will have to
suffer from over-exertion, and from the injurious effects necessa-
rily produced by a retention of wasted material in the organism,
and by a constant loss of organic compounds that cannot be spared.
That such a loss is taking place, if the perspiration is interrupted,
has been proved by the experiments of Professor Gerlach, which
shows that the urine, in such a case, carries off albumen. Fur-
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
231
ther, that such an interruption must necessarily produce a disturb-
ance in the circulation of the blood, which results in an extraordi-
nary flow of blood to those organs-lungs, kidneys, etc.-burdened
with increased functions, and constitutes in that way a cause of
congestion and subsequent inflammation, is too evident to need
any further explanation. At any rate, these facts will be very plain
to any one who has ever suffered from any cold.
"6
Finally, I wish to say a few words in regard to a hygienic mis-
take committed on almost every farm in the West. I refer to the
practice of feeding the swine almost exclusively with corn, a prac-
tice which certainly is not calculated to produce healthy and vig-
orous animals, but which necessarily must result, as I shall try to
show, in weakening the organism, and in creating a predisposition
to disease. How much or how little this practice has contributed
to produce the now-prevailing epizootic influenza of swine, I am
not prepared to decide. I have, however, reasons to suppose that
this practice has not been without influence. The organism of a do-
mestic animal is composed of about fifteen or twenty elements, or
undecomposable constituents of matter, united to numerous organ-
ic compounds. A constant change of matter is taking place, and
a part of these elements, in the form of organic compounds, is
constantly wasted, and carried off by the various processes of se-
cretion and excretion. The organism, therefore, in order to remain
healthy, and maintain its normal composition, must receive, from
time to time, an adequate supply of those elements, contained in
suitable or digestible organic compounds, so as to cover the con-
tinual logs, and, if the animal is young, to produce growth and
development. The simplest way to introduce the elements into
the animal organism is to give food which contains them in nearly
the right proportions. A few of these elements besides hydrogen
and oxygen, are sometimes in the form of suitable compounds,
contained in limited, though very seldom sufficient, quantities in
the water for drinking; for instance, calcium (in the form of lime),
iron, etc. One important element-oxygen-enters the organism,
also, in large quantities through the lungs and through the skin,
but all others have to be introduced wholly, or almost wholly,
in the form of food. Almost all kinds of fluid, however, milk
perhaps excepted, lack some important elements of their composi-
tion, contain others in insufficient quantities, and still others in
greater abundance than required. Therefore, if such a kind of
food is given exclusively-corn, for instance,—which is destitute
of some of the mineral elements, and contains only an insufficient
quantity of nitrogenous compounds, which are of so great an im-
232
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
portance in the animal organization, irregularities and disorders in
the exercise of the various functions, and imperfect development
of certain parts and organs, will be the unavoidable results.
One may ask, if the causes of the diseases are of such an ordi-
nary character, how can it be possible that it has become such an
extensive epizooty ?—The answer is not very difficult, and an ex-
planation is easily given. At first, notwithstanding the most
diligent search and patient inquiry, I have not been able to dis-
cover any injurious influences or agencies of a general character
besides those enumerated, which, possibly, might have acted as a
cause. Secondly, the treatment or the keeping of the swine is es-
sentially everywhere the same in all the Western States. The
causes mentioned are, therefore, of a sufficiently universal charac-
ter to produce an epizootic disease. Our western farmer, as a gen-
eral rule, careless enough, if possible, in his treatment and care of
his horses and cattle, usually thinks a hog is only a "hog;
get along with "hoggish" treatment, delights in nastiness, filth,
and dirt of any description; does not need a dry, comfortable,
and clean resting place during the night, nor clean and fresh water
for drinking and bathing; nor shade and shelter against the burn-
ing rays of a western sun, against cold dews of the morning, or
the sudden changes of weather and temperature in general.
•
can
Somebody may object, and may say, if the principal causes of
the disease have their sources in the manner in which the swine
are raised and provided for, which does not differ essentially from
what has been since the country was first settled, how then does it
happen, or how can it be explained, that the disease did make its
appearance as an epizooty only a few years ago, and not immedi-
ately among the swine of the first settlers, or while the country
was yet new, and is now increasing in violence from year to year?
This question is not difficult to answer. While the country was
new, pig-sties, hog-yards, hog-lots, and pastures, and the places
which contained the water for drinking and bathing were not yet
contaminated and impregnated to such an extent as they are now
with filth and excrement; bare and dusty ground was less abund-
ant, and the number of swine kept together; on one dry place, as a
general rule, was a great deal smaller. The disease will increase
in malignancy and spread in the same proportion in which dung
and dirt is allowed to accumulate, and in which the size of the
herds is increased.
“A great many farmers believe, nay, hold themselves convinced,
that the epizootic influenza of swine is a contagious disease, and
they have kindly furnished me facts which, I admit, point very
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
233
•
strongly that way. To tell the truth, I am not yet prepared to
decide that question, because such a decision requires numerous
experiments, and these I have not been able to make. Still I am
inclined to think the epizootic character, or the fearful spreading
of the disease, can be explained satisfactorily without the existence
of a contagion. The fact that the hogs and pigs running at large
in the streets of the cities, with a few exceptions, are healthy, and
remain exempted from the disease, goes far to show that the latter
is not communicated by a contagion, as animals leading such a
vagabond life are, as a general rule, much more exposed to the
influence of contagions than any others.
66 'DURATION OF THE MORBID PROCESS.
"In some cases the disease has had a fatal termination within
two days after the first plain symptoms of sickness have made their
appearance, and a few cases have been reported to me, in which the
animals have died within six or twelve hours; but I am inclined
to think the first symptoms have escaped observation-a very com-
mon occurrence in diseases of swine. The average duration of
the disease may be set down as from five to fifteen days. Still some
animals have been sick from three to six weeks, but most of them
have recovered, and then a part of that time belongs to the stage
of convalescence. Or if the patients have died, the duration of
the disease has been protracted by relapses.
66
PREVENTION.
"The measures of prevention consist in removing the causes as
enumerated above. If this is done, no other special treatment will
be required to ward off the disease, and no medicine will be needed.
To give medicine to a healthy animal is, under all circumstances, a
bad practice, fraught with injury, and should not be done, unless
it is intended to destroy injurious influences. To use medicine for
the purpose of strengthening the constitution of an animal, is simply
folly, as just the opposite will be the result. But to the point: I
am confident the epizootic influenza of swine, or the disease im-
properly called hog cholera, will cease to make its appearance, or, at
any rate, will become a very rare occurrence, and will lose its epi-
zootic character, if, first, every large herd of swine is divided into
several small herds, or lots, each containing about three or four
animals; if, secondly, each lot is provided with a comfortable pen
or place to sleep in, which is free from filth, dust, and manure, is
well ventilated, and provided with a good roof; if, thirdly, every
hog or pig has access, several times a day, or as often as tempera-
234
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
ture, weather, and circumstances require, to fresh and clean water
for drinking and bathing, either in a large trough or in a brook,
creek, or streamlet; if, fourthly, no filth, manure, or dirt, is allowed
to accumulate in any of the sties, yards, hog-lots, or pastures, in
which the hogs or pigs are kept; and if, finally, hogs and pigs
receive always a suitable variety of sound healthy food, which is
not soiled with dirt or manure. I know very well some farmers
will be dissatisfied with my advice, and would have preferred to be
sent to the drug store for medicines. Others would think to com-
ply with my prescription will be too much trouble altogether, and
some of them may say: 'If we can not keep our hogs any more in
the old 'hoggish' fashion, but must treat them like animals ought
to be treated, we prefer to keep no hogs at all.' Very well, if they
do not keep any hogs, they certainly will not lose any, and their
neighbors, who continue to raise swine, and take proper care of
them, will be the gainers in a two-fold respect. At first they will
reap the benefit from the scarcity of hogs thus produced, and,
secondly, they will be amply repaid by their swine for the care
bestowed upon them. At any rate, it will pay much better for any
one to raise, for instance, fifty hogs, to keep them well in every
respect, to lose none, and to develop them to first-class animals,
(so-called 'Philadelphia' hogs), than to raise 100 or 200 head, to keep
them 'hoggish,' to lose more than fifty to seventy per cent, and to
produce animals that figure as 'scalawags' in the market reports.
Moreover, the amount of food that is needed to produce 200 pounds
of inferior, and frequently unhealthy, pork-if the pig is kept on a
manure heap in the barn-yard, or in any nasty hog-lot, and in the
old common way and careless fashion-will produce 300 pounds of
good healthy, and palatable pork, if the keeping of the animal is
always in strict accordance with hygienic laws. If the latter are
never violated, the epizootic influenza of swine, I am sure, will not
make its appearance; but if the mode of keeping swine is not
changed the disease will increase in frequency and in malignancy
from year to year.
66
TREATMENT.
"The treatment may be divided into two parts-a hygienic and
a medical treatment. The former includes a removing of causes,
and is alike in many, or even in most, diseases, of the greatest im-
portance. The sick animal must be separated from the herd, and
must be provided with a clean, dry, and well ventilated resting
place, which is not exposed to drafts of air, and which affords
otherwise sufficient protection against heat, cold, and wet. The
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
235
same, further, must have, besides pure air to breathe, clean water
to drink, and healthy and easily digestible food to eat. If the sick
animals are thus treated, and the causes promptly removed, a great
many sick animals (provided, of course, they are not too far gone)
will be saved by proper medical treatment; but if these directions
are not complied with, even the best medical treatment will be of
very little avail. As to the use of medicines, I would recommend
to give to each patient at the beginning of the disease a good
emetic, composed either of powdered White Hellebore (Veratrum
album), or of Tartar Emetic in a dose of about one grain for each
month the sick animal is old, if the same is of fair size, but not
exceeding sixteen to twenty grains, even if the animal is full-
grown or several years old. The emetic is easily administrated by
mixing it with a piece of boiled potato, or, if White Hellebore is
chosen, (which I consider as preferable), by sprinkling it on the
surface of a small quantity of milk. Boiled potato or milk will
not be refused by any hog unless the patient is already very sick,
or far gone, and in that case it will be too late to give an emetic.
After the medicine has taken effect, the animal will appear to be
very sick, and will try to hide itself in a dark corner, but in about
two or three hours will make its appearance again, and will be will-
ing, in most cases at least, to accept a little choice food, for instance,
a boiled potato, a little milk, etc. At that time it will be advisable
to give again a small dose of medicine, consisting either of a few
grains (two or three, to a full-grown animal, and to a pig in pro-
portion) of Tartar Emetic, or of the same amount of Calomel, also
mixed with a piece of boiled potato; or, if appetite should not have
returned, mixed with a pinch of flour and a few drops of water,
and formed into small round pills. A sick hog, I will remark here,
should not be drenched with medicine under any circumstances,
for a drench given by force is very apt to pass down the windpipe
into the lungs as soon as the animal squeals, and frequently causes
instant death. The Tartar Emetic is to be preferred, if the disease
has its principal seat in the respiratory organs, or presents itself
in its catarrhal rheumatic form; and the Calomel deserves prefer-
ence if the gastric, or bilious rheumatic form is prevailing, and
especially if the liver is seriously affected. Either medicine may
be given in such doses as have been mentioned, two or three
times a day, for several days in succession, or till a change for the
better will be plainly visible. It may also be advisable (but par-
ticularly if the typhoid character of the disease is very manifested)
to mix for each hog or pig, now and then, a few drops of Carbolic
Acid with the water for drinking, or with the slop. Animals that
236
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
are convalescent, and have been reduced very much by the disease,
and are yet weak, should receive, mixed with their food, small
doses of Sulphate of Iron, (copperas), say from five to twenty grains,
according to age and size, but the use of iron must be discontinued
if the patient becomes constipated, or if the excrements turn black.
Those convalescents in which the morbid process has produced
considerable hepatization of the lungs, will be benefited by giving
them repeatedly small doses (from ten to fifty grains) of purified
Carbonate of Potash, for the purpose of promoting the absorption
of the exudation deposited in the tissue of the lungs.
Externally, a good counter-irritant, or blister, applied on both
sides of the chest, and composed of Cantharides or Spanish flies
and Oil (one ounce of the former to four ounces of the latter con-
stitutes the proportion), boiled together over a moderate fire for
half an hour, or in a water-bath for half an hour, will produce a
very beneficial result, especially in those cases in which the serous
membranes of the chest constitute the principal seat of the morbid
process. In most cases one application will be sufficient, provided
the oil is thoroughly rubbed in and the disease has not made pro-
gress too far. If the first application should fail to raise a good
blister (swelling and exudation), a second one may be made the
next day. In those cases, however, in which the morbid process
has made too much headway, or has wrought too much destruc-
tion of tissue to admit recovery, the counter-irritant will produce
no blister and no swelling whatever, a fact which constitutes a
valuable prognostic symptom, for it indicates that the vitality of
the animal is already very low, and that a further treatment will
be of no avail. Fontanelles or Setons have nearly the same effect
as a vesicatory or fly-blister, but act slower, and are less reliable,
and may otherwise cause some damage, on account of the typhoid
character of the disease, by weakening the constitution of the
animal."
In a communication from Dr. Detmers, dated Novem-
ber 30th, 1876, he says:
"Calling every disease of swine hog cholera,' has
caused a great deal of mischief, and the sooner that name
can be abolished the better.
"Anthrax diseases are entirely different from what I
found in Missouri," [described in foregoing report].
"There is nothing in common but the epizootic char-
acter."
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
237
CHAPTER XXII.
SO-CALLED "HOG CHOLERA."
Dr. N. H. Paaren, Veterinary Editor of the National
Live Stock Journal, in noticing sundry newspaper ac-
counts of fearful ravages of "Hog-Cholera," in Missouri
and Illinois in the autumn of 1870, writes to the Journal
as follows in regard to this much dreaded scourge:
“***The different forms in which anthrax fever develops itself,
manifest different symptoms, among which the following are some
of the most prevalent: The animals suddenly appear dull, sepa-
rating themselves from the herd; and totally refusing food and
water, they seek dark places, or dig themselves beneath the litter,
or into the ground. Symptoms of colic and a disposition to rest
on the belly are amongst the signs indicating abdominal pain.
Diarrhoea soon sets in; also occasional violent retching and vomit-
ing. The animal is not able to move freely, on account of weak-
ness in the hind quarters-it staggers, and at last, paralyzed, it can-
not move. Deglutition is interfered with, and the breathing is
difficult. Painful swellings occur around the throat, extending
downwards to the chest, which swelling is hard, hot, and painful.
There is also frothing at the mouth and a painful cough, and ap-
pearance of boils. Sometime before death a discoloration of the
skin appears on the neck, the ears, the back, under the belly, or
the inside of the hind extremities, which discoloration, from being
at the beginning of a bright-red or purple color, at the last stages
of the disease attains a dark-bluish or black color. The visible
membranes of the mouth and nose attain a dark livid color, and
the mucous membranes of the eyelids and the white front of the
eye become dark-red. Death occurs often very suddenly, and in
most cases within twelve hours to two or three days. Recovery
is seldom, and generally very slow, if ever complete.
"Post-mortem examinations reveal, in all cases, the most un-
mistakable signs of the true nature of this disease. Putrefaction
sets in very quickly. The membranes of the nose, mouth, and
rectum, are of a dark color. Dark bloody fluid is often observed
to ooze from the nose and the rectum. The capillaries and small
veins of the skin, as also the tissue under the skin, are of a dark
color, and overfilled with dark blood. The bacon, diminished in
238
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
quantity, is soft, sometimes of a yellowish color, and blood-stained.
In animals that die suddenly, the brain and the spinal cord are
found overfilled with blood. On opening the abdominal cavity, a
most disagreeable and fetid odor escapes; the stomach, the in-
testines, the liver, and the spleen, are overfilled with blood and
yellow serum. The spleen, especially, is large, soft, of a dark
color, and overfilled with blood; and the organs of the chest are
'congested or studded with blood spots. The blood is in a state of
dissolution, is of a very dark color, and does not coagulate perfectly.
The causes of the disease are obscure; but as it is more preva-
lent in low and undrained localities than on high and well-drained
soil, it is considered to be due mainly to miasmatic and malarious
emanations. Confinement in filthy sties, impure drinking water,
and want of change in food, etc., are also amongst the causes.
We are convinced that many animals of this class are annually
lost from the effects of improper food, or from living in an atmos-
phere surcharged with poisonous effluvia, the product of animal
or vegetable decomposition. Decomposing substances, both animal
and vegetable, corn that has undergone a change from long keep-
ing or exposure to damp, and which is loaded, perhaps, with the
sporules of poisonous fungi, brine from the meat tub-these and
other similar substances are often given to pigs as food, and in
many instances have been known to cause very great losses.
Much that we have seen convinces us of the necessity of more
attention being paid to the quality of the food of these animals
than is generally being done, and also to the nature of their lodg-
ings, as well as the air they breathe.
"The treatment is most unsatisfactory, owing to the acute nature
of the disease; in fact, all remedies are useless when not admin-
istered as soon as the first symptoms appear. When the disease
breaks out in a herd, the animals should be kept on low diet, have
plenty of exercise and fresh air. In the early stage of the disease
cold water sluicings, often repeated, have proved beneficial, and,
so has the method of burying in the earth in a cool and dark
place. For this purpose a hole is dug, sufficiently large and deep
to admit Mr. Pork sidewise, (the legs being previously tied with a
soft straw band); the body is then covered with a sufficient quanti-
ty of earth and grass turf, leaving the head free; and in order to
support the head, a grass turf is laid under the snout. Before
burial, several injections, consisting of cold water with vinegar,
are thrown into the rectum. In order to keep the surrounding
earth constantly cool, cold water is, every half hour, to be let on
it. The animal remains thus buried until it recovers, which, in
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
239
successful cases, happens within six, twelve, or eighteen hours.
Hog cholera is treated in many different ways, each having its
advocates; some people have seen good effects from bleeding in
the earliest stages of this disease. Emetics and purgatives, in
connection with lukewarm injections of salt water with vinegar,
are very strongly recommended. In the beginning of the disease,
success has also attended the administration of an emetic, such as
White Hellebore and Ipecacuanha, of each two parts; Tartar Emetic
one part; mix and give a small pig a scruple, and a larger one
half a drachm, thrown dry upon the root of the tongue; this to
be followed up by purgatives and clysters. Purgative to consist
of Epsom Salts, one, two or three ounces, according to the size,
and age of the animal, administered in broth or swill from a
bottle. Exercise, fresh air, and sluicing the animal over with
cold water are measures to be recommended. Animals that re-
cover, unless well treated, continue to suffer from partial paralysis,
or from rheumatic inflammation of the joints.
"As ' an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of
cure,' a few remarks concerning this may not be out of place.
First of all, avoid, as far as possible, all causes of this malady.
Never keep sick and sound animals together; adopt remote
separation and close watching. Keep the animals on spare allow-
ance of well-cooked animal food, wholesome diet, fresh and clear
water, fresh air and good litter; in fact, cleanliness in every re-
spect is the best preventive against the disease. A few large
pieces of rock salt, as well as charcoal, should be kept in the hog
pen. Let the hogs have plenty of fresh water, but never run
them to and from watering. Don't compel your hogs to drink
snow water, if better water is procurable. In hot summer time,
keep the hogs under shelter during the hottest hours of the day,
especially if hog cholera is prevailing; during which hours, if
practicable, and after the hogs are cooled off, give them a good
sluicing with cold water, which repeat before letting them out in
the afternoon. Unripe fruit and sour milk and water is a good
diet in hot weather, but the hogs should not be given more than
they can eat at one meal. Besides this, it is advisable, where and
when hog cholera exists, to give an occasional emetic. During an
existing epidemic, let them vomit every eight days. The best
emetic for the hog is White Hellebore, of which give each hog,
according to its size, from ten to twenty grains finely powdered.
It is best given in the morning, early, before feeding. Mix the
doses for each hog in a bucket, with some sour milk, and let him
drink it. During that day keep the hogs at home, under shelter,
240
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
and feed sparingly with some sour milk or unripe fruit. As it is a
matter of great importance to keep the bowels in good order, give
occasionally some Saltpetre in the drinking water during the fol-
lowing seven days; and-let us repeat it-the hogs must have
plenty of fresh and clean water. Prevention by cleanliness and
comfort, release from restraint of pens, and the use of salt, tar,
coal, ashes, sulphur, etc., have numerous testimonials of efficacy.
“When a destructive disease threatens the animals, and, through
them, the most valuable section of our national wealth, it should
be the duty of all concerned to obey the dictates of science and
experience in order to avert danger and loss. But it must be con-
fessed that to obtain successful results individual efforts go for
little. It is on the strict observance of sanitary laws, and to the
wise measures prescribed by authority, that reliance must be
placed. In the words of an eminent medical writer, 'The day has
gone past for an isolated individual or craft to avert pestilence, as
Empedocles did when he shut out the sirocco by stopping a moun-
tain-gap, and removed intermittent fevers by changing the course
of the river Hypsa.' These large and beneficient operations are
in our day reserved for Governments; and our duty is to urge
upon Government, by means of our governing bodies, the necessity
of undertaking the prevention of epidemic diseases, both among
men and animals, to point out the best modes of securing this
prevention, and to see that these measures, when become law, are
properly carried out. The prevention of epizootic diseases among
our domestic animals should be regarded as a political question,
involving more or less the well-being of the whole community;
not merely affecting those who own or who endeavor to derive
profit from rearing animals, but also affecting the public at large,
as regards health, the supply of food, and other essentials. In the
extension of a disease of this kind, not only is there loss to the
individuals who possess the animals, but also to the public, who
have not only a diminished quantity or more expensive supply of
food, but also often incur the risk of obtaining it of an inferior or
injurious quality, or are otherwise inconvenienced.
Almost all the diseases of swine seem to be popularly resolved
into 'hog cholera.' Of all diseases of domestic animals, those of
this genus are evidently less thoroughly understood than those of
any other farm stock. Ideas on the subject are in a singular state
of confusion, and remedies are countless in number, and most in-
congruous in character. If the symptoms were accurately noted,
it would probably be found that several kinds of 'hog cholera'
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
241
-as every prevalent disease of the hog appears to be called-are
uniting in the mischief produced.
Agricultural stock suffers serious neglect. We venture to assert
that ninety per cent of the domestic animals of the farm which
suffer from disease throughout the United States annually, are
never seen by Veterinary Surgeons. It is most singular that the
Americans, who have manifested the greatest activity in the pro-
motion of science and the useful arts, have never been able to
found a thoroughly efficient Veterinary College. We number
among ourselves but few Veterinarians; and most of them-we
may say nearly all-have been induced to leave Europe. Is it to
be wondered at that our live stock are cut down by disease in a
most disastrous manner? Is it to be wondered at that we are now
asking how we may remedy an evil which is found to be of far
greater importance than we ever before imagined ?
Indeed, the ignorance of those who hold foremost positions
amongst us on the subject of the amount of disease in the country
-the Department of Agriculture, especially-can only be explain-
ed by the fact that if we do not search for information regarding
mortality amongst stock, we are not in the way of gleaning it at
all. Disease is raging frightfully without intermission. Truth
must prevail in the end, and no better conformation of what we
have said can be obtained than that derived from the state of
anxiety and alarm which now exists throughout many portions of
our country, where mortality amongst stock is among the daily
records of our newspapers the whole year round.
Examples and estimates, after all, give but a slender idea of the
devastation, misery, embarrassment and loss that has been, and is
due, in very great measure, to the ignorance, apathy and neglect
shown by those in authority. We speak but the sentiment of the
stock owners and breeders of the country, when we express our
earnest regret that the Department of Agriculture pays so little
attention to the investigation of the causes and character of the
diseases of our domestic animals, in which the interests of all
classes of agriculturists are so largely concerned. In view of the
great importance of this matter, the great interests at stake, and
the prevalence of epidemic diseases among our domestic animals
throughout this vast country, it is simply astonishing that the
Department of Agriculture contents itself with gathering in the
statistics of mortality, utterly neglecting the most important ob-
ject of recommending or providing remedial means, or institute
proper scientific investigations for the benefit of the sufferers and
the public at large."
11
242
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
James Law, Professor of Veterinary science in Cornell
University, gives the following as the causes, symptoms,
and treatment of hog cholera.
"The period of incubation is from seven to fourteen days, but
is less in a hot climate.
(6
Causes.-Contagion, privation, starvation, confinement, filth, etc.
Symptoms.-General ill health, shivering, fever, great dullness,
prostrating fever, hides under litter, lies on belly, weakness of
hind limbs, and later of the fore limbs, rapid, weak pulse, dry
snout covered by blood-stained spots, which also cover the skin,
eyes, etc., often a hard cough, little or no appetite, intense thirst,
tender abdomen. After death, blood-staining infiltrations into
lungs and bowels, ulcers on bowels.
Treatment.-Give cooling, acid drinks, Buttermilk, Sulphuric
Acid, etc.; feed soft, mucilaginous food, such as Oil-cake. Ad-
minister twenty drops of Perchloride of Iron twice a day. Blister
the abdomen by means of Mustard and Turpentine; stimulate if
very prostrate.
"Prevention.-Avoid all debilitating conditions, poor or spoiled
food; keep animals constantly thriving. Feed Charcoal or Ashes,
also Tar or Carbolic Acid. Avoid contact with disease. Burn in-
fected piggeries and remove to a new place.”
In further comments on the disease Prof. Law says:
"Examples, which might be very greatly extended, imply that
a sound mixed diet is of great importance in maintaining a healthy
activity of the various organic functions, and a vigor to a large
extent antagonistic to this and other diseases, and that a somewhat
similar immunity may be secured by the use of tonics, antiscep-
tics, and gently stimulating agents. But if we rest our faith upon
any or all of these as sure cures or preventives, we shall only pave
the way for disappointment whenever the disease takes on an un-
usually malignant type. Thus, in spite of the protective power
of a partially milk diet, as above mentioned, how often does the
disease prevail most disastrously in the herds of cheese and butter
factories, and, notwithstanding the good effects of an occasional
meal of flesh, we find the most extensive losses among pigs that
are largely carnivorous, (flesh eating), in their habits.
"Keep your hogs clean is good advice. Protect them from the
hot, reeking bed of manure and close sleeping place, where the
emanations from decomposing dung, urine, straw and other organic
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
243
matter are added to those of their own skins and lungs when
huddled together in great numbers. See that both food and water
are clean, in the sense of being free from disease germs, and from
the microscopic particles of decomposing organic matter, which,
within the system as well as outside of it, furnish appropriate food
for the disease, poison, and favor its increase, while they depress
the vital powers and lessen the chances of the virus being thrown
off. No less important is the purity of the air, since the delicate
membrane of the lungs, perhaps more than any other, furnishes
an easy mode of entrance for any injurious external matter. Final-
ly, purity of the blood can only be maintained by a healthy
functional activity of all the vital organs, which insures the per-
fect elaboration of every plastic constituent of the blood, and the
excretion of all waste matters that have already served their pur-
pose in the system. By perfect cleanliness, the poison, even if gen-
erated or introduced, will be virtually starved out as surely as an
army in a closely besieged fortress. But it will be observed that
this implies the separation of sound from diseased animals, and the
free use of disinfectants, (solutions of sulphate of iron and chloride
of lime, fumes of burning sulphur, etc.), to purify the air and other
surrounding objects, as well as the simple clearing away of filth. And
it is here that the pork-raisers are most frequently at fault. Fifty
or a hundred pigs are allowed to crowd together in a filthy manure
heap, a rotten straw stack, or under a barn subjected to the drop-
pings of other animals, as well as their own products. Their
feeding troughs and drinking water are so supplied that they can
get into them with their filthy feet, and they must devour the
most obnoxious matter or starve. If, under this abuse, disease is
developed, the healthy are left with the sick, as 'they will all have
it any way,' and the result is usually a clean sweep. When hog
cholera exists, the sick should be placed by themselves under a
special attendant, and under the free use of disinfectants; the
healthy should be carefully watched, and on the first sign of ill-
ness, as increased temperature, to be ascertained by the introduc-
tion of a clinical thermometer into the rectum, they should be at
once taken from the herd and carefully secluded. This, with
active disinfection, will enable the owner to cut short an cutbreak.
and save perhaps the great majority of an already infected herd,
Again, the sale of animals from an infected stock, to be removed
from the premises alive, should be severely punished, and the dis-
infection of the buildings where the sick have been, should be
made imperative. We shall obtain the greatest success with this
disease when we treat it as a contagious malady, and whenever it
244
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
is found to exist, give our main attention to prevent the further
generation and dissemination of the poison."
The following is collated from the correspondence of
the Prairie Farmer, and coming direct from men em-
phatically practical, it is well worthy consideration. Mr.
John S. Bowles, of Hamilton, Ohio, writing to that
journal in November, 1872, for information about Hog
Cholera, says:
"I will now describe the disease of which my hogs are dying,
and of which a great portion of the hogs in this vicinity are also
dying.
"The first symptom is a dullness or sleepiness in the actions of
the hog. He walks to his food instead of running. He holds his
head down within two or three inches of the ground, and should
he raise it, he holds it slightly to one side. He eats his food as
though he had no appetite for it. He does not lie down with his
fellow hogs, but mopes about, lying by himself, often in the sun
instead of the shade. After the disease progresses a little, the hog
refuses to eat altogether. His ears swell. Sometimes a little pur-
ple-colored blood will run from his nose. Sometimes, but not in
the majority of cases, he will have a diarrhoea. If he is a white
hog, his ears and the lower part of his throat and between his
fore legs turn to a purple hue. Sometimes he dies in two days, and
sometimes he lingers for two weeks. The latter part of his illness
he heaves at his flanks, having what is called the 'Thumps.' He
is also very weak in his hind quarters. When he is driven up he
starts with a squeal, as though much frightened, and runs off reel-
ing on his hind legs, with his nose nearly down to the ground.
"This season is the first one I have ever been troubled with hog
cholera, and I have every reason to believe the disease originated
on my own farm.
"There were diseased hogs all through the neighborhood for
two months previous to mine taking the disease, but I do not think
mine had any contact with any of them, or in fact with any hogs
but their fellows.
"The disease broke out in my hogs in a field which has a stream
of spring water running through it. It is an old sugar camp, nine-
tenths cleared, but the hogs could be in the shade all the time if
they wished.
"The rest of the field, where there were no sugar trees, is a clover
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
245
pasture. There was no filthy beds, or pens, or bad water in the
case-on the contrary, quite the reverse.
At the same time I had 44 hogs taken from the same lot as
these store hogs, that were in three board pens, side by side. These
hogs were being fed all the old corn they would eat, and had been
up about three weeks when the others took the cholera. Although
they lay considerably in their own filth, and had a large manure
heap on one side of them, none of them took the cholera; for four
weeks it broke out among their adjoining fellows, and until 18
of them had died. Now one (only), of the fattening hogs is sick.
"The hogs in which the disease broke out had been on clover
pasture, alone, during the early part of the summer. As I had
more hogs than clover, I soon fed them three ears of corn per day,
each. After harvest, I turned the hogs on the wheat and barley
stubble, and quit feeding them corn. When the stubble gave out,
I commenced feeding the hogs three stalks of grain corn per day
each, corn being just out of the milk.
"There was then abundance of clover pasture as all my stub-
bles were sown with clover. I wanted, however, to keep my hogs
in the same condition they were until my new crop of corn was
sufficiently ripened to feed them for fattening.
"In about two weeks they commenced dying, and out of about
99, averaging 160 to 170 pounds, I have lost 19, and several more
are sick. Thinking the green corn had something to do with the
disease, I sold 41 of the healthiest to a neighboring distillery, and
went to feeding the remainder with dry old corn. They seem to
do better since I changed their diet-that is, they do not die so fast.
I have an idea that green corn, second growth clover, etc., have
a tendency to excite the disease, though I think the primary cause
is something similar to malaria.
"C
"Can you give me any information on the subject?
"N. B.-Besides the 19 hogs, averaging 160 lbs., I have lost
about 20 spring pigs, and 30 odd sucking pigs."
In a later issue, "A. M. W.," of Odin, Illinois, says:
"In your issue of last Saturday is a communication asking the
experience and advice of other farmers as to hog cholera. I have
been keeping hogs ever since the disease first began to be heard of
in the West, have been cleaned out several times by it, and there-
fore gladly communicate something of what I know about it. The
symptoms he describes are exactly the same that I understand to
indicate hog cholera. My hogs have taken it when they had
free access to the woods and hazle-brush, and all (with the excep-
246
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
tion of a few old brood sows) have gradually died off. Then again
they have had the disease when confined to the fields, not clover,
but stubble and timothy meadows, and it has generally commenced
its attack soon after harvest, and was the most fatal about the time
the most green corn was fed, though I don't think the corn had
anything to do with it.
"Now for the remedies. I have been clear of it for several
years, and for two years before that time, I stopped its ravages at
once by administering a prescription that was published in your
paper. After stopping the disease with that medicine the second
time, I saw again in The Farmer a prescription recommended as a
preventive, and have used that since according to directions, and
have had no symptoms of hog cholera in my herd. I don't affirm
that either is a specific, but such, as related, were the results;
hence, of course, I have great faith in the medicine, and have no
fears of cholera now in raising hogs. There may be others of your
readers who have had experience with those medicines. If they
have failed or otherwise, they would certainly do their brother
farmers a favor by communicating the fact. I have the recipe for
the cure in my scrap book, cut from The Prairie Farmer at the
time, to date. It is: Sulphur, 2 lbs.; Copperas, 2 lbs.; Madder, 2
lbs.; Black Antimony, 1 lb.; Saltpetre, lb.; Arsenic, 2 oz. The
quantity is sufficient for 100 hogs, and is mixed with slop enough
for a few doses all round-a pint to each hog. Each time I tried
this, I had about 50 head, and not one died that was able to walk
to the trough and had enough life left to drink.
"The preventive was published by Prof. J. B. Turner, in 1862,
in The Prairie Farmer, and then again two years or more ago he
sent you the same recipe with some characteristic remarks, affirm-
ing his continued reliance on its efficacy, which you published at
the time. The paper was mislaid, and I wrote to Mr. T., and here
is his
Recipe.-One peck of Wood-ashes, four pounds Salt, one pound
Black Antimony, one pound Copperas, one pound Sulphur, quarter-
pound Saltpetre. Pound and mix thoroughly; moisten enough to
prevent waste; put in a trough in a dry place where the hogs can
at all times eat just as much as they please of it. If predisposed
to cholera, they will eat it very freely, and it will make something
of an item of expense, for a time; at other times they will eat
less, or perhaps none at all.”
Some time after the appearance of the above letter, Mr.
John G. Dutrich, of Normal, Illinois, wrote:
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
247
“In The Farmer of December 14, 1872, there was an article on
hog cholera, written and sent to you by A. M. W., of Odin, Ill.
It came to me just in time to save my lot of one hundred shotes
and hogs, and a nicer lot of the former could not have been found
in the country a week before the article reached me. But that
week took out about fifteen of the choice ones. I will only say
that I used the remedy as soon as I could get it, and have only lost
one by cholera since, and that one would not drink."
Respecting the preventive, the venerable Prof. Turner
himself, says:
“I know of no one who has had any hog cholera of account
from that day, (1862), who has persistently made use of it in
advance of the appearance of disease. I have heard of hogs being
actually cured, after disease sets in, by being scrubbed all over
daily with Copperas water moderately strong.
"Hogs should at all times be supplied with stone coal, as they
will then eat less of the above mixture, and be less expense."
Mr. A. C. Moore, the eminent Illinois breeder of
Poland-Chinas, says, in his Swine Journal:
"Of this disease, which has proved so fatal, at different times
within the last twelve years, in nearly every locality, especially in
the Mississippi Valley, much has been said, and much written.
Many believe the inciting causes are to be found in the want of
some mineral elements in the soil of this great, once-submerged
valley; but there are many theories as to its causes, and all of them
are more or less substantiated by facts. It seems to present itself
at different times and places, under varying symptoms. The first
indications differ.
"Though I have never had a case of this scourge among my hogs,
I have carefully examined the first appearances on several occa-
sions when it has visited neighboring yards and farms. The first
symptoms that I have seen, in cases considered to be cholera, were
these: the eyes looked hollow, and deep set in the head; the hair
seemed to raise, or rough up; there was a gathering of a dark-
looking substance in the inner corner of the eye; these were fol-
lowed by the skin looking rough and scaly, and of a dark-red color;
then came vomiting and diarrhoea, more or less frequent, according
to the violence of the attack. In many cases, there is a short and
very difficult breathing, the head droops or is held to one side, and
a cough shows itself; the cough being peculiar in this—that the
animal stops to cough, and puts his nose quite near to the ground,
248
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
in fact, it seems as though he could not cough while walking, as
is usually done with a common cough. The bog seems indisposed
to move, is stiff and 'drawn up.' There are other morbid condi-
tions which are ascribed to cholera, but the truth seems to be that
these conditions vary so much, and the indications or first symptoms
are so different, that I am compelled to believe that there are many
ailments called cholera that are not cholera. It is therefore that
so many quack nostrums can get certificates of cure from farmers,
whose stock has perhaps been cured, but cured from what? They
believe it cholera, and so certify, but when the same remedy is
given to a herd that actually have that disease, then it fails; such
failure is not usually reported beyond the immediate neighborhood.
"I know it does not matter to the loser what the disease may be
called that takes away his herd, so far as his loss is concerned, but
until the observing and scientific world have more agreement as to
the causes and conditions of this dread disease, it may be in vain
that we proclaim any remedy to be a specific cure. In case of ac-
tual attack from this disease, (having no experience,) I should at
once conclude that, so far as the diseased animal was concerned, the
preventives and conditions hereinafter named, had not reached the
individual case, either from my neglect to provide them at all, or
in sufficient quantities, and I would apply them at once, with thor
oughness. I would also give an ounce of Carbolic Acid, well dis-
solved, and mixed in slop for every twenty-five head of my herd,
and repeat this dose every two or three days, carefully noting
conditions and changes. Above all things, remove an affected hog
at the first positive symptoms, to a yard or pen, if not by himself,
at least entirely separated from the well hogs. Dispose of every
carcass at once, and remove all filth of an infectious nature. If it
be true, as claimed by some, that there is no specific remedy for this
disease, it certainly follows that the 'ounce of prevention' must
be thoroughly applied.
"For all general purposes of health, and as a preventive from dis-
ease, I have, for many years, used the following mixture with uni-
form and marked benefit. Take 1 bushel Charcoal, small pieces ; 3
bushels Wood-ashes; bushel slacked Lime; bushel Salt; 2 lbs.
Spanish brown; 5 lbs. Sulphur; lb. Saltpetre; lb. Copperas. Pul-
verize the last two thoroughly; mix all in a bin, box, or barrel, and
keep in an open trough, where the hogs can have free access to it,
and keep well moistened with good swill, or milk. If your herd is
not large, or you lack a sufficient amount of some of the ingredients,
mix smaller amounts of each in the same proportion. Aim to keep
these articles on hand at all times, and do not neglect their use;
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
249
they contain certain chemical elements which are wanting in every
hog predisposed to disease. You will soon observe, by careful
watching, that the animal that looks the worst, and with which,
as you say, 'there seems to be something the matter,' these are the
ones that will call on you to fill this trough the oftenest, and they
will usually visit it, either as they go to or return from their feed.
"A disease called the cholera sometimes manifests itself by a
short and quick, difficult breathing; the head droops, the back is
raised, no disposition to move, eyes look bad, a slight cough, of
course no appetite; often diarrhoea attends the last stage, in which
many animals die. In such symptoms, I would try the Oil of Pep-
permint, prepared as an essence, but one-third stronger. Put this
into warm water, sweetened with sugar, and give two tablespoon-
fuls to each of your hogs sick, or subject to attack. A customer,
in whose word and observation I have perfect confidence, writes
me that he used this remedy in nineteen cases that were affected
as above, and not one died, though every hog was lost on the
adjoining farm that was attacked, though many other remedies
were used."
A correspondent of the Louisville Courier-Journal fur-
nishes the following as an "infallible remedy" for Hog
Cholera :
"Dissolve thoroughly one pound of Copperas in three gallons
of warm water, and apply the wash about milk-warm to the
affected animal, by dipping into the solution or rubbing upon it
until the skin is thoroughly wet. Whenever the skin of the hog
begins to look rough and scaly, or of a dark-red color, apply the
wash immediately. Do not wait until the more alarming symp
tems (vomiting and purging) set in. Apply the wash every day,
until the scales are removed."
Seeing accounts in the agricultural press, of the suc-
cess of the Messrs. R. Kimberly & Son, breeders of Ches-
ter Whites, at Green River, Henry county, Illinois, in
preventing diseases in their swine, by a simple—and, as
they believe, infallible-remedy, we applied to them for
particulars.
Under date of March 1st, 1877, they write :
'We have reports from every quarter, of cholera among swine,
to an extent that is truly alarming. When we go to a market
town, we see load after load of hogs that have died of cholera,
250
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
and we know that it is raging on every hand, while at the same
time, our own herd continues healthy.
"Common 'Smart-weed' tea has prevented, and we believe will
prevent-if used judiciously and in season—not only cholera, but
the many diseases known by that name.
"In its green state, we pound the Smart-weed in an iron kettle,
press out the juice and mix it, in small quantities, with good swill.
"When we discover want of appetite in a hog (that is the first
symptom in nearly all diseases of swine), we feed them enough of
this to make them cough and sneeze greatly, and it has never failed,
with us, to bring them around all right.
We most fully believe that this remedy will not only prevent
all cholera, but promote health and thrift.
For use through the year the herb should be gathered when in
bloom, tied in small bundles, and hung in a sheltered, dry place,
and when wanted for use, make a tea of it, by boiling. There are
two kinds of Smart-weed, and the smallest, with the narrowest
leaves, is the one we use.
'We would not part with this remedy for any that has yet been
discovered, or is likely to be, for the next twenty years, especially
as a preventive and general corrective.
Disease, however, will continue to carry off a portion of the
hogs in the country, so long as they are permitted to pile together
in large numbers, in manure heaps, under some old barn or shed,
until in a more than fever heat, out of which they rush into a zero
atmosphere at feeding time."
Milton Briggs, author of The Western Farmer and
Stock Grower, and widely known as a successful grower
of cattle and hogs on a large scale in Iowa, writes:
"I supply all my hogs with a compound of Bituminous Coal,
Wood-ashes, or Lime and Salt. I place in a bin or box, open, so that
hogs can dig out at bottom, and not run on to their feed. I place
this bin so they can have access to it at all times. Five tons of
what is called Slack Coal, with four or five bushels of Lime, or three
to four barrels of Wood-ashes and one barrel of Salt, all mixed.
This quantity will feed 100 head of hogs about four months. All
hogs having access to this feed, will keep free from disease, even
if exposed to hogs having the cholera. I have purchased hogs that
were diseased, having cholera in its first stages, and turned in with
well hogs where there were large numbers running together. All
symptoms of disease would soon disappear under this mode of
SO-CALLED HOG CHOLERA.
251
treatment. The cholera hogs would soon begin to cast off their
mange or scales from the skin, and assume a healthy appearance.
A composition of Carbonate of Soda, Sulphur, Sulphate of Iron,
and Carbolic Acid, will arrest the spread of cholera, in its worst
stages."
Ezra Stetson, of Neponset, Illinois, a practitioner of
medicine for twenty years, and for the twenty years prior
to 1876, a farmer and hog raiser on a large scale, by
request of the editor presented his views and extended
observations on the so-called Hog Cholera in a series of
papers carefully prepared for the National Live Stock
Journal, and he is confident the disease is of the same
nature and origin as typhus fever in man, and belongs to
a class of diseases caused by what he terms "crowd poison."
He has never known nor heard of an outbreak of this
disease, except where large numbers of swine were kept
together, unless communicated by contagion.
"It is only when the herd reaches into hundreds that
the disease assumes its most malignant form and carries
death and destruction in its path like a whirlwind."
Extreme heat and cold are favorable periods for it; but it
is prevalent all the year, and few animals escape that are
exposed to its contagion. Dogs, wolves, and all rapacious
animals or birds spread it, and to effectually prevent this,
the dead hogs should be wholly consumed by burning.
Dr. Stetson thinks prevention is the only hope, and this
must be accomplished by giving hogs proper accommoda-
tions, preventing their piling together, insuring them
ventilation, shelter from sun, and protection from cold.
Medicines, as such, should never be given them. No
specific for this sty fever in swine, or typhus in man, has
yet been discovered.
"Disinfectants are the nearest approach to safety from
crowd poison that we yet possess. The most valuable is
Carbolic Acid, and since using this-eight or ten years-
in my own herd, I have suffered no loss from this dis-
ease. The crude acid, a dark, tarry liquid, costing about
252
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
one dollar per gallon, is used at the rate of a pint to a
bucket of water, and with this the nests and woodwork
about them are sprinkled at least once a week. An ounce
of the acid is occasionally put in a barrel of swill or water
for the hogs to drink."
At a meeting of stock-breeders and farmers of Iowa,
held at West Liberty, during three days in February, 1877,
there was an extended discussion on swine management.
Mr. J. S. Long, of Jasper county, referring to hog chol-
era, said he could give some experience that he thought
would be of value to all. Years ago he lost thousands of
dollars' worth of hogs, but for the last six years he had
not lost any, and he had a remedy, if any one would try,
he would warrant they would lose no more hogs, provided
they did exactly as he said, and the hogs were not past
drinking, so they could not take the medicine. He had
tried it in thousands of cases, and never had a failure;
was now engaged in buying lots of hogs where cholera
prevailed; bought 250 recently, and found no trouble in
curing them. His remedy was this: "Make Concen-
trated Lye into good soap by the usual rule; take one pail
of the Soap to fifty hogs; put it in a kettle, add water
and two pounds of Copperas, boil it, then add dish-water
and milk (or anything to make it taste good) till you have
about what the fifty hogs will drink. Place enough of
the mixture, while warm, for twenty-five hogs to drink, in
troughs, in a separate lot. Just as you are ready to let
the hogs in, scatter two pounds of Soda in the troughs;
the object is to have it foaming as the hogs come to drink.
Be sure that every hog drinks, and if he will not drink,
put him in the hospital, and if you cannot get him to
drink then, knock him in the head, for he will give the
cholera to the rest. After twenty-five have had all they
will, drink let in twenty-five more, and continue till the
whole are treated. The next day I go through with the
same operation. After the second day skip a day, then
VARIOUS DISEASES.
253
give for two days, and you may turn them out cured. I
generally give the same dose once a week to my hogs. An
important point is to make the hog drink, and, if he
will not take it any other way, add new milk, or put in
sugar."
As evidence of his entire faith in his remedy and mode
of administering it, Mr. Long offered "to pay ten cents
a pound for every hog he could not cure, provided the hog
was not past drinking.
""
CHAPTER XXIII.
VARIOUS DISEASES COMMON TO SWINE.
While in the great pork-producing States the disease,
or diseases, known as "Hog Cholera," overshadows in
importance all other ailments of swine, there are numer-
ous other diseases to which these animals are more or less
subject. Some of these, such as Trichina and Measles,
are of greater importance, from their effects upon man
than for their injury to the swine themselves, and on this
account call for vigilance in preventing them-as cure is
out of the question. The leading diseases are here enu-
merated, and those remedies that have been found most
useful are prescribed.
WORMS.
There is perhaps no animated existence that is troubled
to so great an extent, or with so many varieties of worms,
as the hog. Although savoring, somewhat, of quackery
in principle, it is yet almost safe to say that, when your
hog is sick, and you cannot tell what is the matter, doc-
tor for worms.
"The principal symptom is a gormandizing appetite, without
corresponding improvement in flesh, with an excessive itching,
causing the animal to rub, especially the hind parts.
254
SWINE HUSBANDRY.'
""
One, known as the round worm, is usually the size of a small
goose-quill, and six or seven inches in length, of a brownish color,
and somewhat corrugated.
Probably the most effectual remedy that can be used is Santo-
nin. This is the active principle of a plant called Worm-seed,
and is the base of many of the vermifuges. It is in small white
crystals, is usually very prompt in its action, and may be given
in doses of one-third of a teaspoonful morning and evening, for
two or three days, and following with a brisk cathartic, such as
Calomel, in teaspoonful doses.
“Two other worms inhabit the lower bowels, or large intestines,
generally near the anus, and may be frequently seen coming from
the animal. One is a white slender worm, about three inches long,
and as large as a knitting-needle; the other a little white worm,
shaped somewhat like a tadpole, and half or three-quarters of an
inch long.
Occasionally, these may be removed by giving one and a half
tablespoonfuls of Barbadoes Aloes, with one teaspoonful of Cop-
peras, each morning, for a week.
"If this fails to discharge them, after taking three or four days,
an injection may be given, as follows: Tincture of Assafœtida, one
tablespoonful; Salt, one teaspoonful; Water, half a pint; mix all
together, warm silghtly, and inject.
"Such treatment as this may not be appreciated by the reader.
But in these days, when a choice breeding animal may cost two or
three hundred dollars, we certainly should know all the remedies
that may be required to save life or restore health.”—(Dr Chase.)
Mr. Moore says:
"To swine that are troubled with worms, mix Wood-ashes with
Soap-suds, and feed once a week with their slops."
TRICHINA SPIRALIS.
This is a minute worm scarcely visible to the naked eye,
that infests the flesh and muscles of man, the hog, and
several other animals, such as dogs, cats, rats, and mice,
and it was estimated by Leuckart that a single ounce of
cat flesh, observed by him, must have harbored more than
300,000 of these parasites, which shows that under favor-
able conditions they accumulate in immense numbers.
They vary in length from '/,, to '/, of an inch, have a
1
18
1
VARIOUS DISEASES.
255
rounded slender body, with the head very narrow and
sharply pointed, and although so diminutive, are among
the most deadly worms known.
The mature and fertile worm lives in the intestines of
animals, the immature in minute
cysts (sacks or pouches) in the
muscles, (see fig. 12), and these
cysts only reach maturity and re-
produce their kind when the ani-
mal they infest is devoured by an-
other, and they are set free by the
processes of digestion. Swine per-
mitted to eat the offal from
slaughter-houses, carrion, rats,
mice, and decaying animal mat-
ter of any kind, are usually more
or less infested with trichina, and
its dangerous nature is a powerful
argument in favor of supplying them with food that is
sound and wholesome.

Fig. 12. · TRICHINA IN
MUSCLE.-Magnified.
In about two days from the time the trichina is taken
into the stomach, it reaches the adult condition, and
about the seventh day the female brings forth a numer-
ous brood of minute hair-like larvæ which soon begin
piercing the intestinal walls, whence they proceed through
the system, until they reach and penetrate the muscles.
Their borings cause violent muscular pains, like rheu-
matism, for which in man it is often mistaken; also stiff-
ness, some fever, with diarrhoea, and much irritation for
the first fortnight. The duration of an attack is from
four to eight weeks, and the period of recovery as much
longer. If the patient survives six weeks, recovery may
be looked for, as irritation ceases when the worms have
become encysted in the muscle.
An attack of trichiniasis where not at first suspected,
is liable to be mistaken for typhoid fever.
256
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
We have no knowledge of an instance where swine have
been lost by being infested with trichina, and the treat-
ment of human subjects so affected has been by the most
skilled physicians considered far from satisfactory. Those
most familiar with the symptoms recommend, especially
at first, cathartics and vermifuges; Castor Oil, Glycerine,
Benzine, Alcohol, and Picric Acid are named.
Hogs that run at large, or are treated with neglect, are
always liable to have trichina, and the flesh of such can
only be eaten with safety after it is thoroughly cooked, and
we have seen it authoritatively stated that these disgust-
ing parasites will survive 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Partially cooked ham, sausage, and similar meats, such
as are kept on sale at cheap restaurants, eating stalls,
booths, etc., should especially be avoided.
KIDNEY WORMS.
Symptoms: Imperfect use of hind legs, inclination to lie down,
a seeming paralysis of hind parts, inability to raise on the hind feet.
Dr. Chase, in his work, "The Hog, its Diseases, and
Treatment," says:
"This worm infests hogs to an alarming extent, and though not
fatal in its effects, is a frequent cause of disease.
"When full-grown, it is as large as a small wheat-straw, and
nearly two inches in length. It inhabits the leaf-lard, in the neigh-
borhood of the kidneys, and we have sometimes seen scores of
them in the same hog. It is nearly black along the back, and of a
brown color on the belly. It burrows along through the fat, and
is a frequent cause of weak loins, and sometimes produces a slight
inflammation of the kidneys. Turpentine is the only remedy we
have ever found to be of benefit, and conclude that its rapid absorp-
tion into the circulation and through the kidneys, has the effect of
driving the worm further away from those organs, when the irrita-
tion ceases. There is no way of expelling the worm from the sys-
tem that we are aware of."
Dr. Paaren says in the Prairie Farmer:
"Kidney worm is not a common disease in hogs. Occasionally
one or two in a number of hogs may suffer from the presence of
VARIOUS DISEASES.
257
one or more worms in the kidneys; but the ailment is not often
fatal, and becomes so only after a longer time of suffering, and
consequent disease or degeneration of one or both kidneys. When
we are told that a number of pigs simultaneously refuse their food,
lie down, become partly paralyzed, or suffer from spasmodic
twitchings, we are inclined to conclude that they are affected with
some other ailment than kidney worms."
An old farmer, of La Salle county, Illinois, writes:
"I lately saw inquiries about kidney worms in hogs, indicated
by the loss of the use of the hind legs, etc. This disease has pre-
vailed very extensively here, but we now have a certain cure, viz:
One tablespoonful of Turpentine poured on across the loins or
small of the back, every day, for three days. I have never known
it to fail, even when the hogs had been down for weeks unable to
rise."
"H. D. Court, the well-known breeder of Chester White swine
at Battle Creek, Mich., writes that he has found a teaspoonful of
pulverized Copperas, mixed with an equal quantity of Sulphur, fed
in the night's meal, for three days, effective in this disease. Some-
times a longer treatment is necessary."
Corn soaked in lye made from wood-ashes, is a conveni-
ent preventive, and is used with success when signs of the
complaint first appear. Prof. Law says its presence in
the kidney may sometimes be recognized by the existence
of microscopic eggs in the urine. The same results from
another worm-Eustrongylus gigas. But without ob-
servation of such eggs, weakness of the hind parts cannot
be ascribed to kidney worm.
MEASLES.
Prof. Law, in his "Farmer's Veterinary Adviser," says:
"The bladder-worm of pork (Cysticercus cellulosa) is the imma-
ture form of a tape-worm in man, (Tœ-
nia solium), and is only caused by pigs
having access to human excrement, or
to places near privies, etc., from which
the segments of the human tape-worm
may travel. The cysts, respectively about
the size of a grain of barley, are found in
the muscles, in the loose connective tissue, and under the skin, in

Fig. 13.-CYSTICERCUS
CELLULOSÆ.
258
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
the serous membranes, in the eye, under the tongue, etc., of swine.
[Fig. 13 shows a separate cyst, enlarged; fig. 14, gives the cysts of
the natural size as they appear in measly pork.]
66
They are also found in this undeveloped form in the muscles,
brain, etc., of man, causing disease and death. To man, the para-

O
O
O
Fig. 14.—CYSTS OF MEASLES IN PORK.
site is usually conveyed by eating under-done pork, or in the cystic
form he receives it as the egg in his food (salads, etc.,) and water.
"SYMPTOMS.-In pigs, the cysts can usually be seen under the
tongue, or in the eye. In man, there are the general symptoms of
intestinal worms, and the passage of the ripe segments.
"Other symptoms may attend the presence of the cysts, accord-

Fig. 15.-HEAD OF TÆNIA SOLIUM.
ing to the organ which they invade. Thus, when passing into the
muscles, there are pains and stiffness, resembling rheumatism;
when into the brain, coma, stupor, imbecility, delirium, but when
they have once become encysted, they may continue thus indefi-
nitely, without further injury.
TREATMENT.—The cysts scattered through the body are beyond
the reach of medicine.
“PREVENTION.-Human beings harboring tape-worms should
be compelled to take the measures to expel them. Their stools
should be burned, or treated with strong mineral acids. Swine
should be kept far apart from all human excrement; no such ma-
nure should be used as a top-dressing on pastures open to swine,
or on lands devoted to the raising of vegetables to be eaten raw.
“Avoid raw meat, especially pork, even if salted and smoked,
and under-done meat and sausages, also well-water, from gravelly
soils, in the vicinity of habitations."
VARIOUS DISEASES.
259
MANGE.
"Mange, itch, or scab, in the lower animals is a skin disease of a
purely local nature, due to an insect, which induces irritation,
ulceration, suppuration, and incrustation on the surface of the body
generally. It is a contagious disease, never originating spontanc-
ously, and requiring for its development the passage of the parasites
or their eggs from diseased to healthy animals. In man, this dis-
ease is termed 'the itch,' and in the lower animals it is usually
alluded to as 'mange,' and in sheep it is well known as a fearfully
destructive disease, under the name of 'scab.'
"There are some important points in the history of scabies which
apply to this disease, as it affects the animal kingdom generally.
There is no species in the class mammalia that is not attacked with
an insect inducing such a disease, if we perhaps except those that
live mostly in water. It has been ascertained that though the weak,
dirty, and ill nourished condition of some animals renders them
very liable to the disease, they only become affected when diseased
animals accidentally come in contact with them. A most import-
ant point, very clearly established, is, that although any animal may
accidentally be the carrier of a contagion between other two, such
as a cat or a dog carrying disease from one horse to another, that
it is essential for the development of a real scabies on any animal,
that the insect should be proper to that animal. Thus human be-
ings, engaged around mangy horses, carry the malady from one
animal to another, and suffer but very slightly, and only for a very
short time, themselves. The parasite which lives on the horse does
not live on man, and the parasite that lives on the sheep does not
contaminate the shepherd's dog, though the latter may, like the
shepherd, or the many rubbing-places on driftways, be the means
whereby the malady spreads.
"The mange of the pig is due to the presence of a burrowing
sarcoptes. Sarcoptes suis is much like the human sarcoptes and
the horse sarcoptes. Itch and mange are known to be essentially
skin diseases, curable alone by topical remedies; and the medi-
cines used are valuable almost in proportion to the rapidity with
which they destroy the life of the parasites which give rise to
the irritation and other morbid appearances.
"In treating the mange, we should first cover the body with
soft soap, and wash it off some time afterwards with warm water,
and have the animal well brushed; or a wash may be used, con-
sisting of one part of Caustic Potash to fifty parts of water; or one
part of Creosote to forty parts of oil, well mixed; or Sulphuret of
260
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Potassium in water, in the proportion of one to ten parts; or a
decoction of Tobacco, in the ratio of one to twenty-five; or lastly,
concentrated Vinegar. One or two days after the thorough ap-
plication of either one of these preparations, wash the body well
with soap and water or potash lye. Whenever scabies is treated,
it is essential to purify all objects with which animals can come
in contact. Thus, all rubbing-places and sties should have a cov-
ering of lime, or chloride of lime. The sties should be cleaned
out entirely, or the pigs removed for a few months to a new pen."
(Dr. Paaren, V. S.)
RECIPE FOR MANGE OINTMENT.-Melt half a pound of common
Turpentine with a pound and a half of Lard. Stir well therein a
pound of Flowers of Sulphur, and when cool, rub down upon a
marble slab, two ounces of strong Mercurial Ointment with these.
LICE.
"Lice are a sad torment to poverty-stricken and badly-kept
stock, appearing by myriads, and causing excessive itching and
irritation. They will effectually prevent an animal from laying on
fat or doing well, as long as their presence is permitted. Various
remedies and dressings are recommended for lice, and some are
excessively dangerous, especially the preparations of mercury and
arsenic,—the skin of most animals being extremely sensitive to the
action of these agents. We have frequently recommended the
following formula, as being both safe and destructive to lice:
Stavesacre seed, four ounces; White Hellebore, one ounce; boiled
in a gallon of water until only two quarts remain. Apply with a
brush to the parts where lice are seen. A decoction of Tobacco
may also be tried. On no account should mercurial or arsenical
preparations be employed in these cases, as, from the great ex-
tent of surface it is often necessary to apply the dressing to, death
has frequently resulted."-(Paaren.)
"We have used the following remedy, which will clean off the
lice in two days: Put about one gill of kerosene oil in any old dish,
and with a paint brush or old woolen rag rub the oil up and down
the back of the animal, and behind the fore leg, and on the flank.
Be particular about the last two places, for it is where the lice
deposit their eggs, which, if not destroyed, will hatch out in about
five days. If it be a black hog, these eggs can be plainly seen,
being about the size of timothy seed, and laying close to the skin
fast to the hair. No one need fear to use the oil freely, as it will
not injure the hog in the least."
VARIOUS DISEASES.
261
“A Tennessee Agricultural paper says: 'W. S. Swann informs
us that he has an infallible remedy for ridding hogs of lice, simple
and easy of application; which is to take buttermilk and pour it
along the hog's back and neck, and after two or three applications,
not a louse will be seen. He has tried, and seen it tried, in several
cases, with the same success in every instance. Mr. Swann being
a reliable man, and the remedy very simple, we recommend its
trial to our farmer friends whose hogs are troubled with lice.'
"A. C. Moore says: 'Take two parts of Kerosene and one part
of Lard-oil, mix, and apply to the hair and skin with a sponge or
cloth; rub it well over all the parts where nits are liable to be
found, and you have a certain cure. Two or three applications, if
thoroughly done, will not fail. Be careful to cover the skin behind
the ears and fore arms-here are the nits, and these are the places
to attack.'"
"B. T. S., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, writes: 'Scotch snuff and
hog's lard will destroy lice on hogs. One-fourth pound of Snuff
and one and a fourth pound of Lard is sufficient for twenty head.
Rub the mixture along the back of the hog with the hand.'"
PNEUMONIA.
This disease is sometimes spoken of as "Thumps,"
but is more severe and rapidly fatal. Designating it as
Inflammation of the Lungs gives a better idea of its seat
and nature.
Its symptoms are loss of appetite, shivering, labored
breathing, and severe cough. For treatment give the
animals warm, comfortable quarters, free access to fresh,
cool water, and every morning two drachms Saltpetre, or
half an ounce of Hyposulphite of Soda in a small mess of
gruel.
In this, as other diseases, feeding much dry corn is det-
rimental to recovery.
COMMON COUGH.
This is known to many farmers as rising of the lights.
It is sometimes quite troublesome, if not fatal. The
prominent indications of the disease are loss of appetite,
incessant and distressing cough, and heaving at the flanks.
262
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
As soon as the first symptoms are perceived, the animal
should be bled; the palate is the best place; purgatives
must then be given, but cautiously. Epsom Salts and
Sulphur will be best, administered in a dose of from two
to four drachms each, according to the size of the animal 1;
afterwards give a sedative, composed of Digitalis two
grains, Pulvis Antimonialis six grains, Nitre half drachm.
Cleanliness, warmth, and wholesome, cooling, nutritious
food, are likewise valuable aids in combating this disease.
E. W. Bryant, of Illinois, breeder of Poland-Chinas,
says, “my remedy for cough in pigs is oats. Feed once
or twice a week all they will eat. The cough is caused
by costiveness; the oats will loosen their bowels and the
cough will disappear."
Of Thumps or Heaves, A. C. Moore says:
"I have never seen a case but it was preceded by a cough, which
was generally worse in the morning, or when the pig first came
from its bed. My ordinary remedy is to place a small amount of
Tar, the bulk of an egg, well down in the mouth. This can readily
be done, by the use of a wooden paddle, and should be done for
two or three successive mornings. If the disease does not yield to
three doses, I would dissolve one pint of Tar in a gallon of Water,
and use one quart as a drench, repeating the dose every morning if
required. I do not believe there is a better remedy, though some
recommend Tartar Emetic in small doses, mixed with the milk or
water given as a drink, and continued from five to ten days. A
reliable customer writes me, he has used Tartar-emetic in three
cases with perfect success. Another says that two to three spoons-
ful of Salt, put well down in the throat, is a sure cure.
66
QUINSY, OR STRANGLES.
""
This disease is of frequent occurrence, and rapid in its
progress, and generally fatal, and mostly confined to fat
hogs, or those fed highly. The first symptoms are:
Swelling of glands under the throat, followed by rapid
and difficult breathing and difficulty in swallowing; the
neck swells and gangrenes, the tongue protrudes from the
mouth, and is covered with slaver.
VARIOUS DISEASES.
263
In the beginning of the disease, give an active emetic,
such as the following; Potassio-tartrate of Antimony
(Tartar-emetic) four grains; Ipecacuanha, six grains;
White Hellebore, six grains. Mix and give in food, or
throw into the mouth. If the animal will drink any-
thing or eat a little, a purgative powder, consisting of
two or three drachms of Castor Oil seeds should be given.
When difficulty of breathing is great, apply an active
blister over the throat, and give injections frequently. If
the animal can swallow, and will drink water, some Sal-
ammoniac and Nitre should be dissolved in it.
The recipe below, for Quinsy, is from Colman's Rural
World:
"When the animal has the disease in a bad form, split the neck
on each side of the throat so that it will bleed freely; swab the
throat well with Turpentine; make it swallow one or two tea-
spoonfuls of it; if the subject will drink, this can be given in
'swill.' Enough Turpentine poured on corn to make it oily, is a
preventive."
NASAL CATARRH, OR "BLUE NOSE."
"First symptoms: Unusual discharge from the nose, the inflam-
mation gradually extending to the pharynx, gullet, and larynx.
The animal sniffles, coughs some, mucous membrane swells, the
nose thickens, and becomes twisted and distorted and ill-shaped,
and when exercised a little, the discharge from the nose becomes
bloody, or is pure blood. The animal still cats reasonably well,
but will not fatten nor grow, but gradually dwindles away, and
dies.
"There is little encouragement in trying to cure this, and it is
considered by some as being of the same nature as glanders in
horses. Animals discovered with the disease should be destroyed,
and removed from the farm."
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, EPILEPSY, OR
STAGGERS.
""
"" BLIND
This disease frequently attacks swine, especially when
changed to rich, abundant food, or exposed to stormy,
changeable weather. At first the animal appears dull,
261
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
stupid, and disinclined to move. The eyes become red
and inflamed, the bowels constipated, the pulse hard and
quick. In a short time, if not relieved, the animal runs
wildly about, usually in a circle, seems blind, will run
against objects, the breathing becomes rapid and labo-
rious.
TREATMENT.-Give, at once, a teaspoonful of Calomel,
cut a slit in the skin on the head above the eyes, cut it
clear to the skull. In this cut put Salt and Pepper to get
up a counter-irritation. If this does not succeed, make
a liniment as follows: Take a four-ounce vial, into it put
one ounce Spirits Turpentine, one ounce Capsicum, one
ounce Aqua Ammonia, half ounce Tincture of Arnica,
quarter ounce Chloroform; shake well before using, and
rub it on, around upper part of the head of the patient,
and between the base of the ears and around them.
Professor Law recommends, when a hog is attacked, to
dash bucketsful of cold water over the body, and throw
into the rectum a purgative injection, composed of six
ounces of Sulphate of Soda and one or two teaspoonsfuls of
Spirits of Turpentine in ten ounces of Water. Setons satur-
ated with the Turpentine may be inserted under the skin
behind the ears; or the back of the neck may be blis-
tered by actively rubbing in the following mixture: Spir-
its of Turpentine and liquid Ammonia, one ounce of each;
powdered Cantharides, two drachms. When it occurs in
summer, or in hot weather, its severity can be greatly
modified by providing shelter in a shed, where they can
be in the shade during the heat of the day; but at the
same time a free circulation of air should be secured.
Water, too, should be constantly within the reach of the
animals, and, if possible, a pool of it provided in which
they can lie at will.
Dr. Chase says partial recovery will soon occur after
securing a free evacuation of the bowels. A teaspoonful
VARIOUS DISEASES.
265
of Copperas may be given twice a day, for two weeks,
abating the feed somewhat. Also, to never bleed in this
disease, as there is a poverty of blood already.
The North-British Agriculturist says the disease which
is popularly termed staggers, in medical parlance is called
epilepsy. It depends usually upon imperfect nutrition
of the brain and nervous system. In pigs, as well as in
other animals, epilepsy is often hereditary. Frequently
it is developed by breeding in-and-in.
APOPLEXY.
Apoplexy only occurs in fat hogs, being caused by a
too plethoric condition of the system. It demands
prompt treatment, and is indicated by the stupid move-
ments of the animal for perhaps several hours preceding
its dropping, as if struck heavily on the head with a sledge-
hammer, when the limbs straighten, and but for its heavy
breathing, it would be supposed dead.
Dr. Chase says:
"Bleed quickly, by tying a cord tightly around the fore-leg,
above the knee, when the brachial vein will be seen to fill up, and
may readily be opened with a lancet or sharp pointed knife. The
vcin is on the inside of the leg, and should be opened about an
inch above the knee.
"If possible take a pint and a half of blood, or even more. If
this vein does not yield a sufficient amount, some of the veins on
the inside of the car may be opened by turning the ear back and
pressing with the thumb firmly on the base. Never cut off an car
or tail for the purpose of drawing blood.
"If the animal recovers from a first attack, at the earliest pos-
sible moment give a quarter of a pound of Salts, and repeat it every
three hours, until the bowels move freely. Feed lightly for a few
days, giving occasional doses of salts, and the probabilities are
that it will permanently recover. ***
“Epilepsy, or blind staggers, is the only disease likely to be con-
founded with apoplexy.”
PARAPLEGIA.
Paralysis of the muscles of the loins in swine is of fre-
12
266
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
quent occurrence, but usually does not seem to interfere
with the appetite or general health of the animal.
It is sometimes caused by a severe strain of the back,
or blows on the back or loins, producing concussion of
the spinal marrow. If such is known to be the cause,
cold applications may be tried, for a few days, on the
loins and back. If the cause is unknown, and no fever
is present in the back, a liniment, composed of equal
parts of Cantharides (Spanish Flies), Olive Oil, and Spirits
Turpentine, may be applied, or, a seton may be inserted
lengthwise under the skin over the loins. The animal
should be given comfortable quarters, with freedom from
disturbance by others, fed on sloppy, soft food and sour
milk, and if costive, frequent injections of warm water
should be used.
DIARRHEA, OR SCOURS.
Young pigs are frequently troubled with diarrhoea. The
discharges are of a whitish color, and pigs of sows that
have a cold or catarrh are liable to be severely troubled.
It rarely attacks old hogs, but is often fatal to young
pigs, if not attended to in time. Too much grass or
clover, given to a sow when her pigs are quite young, fre-
quently causes this disease. It can generally be checked
by shutting the sow up and feeding dry corn for a few
days. Skimmed sweet milk fed the sow is also good. If
pigs are large enough to eat, give them dry, raw flour, or
corn, rye, or wheat, whole.
If too young to eat, a lump of Alum, the size of a wal-
nut, may be dissolved in a quart of water, and a tea-
spoonful given morning and evening, to pigs a week or
so old.
Dr. Mulford says, in the American Swine and Poultry
Journal:
"Many of our swine breeders in the West sustain considerable
loss annually by their pigs dying from the effects of what is
commonly called scours, caused by the bad quality of the sow's
VARIOUS DISEASES.
267
milk. The disease is more apt to make its appearance when the
sow has been fed upon dry corn or musty food. It generally
attacks them within one or two days after their birth, and seldom
after eight or ten days. I have never failed to cure this disease by
giving the sow as much Sulphur of the third decimal trituration as
will stand on a nickel five-cent piece, once a day. It may be given
in a little sweet milk, or upon a small piece of bread, and should
be given one hour before feeding. The medicine can be procured
of any Homœopathic physician. I have cured many cases with
common sulphur, but prefer the above."
Mr. Joseph Harris, in his invaluable work on "The
Pig," justly uses the following language:
"The most common complaints of little pigs are diarrhoea and
colds. The former is caused by giving the sow improper food, or
a too sudden a change of diet, or by irregular feeding, or from
want of pure water and fresh air. We once had a few cooked
beans that were left in the steam-barrel until they decomposed.
They were thrown on to the manure heap, and a sow, which was
sucking pigs, ate some of them. Two days afterwards, the whole
litter was seized with violent diarrhoea, and one of them died in
the course of two or three days. It was the worst case of the kind
we ever had, and the diarrhœa continued for four or five days, and
was not stopped until we gave the pigs two or three drops of Laud-
anum each, at night, in some fresh cream, with a teaspoon, and
repeated the dose the next morning. This effected a cure, but the
pigs did not regain their thrifty growth for a week or ten days.
We should add that the sow continued perfectly well, and mani-
fested no symptoms of the complaint. As a general rule, no medi-
cine will be required. Change the food of the mother, and let her
go out into the air, but let the little pigs remain in the pen, and
see that they are warm and comfortable. The less they are dis-
turbed, and the more they sleep, the sooner will they recover. It
is also very important to keep the pen clean and well ventilated.
Nothing can be worse than to leave the evacuations in the pen.
Scatter some dry earth about the pen to absorb the offensive gases.
Let the feeding apartment also be dusted over with dry earth, or
soil of any kind that can be obtained, and then scraped, and swept,
and washed, and a little dry straw, or chaff, or sawdust, be spread
on it, to prevent dampness. Scald the pig-troughs with boiling
water, and make them sweet and clean. Let this be done every
day. The attendant should understand that the scours are an evi-
dence of carelessness or negligence."
268
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
CONSTIPATION.
If swine are discovered voiding hard, dry dung in com-
pact, ball-like masses, it denotes fever; they require a
change to more loosening, cooling diet. Green and any
kind of soft, easily digested food is good, and bran mashes
prepared with hot water, or if possible, with flax-seed tea
are excellent.
In obstinate cases, an ounce of Epsom Salts may be
given, in an injection of warm soap suds.
There are few surer indications of something radically
wrong in the swine-yard than continued constipation.
EVERSION (TURNING OUT) OF THE RECTUM.
Poorly kept and neglected pigs are liable to protrusion
of the rectum, and it may be caused also by straining in
parturition, (pig birth), constipation, and diarrhoea.
The protruding part should be emptied, cleaned with
warm water, moistened with Laudanum if at hand, gently
returned and pushed up with the oiled finger a short
distance, inside the anus. In treating this ailment, as
well as most others, attention to diet and comfort is all-
important.
RHEUMATISM.
SYMPTOMS.-Dullness, languor, or indisposition to move,
followed by extreme lameness in one or more limbs, and
heat, swelling, or tenderness of a joint, tendon, or group
of muscles, the tenderness perhaps shifting from joint to
joint.
TREATMENT.—A tablespoonful of Cod-liver Oil should
be given to each pig once or twice a day in its food. A
larger daily allowance than two tablespoonfuls to pigs
three or four months old, while the oil is expensive, does
not appear to hasten the cure in like ratio. The cod-liver
oil, besides curing the rheumatism, both acute and chronic,
also improves the condition wonderfully. Provide well-
VARIOUS DISEASES.
269
littered, warm housing, from which the pigs can emerge
to the yards at will. Give boiled or steamed food, and
sour milk.
PIGS LOSING THEIR TAILS.
Pigs sometimes have their tails frozen, which causes
them to drop off, but aside from this cause, it frequently
results from an hereditary tendency to a disease of the
skin which attacks the young pig at that particular point,
the circulation is interfered with, and the member per-
ishes and drops off.
:
If the disease appears, apply Carbolic Soap to the
affected part, or wash clean, and apply Glycerine, Sweet
Oil, or a little fresh Lard.
The most effectual preventive is to keep pigs clean, dry,
and abundantly nourished.
270
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
*
INDEX.
Allen, A. B., Essay on Berkshires.. 47
Am. Berkshire Association.....45, 168
Artichokes, Jerusalem or Brazilian,
112-116
Baldwin, Hon. Elmer, on Diseased
Breeds, Big China.....
Butler County.
Byfield...
Chester County Whites... 34
Chinese...
*****
23
21
23
48
Swine.......
..204
Dick's Creek..........
21
(6
On Pasturage.
.116
Durocs
80
Berkshires.....
46
42-54
Great Western..
21
Allen, A. B., Essay on.. 47
Berkshire Association 45,168
66
Gregory's Creek.
21
66
Irish Grazier..
24
66
ings.....
Characteristics and Mark-
Cross with Essex....
Cross with Poland China 62
Earliest Importations.... 53
Herd Book..
Jefferson County (of N. Y.) 73
46
Jersey Reds.
79
84
Lancashires
75
....
Magie...
21
66
Miami Valley
21
45
Moore.
21
66
Introduction into War-
Poland
...21-31
...
ren Co., Ohio....... 24
แ
Poland and China........
21
Record of....
168
Russia
23
Relative Merits, compar-
Shaker..
21
་་
ed with Suffolk and
Essex...
Their Good Qualities.... 44
"Windsor Castle ".
Billingsby, J. M., on Cooking Food.136
፡፡
Siamese...
49
...80-85
Suffolk, Berkshire, and Es-
sex, Compared.
80-85
51
66
....
Union Village..
21
21-22
...
Bingham, R. L., on Cooking Food.136
Boar, Castration of Old…….
94
66 How to Choose……
89
Warren County.
Briggs, Milton, or Poland-Chinas.. 32
On Hog Cholera....... 250
Brown, Charles, on Poland and Po-
63
Importance of Pure Breed.... 91
land Chinas..
29
66 In and-in Breeding
93
Bryant, E. W., on Cough
262
"
Joint Ownership of.
94
Burlington Hawkeye
on Arti-
Keeping......
92
chokes...
..115
(8
Proper Age of for Service.... 92
Butchering Hogs
..
Pigs
Brazilian Artichokes.
..159
..112
66
Bedford...
Bowles, John S., on Hog Cholera..244
Boynton, John, on Sow Eating her
Breeding, Prize Animals for.......164
Breeds-Merely mentioned and
synomyns; the other
breeds in the regular al-
phabetical order-
Young Pigs...
Cattle and Swine, Value compared. 14
Cattle, Swine running with……… 126
Chase, Doct. A. G., on Apoplexy...265
On Inflammation of the
66
On Essex...
Brain.....
23
66
On Kidney Worms.
65
264
256
Castrating Boars..
150
.94, 106
Ridgling Hogs..
.107
102
INDEX.
271
Chase, Dr. A. G., on Poland Chinas 33
Chemical Composition of Articles
of Food....
Detmers, Doct. H. J., on "Hog
176
66
Cheshire, or Jefferson County……….73–75
Curtis, Col. F. D., on………… 74
National Convention's Re-
"
port on
73
Sanders, J. II., on…………………
.. 74
Chester Whites..
66
..34-42
Characteristics of.. 42
Impure Stock sold.. 39
Weights of...
Cholera."
..207
Report on, to the Missouri
State Board of Agricul-
ture.......
DISEASES:
..217-236
Diseases of Swine, Introductory....203
Angina, Malignant or Gangrenous..213
Authrax, Apopletic.
215
Carbuncle...
..214
38
"
Mouth, Gum, or Gloss...215
Anthrax Discases...
....205
Chicago, Live-stock Sales in 1873.. 16
Classifying and Judging Swine at
Fairs...
Clay, S. H., Experiments on Cook-
His Food-cooker..
ing Food....
Clover, Value as Food...
169
131-134
66
138
111
Comparative Value of Articles of
Food..
·
.177
Conover, Thomas, on Poland-China 33
Cooking Food for Swine…… 127-140
66
166
....
"Apparatus for...137-140
"Billingsby, J. M., on.136
“Bingham, R. L., on..136
"Clay, S. H., Experi-
ments on……………….131-134
"Cooked Meal………………..187
Cooked Wheat......165
"H. M. & W. P. Sis-
son's Experiments129
"Maine Agl. College
Experiments on....136
"Stalker, M., Experi-
ments on.......134-135
"Steamed or Boiled
Corn.
186
"Stone, U. H., on.....131
"Wilkinson, Prof., on.131
"Wood, Thomas, on..130
Corn-See Indian Corn.
66
Cottrell, E. W., Essay on the Rela-
tive Merits of the Suf-
folks, Berkshires, and
Essex
On Essex..
66
Apoplexy....
Bladder-worm..
.208
Causes of...
Detmers, Doct. H.
J., on..... ......207
Name preferable to
Hog Cholera....208
Paaren, Dr. N. II.,
on
207
The Contagion of..210
Apoplectic Anthrax
..215
.265
257
Blind Staggers.
263
Blue Nose.…….
.263
Brain, Inflammation of……….
263
Catarrh, Nasal………………
263
Constipation....
268
.261
251
257
266
263
Cough......
Crowd Poison
Cysticercus cellulosa.
Diarrhoea
Epilepsy...
•
Epizootic Influenza of Swine, a
more accurate Name than
66
'Hog Cholera.”
Catarrhal-Rheumatic
Form of..
Cerebro-Rheumatic Form
..218
.219
Causes of..
229
"
of....
227
66
Doct. H. J. Detmers on..217
Duration of………
..233
"
Gastric-Rheumatic Form
of.....
221
Lymphatic-Rheumatic
Form of....
227
Prevention of....
233
74
66
Treatment of ….
234
.158
205
Erysipelas, Gangrenous.
Eustrongylus gigas……..
Eversion of Rectum....
211
.257
268
.80-85
66
Curing Pork. Is it Profitable ?………..161
Curtis, Col. F. D., on Cheshire or
Jefferson Co....
Dana's Ear-Marks….
Department of Agriculture, Ineffici-
ency of.......
272
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
Gangrenous Erysipelas...
Heaves..
.211
Paraplegia.....
.265
..262
Pneumonia
261
Hog Cholera, So-called..
.205-252
Quinsy.....
262
Ill., on...
66
"A. M. W.," Odin,
Anthrax Diseases pro-
"Rising of the Lights."
..261
245
Rectum, Turning out of.
..268
Rheumatism..
.269
posed......
..208
St. Anthony's Fire..
.211
Bowles, John, on....244
Sarcoptes suis…….
.259
66
Briggs', Milton, Rem-
edy for.
Dr. H. J. Detmers on.207
Dr. H. J. Detmers'
Report to the Mo.
Board
Dr. N. H. Paaren on..237
“Infallible Remedy,'
from the Louisville
Courier Journal……..249
Epizootic Influenza of
Swine proposed as
the Name..
...218
Scab in Swine.
259
.250
Scours..
Staggers
.266
.263
Strangles
262
Tænia solium.
..257
217
Tape-worm
257
Thumps in Swine.
..262
Trichina spiralis.
254-256
Trichiniasis..
Wild-fire………
Worms..
.255
White Bristle.
214
..211
253
66
Kimberly, R., & Sons,
Treatment for......249
Worm, Bladder.
Worms, Kidney
...
Worm, Tape..
.257
256
..257
ence with
64
❤ ❤
66
46
Long's, J. S., Experi-
Moore's, A. C., Treat-
ment of..
Name Incorrect….
Neglect of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture.206
Prof. James Law on..242
Prof. J. B. Turner's
Recipe for......
"Smart-weed" recom-
mended as a Pre-
ventive
252
Essex
247
66
Dutrich, John G., on Hog Cholera..246
Ear Mutilation; Ear-Marks
Characteristics and Markings. 66
.158
62-68
207
66
•
Chase, Dr., of Kansas, on...
65
"
Cottrell, E. W., on.
66
Crossed with Suffolk,
83
Cross with Berkshire.
84
Relative
246
Merits, compared
with Berkshires and Suf-
66
folks...
66
Sidney on....
.250
66
66
Stetson, Ezra, on……. 251
The Extent of its
Fattening..
Ravages....
..205
66
.80-85
64
The Missouri State
Board of Agricul-
ture investigates...217
Smith, William, on.......... 64
..118-127
ByHogging off CornFields165
Cooked Food for......127-140
Cooked Wheat for......165
Exclusive Use of Corn Im-
proper......
Green Corn for……
....121
.120
New and Old Corn for……..120
New England Method....125
On Raw Corn........ 181-183
Pumpkins for..
Inflammation of Brain.
..263
Itch in Swine..
259
Kidney Worms..
256
Lice on Swine………
260
"Lights, Rising of."
...261
Lungs, Inflammation of.
.261
Malignant Pustule....
215
Mange of Swine.....
259
Measles...
257-258
Nasal Catarrh.
263
Feeding in Summer.
Paralysis of Loins……….
265
Food Cooker....
.....120
Salt and Condiments.....124
The Right Age for.......193
With Fattening Cattle....126
Feeding Floor….....
..146
108-118
137-140
INDEX.
273
66
66
66
Food, Artichokes as..... ...112-116
Chemical Composition of....176
Comparative Value of....…….111
Cooking........ ...127-140
Feeding Value of other Food
•f
66
66
66
68
66
as Compared with Corn...177
Grass and Clover for………………….196
Pasture and Summer Food
(See Indian Corn.) 108-118
Raw Corn Fed in the Ear....181
Steamed or Boiled Corn.
66 Value of Peas…..
Gestation, Period of..
• • •
186
112
98
85
Indian Corn, Steamed or Boiled ...186
79-80
"Characteristics of ………….. 79
Jerusalem Artichokes.
Jersey Reds..
.112-116
Kimberly, R. & Son, on Hog-Chol-
.249
.156
.185
era.
Lard..
Lawes, J. B., Experiments in Feed-
ing....
Law, Prof. James, on Hog Cholera.242
On Inflammation of the Brain.264
"On Measles….
257
Leland, Charles E., on Victorias………. 76
Long, J. S., on Hog Cholera....
.196-197
Grades with Common Stock...
Grass and Clover, Value of.
Gray, Hon. Alfred, on Chester
Whites...
41
Growth, Reports of Remarkable...163
Hams, Curing and Smoking....154-155
Harris, Joseph, on Diarrhoea... …..267
Herd-Book of Berkshires..
Hibernation of Swine.
McFarland, Doct. A., on Hiberna-
tion of Swine………
252
•
170
.136
Maine Ag'l College, Experiment
with Cooked Food....
Maize (See Indian Corn).
Magie, D. M., on Poland-China…………. 30
•
45
.170
Marking Hogs.
Meal, Feeding Cooked…….
65
Raw.
.172-199
Hog-Feeding and Pork Making.
Jos. Sullivant on………
"Hogging off" Corn Fields.......165
Hog Houses and Pens........
....140-149
Hog-Rings, Tongs, and Turners....156
Hog, The Most Profitable…….. 167
Holloway, Cephas, on Poland Chinas 23
Houses for Swine…….
.140-149
Hon. J. K. Hudson's…..141-144
66 Charles Snoads.........144-146
How Much Pork in a Bushel of
Corn?..
....177
Hudson, Hon. J. K., House for
Swine..
Indian Corn, Amount of Crop in
66
66
•
46
158
187
.184
Medicines, Mode of Administering.203
Messer, A., Report of Unusual
Growth
.163
..184
Miles, Prof. M., Experiments in
Feeding...
Millikin, Hon. John M., on the
“Hogging off" of Corn
fields...
.165
On the Value of the Hog
Product of the U. S..... 14
Report on thePolandChinas31
.141-144
Millikin, Stephen, on Poland and
Poland-China….
31
1875..
And Pork, Relative
9
Prices......166, 191–192
Cost of Raising...189-191
Experiments in Cook-
ing……………..
.127-140
Fed in the Ear……..181-183
Feeding New and Old.120
How Much Pork in a
Bushel of?……………………….177
How Much Pork to an
Acre of ?........191-192
Not to be Fed Exclu-
sively......
Other Articles of Food
Missouri State Board of Agriculture
Investigation on Hog Cholera....217
Moore, A. C., on Feeding them. 101
On Hog Cholera..
66
"
On Lice.
247
261
On Saving Young Pigs………….. 99
On the Prevention of Root-
ing..
On Thumps or Heaves...
Mulford, Dr., on Diarrhoea.
National Live Stock Journal, on the
Future of the Pork-Raising In-
dustry..
121
Neapolitans..
16
Compared with.....177
157
.262
266
11
.77-79
78
Characteristics and Mark-
ings of....
274
SWINE HUSBANDRY.
.237-241
..256
.260
Neapolitans, Phillips, Dr., on………….. 78
Weld, Col. M. C., on... 77
New England Method of Fattening125
Paaren, Doct. N. H., on Hog Chol-
era..
On Kidney-Worms....
On Lice...
Pork, Relation of Prices of, to those
of Corn....
Portable Pig-pens
..166
...147
Prices of Pork and Corn, their Re-
lation.....
•
...166
Prize Animals for Breeding.... 164
Profitable Hog, Characteristics of..167
Pumpkins for Feeding....
On Mange..
..259
Pasture for Swine.
669 Hon. E. Baldwin on……………….
Peas, Value as Food...
.108-118
..116
112
Pens and Houses..
140-149
.....120
Quarrelsome and Fighting Hogs....160
Relative Merits of Suffolks, Berk-
shire, and Essex...
Report of the Department of Agri-
80-85
Pens, Portable...
Pickle for Pork……
.147
.154
culture on Sows Eating Pigs………….159
Reports of Remarkable Growth………..163
Ridgling Hogs, To Castrate..
.107
Piggeries
.141-144
Ringing Hogs..
.157
Pig-pens..
.147
Rooting, its Prevention.
.156-157
Pigs, A. C. Moore on Raising…………..101
Salt for Swine……….
.124, 170
"Castrating Young..
.102
Sanders, J. H., on Cheshires.
74
"Feeding Young.
.101
Scalding, Apparatus for........
.151
"Preventing from being Crushed 99
"Spaying Young Sows.
..103
"Summer Feeding of...
..109
Scale of Points for Judging Swine..169
Shoulders, Curing and Smoking 154–155
Sidney on Essex.
64
"The Sow and her.
95
...
.46
66
66 To Prevent Sow from Eat-
ing.
"Weaning.
Poland-China...
Characteristics of..... 27
Convention of Swine
Breeders, Report on. 26
Holloway, Cephas, Ac-
count of....
Weights of....
Pork Products,Exportation of, from
23
1866-1873..
Exportation of in 1872 16
Price of, as Related
to that of Ind. Corn 166
Value Compared with
Sisson, H. M. & W. P., on Cooking
Food.
..129
.
100, 159
Slaughtering, Curing, and Preserv-
..103-105
ing Pork....
....149-156
21-33
Smith, William, on Essex..
64
on Suffolks
59
Smoking Meats...
155
Suoad, Charles, House for Swine144–146
Sow, at Weaning....
.105
888
Condition of, for Breeding....160
33
Feed for, at Farrowing Time.100
Feeding while with Pig…………….. 98
12
$6
How to Choose...
95
Pen for, and Nest..
99
66
Period of Gestation in.
98
66
Spaying...
107
"
Time to Breed..
96
66
that of Cattle………….. 14
Value of...
.11, 14
To Prevent from Eating her
Pigs
99-100, 159
Pork, Cost of Raising
.189
When in Heat.
"Curing in Brine.
.154
Spaying Sow-pigs.
97
103
·
Danger of Eating Imperfectly
Sows..
107
•
Cooked...
256
Stalker, M., on Cooked Food...134-135
Dry-salting.
.153
How Much in a Bushel of
Corn ?....
.177
"How Much from an Acre of
Corn? ....
"Pickle for……….
Is it Profitable to Cure ?……………..161
.154
..191-192
Stetson, Ezra, on Hog-Cholera.. 251
Sties.
Stock Journal, on Feeding Floor
and Pen..
Stow, N. H., on Cooked Food…….
Suffolks.
....
..141-147
146
..131
54-61
Cross with Essex.......
83
INDEX.
275
Suffolks, Characteristics and Mark-
ings of.....
61
era..
Thorough-bred Swine........
Turner, Prof. J. B., on Hog Chol-
...246-247
...168
Victorias..
76
.80-95
Characteristics and Mark
ings of....
76
Relative Merits Compared
with Berkshire and Es-
sex.....
66 Report of Convention on….. 60
66 Smith, William, on ........ 59
Wentworth, Hon. J., on………. 53
Sullivant, Joseph, Essay on Hog-
Feeding and Pork Making……..172-199
Summer Food…………..
Sweet Corn for Swine..
.108-118
..120
Swine, Classifying and Judging at
་ ་་
66
66
Fairs....
Ia Enforced Hibernation
Practicable?....
Quarrelsome......
.....169
.170
..160
14
66
Scale of Points for Judging.169
Their Value as Compared
with Cattle.....
The Number of in the U. S. 9
What are Thorough-bred ?..168
Leland, Charles E., on.... 76
National Convention, Re-
port on....
Weaning Pigs..
77
.103-105
165
Weld, Col. M. C., on Neapolitanš.. 77
Wenthworth, Hon.John, on Suffolks 56
Wheat, Feeding Cooked….
Wilkinson, Prof., on Cooking Food131
Williams, A. C., on Artichokes.....112
Wood, Thomas, on Chester Whites 34
66 On Cooked Food..........
On the Profit of CuringPork.161
Yorkshires....
66
130
63-73
€9
Report of National Con-
vention on.....

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