SF 
 
 L6 
 
 RLF 
 
 111 
 
 SB 3M 
 
 HOgS 
 
 ByA.J.Lovejoy 
 
 Supplementary 
 Chapters on Feeding 
 
 JohnM.Eward 
 
GIFT OF 
 Agricultural Educ.Div. 
 
HOgS 
 
 By A . J. Lovejoy 
 
 r \\fith Supplementary 
 Chapters on Feeding 
 
 John M Ewa r d 
 
 A PRACTICAL BOOK FOR 
 THE PURE BRED SWINE 
 BREEDER AND FARMER 
 
 Chicago 
 
 The Frost Publishing Co. 
 1919 
 
 Copyright, 1919. by Frost Publishing Co. 
 

 S F 9 - 
 
 A. J. LOVEJOY 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE author has not undertaken to write a thesis, but having 
 commenced the business of swine breeding when quite a young 
 _ man and following it for practically forty years, he has been 
 requested to write this book along practical lines. 
 
 Beginning with a pair of young pigs many years ago, the only 
 way anything concerning the subject has been learned has been by 
 actual experience. This experience has been costly, but what is 
 learned at the greatest expense one never forgets. 
 
 For many years the writer did all his own work in the business 
 of swine breeding and feeding as well as showing. He gained in 
 knowledge as he gained in experience. I cannot recall any labor 
 or duties connected with the feeding and breeding of swine that I 
 have not carried on personally, and step by step grown in the busi- 
 ness from the smallest possible beginning until a trade has been 
 built up that extends throughout the United States and into for- 
 eign countries. Being of a temperament that never gives up, and 
 with a determination to -stick to the business through thick and thin, 
 I have never wavered from my determination to make it a success 
 and a permanent business. 
 
 Early I decided to follow the purebred business, selling prin- 
 cipally to breeders, and feeding for market hogs that did not come 
 up to a standard of excellence necessary to satisfy customers. I 
 have never had any reason to change my first decision. Of course, 
 in the early days it was a hard matter to find customers, but good 
 care, feeding and advertising and the following of the showring, 
 gradually brought us to the attention of farmers and breeders, 
 and as the years came and went I could see a gradual increase of 
 business and of knowledge regarding it, and each year I went out 
 a little stronger in the showring, did a little more business over the 
 circuit and found a larger correspondence at home; all of which 
 was gratifying and encouraging. It was my good fortune also to 
 believe in system in all things, and to system I attribute much of 
 my success later. 
 
 Careful records were kept of all animals breeding dates, far- 
 rowing dates, marking of the litters, and disposition of the same, 
 showing to whom sold and prices received ; correct accounts regard- 
 ing expenses and receipts, making a thorough system of book- 
 keeping. It has always been our custom promptly to answer all 
 correspondence, keeping a carbon copy of the reply to every letter. 
 Before typewriters were used, all letters were written with a pen, 
 and a letter press was used in taking an impression in the copy 
 book. It is no trouble for us today to turn to any year's business, 
 or to find out, if the question is asked, what animal we sold to a 
 certain man years ago. 
 
fl FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 Nothing has ever been done on this farm in the matter of breed- 
 ing but is on record; therefore we do not depend on our memory 
 for anything connected with the business. 
 
 What I have learned during these many years of close contact 
 with the business is written .out in this book. I hope that many a 
 young man, new in the business, or perhaps the older man of 
 experience, may find some fact or view that will interest and help 
 him. It is for the benefit of my fellow-breeders, feeders and farm- 
 ers that I have attempted to write it, and it was with great diffi- 
 dence that I undertook it, even after urgent solicitation, and I only 
 trust that it may meet with the approval of those who are striving 
 to make a success of the swine business. 
 
 In advising a beginner I can only say: Select the breed that 
 you think you would like best, no matter what color. After fully 
 deciding with which one you will begin, stick to it, and do not let 
 anything cause you to waver. You cannot make a success by using 
 first one breed and then another. Stick to the one you have selected, 
 and by every means possible get all available information regarding 
 it. Be honest, and remember that it takes time to build up a busi- 
 ness, and after it is once established one must be as- careful to main- 
 tain it as he was in building it. 
 
 What is there about the farm more interesting than a bunch of good hogs? 
 
PART 1 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE IDEAL HOG FARM. 
 
 The writer has never seen an ideal hog farm in every respect. 
 While many farms are almost ideal, usually they lack something. 
 My idea of an ideal hog farm is that it should first have a rich 
 soil, full of fertility to grow grasses and other forage, as well as the 
 grains needed for the best feeds for the proper development- of 
 hogs. After a good rich soil, the next thing is a slightly rolling 
 well-drained farm. If it is underlaid three or four feet with gravel, 
 as much of our soil in northern Illinois is, it will not require tiling 
 to carry off surplus water. I have often noticed that a farm that 
 lies quite level, and has a rich black soil, gets very muddy after 
 rains and during the coming out of the frost in the spring. This 
 kind of soil is not best for ideal hograising ; besides, being extremely 
 muddy at times, this class of soil does not come as near being ideal 
 as a dark sandy loam, well-drained with underground natural drain- 
 age. Such soil is also better even during dry weather for the feet 
 of pigs. They are rather more inclined to keep in shape and wear 
 down a little all the time instead of growing long and turning up 
 at the toes, as do many pigs kept on soft, mucky black soil. 
 
 If one wishes a central hoghouse for general use, rather than a 
 feedhouse and half -acre lots in which individual houses are placed, 
 he should place his central house where pastures can be easily 
 reached from either side. The kind of house he should use is one 
 of the modern swine houses, described on page 12. It should be 
 situated so that a good pasture of well-set grass or mixture of 
 grasses can be reached from either side. Pastures before being 
 occupied in this manner should be well-set in grass at least a year 
 before being used as hog pasture. 
 
 A small pen the same width as those on the inside of the hog- 
 house should extend outward from the pen 16 or more feet, just 
 for convenience, and gates opening from these to the regular pas- 
 ture, which may be acre lots, half -acre lots or much larger, accord- 
 ing to whether the breeder cares to keep each sow and litter separ- 
 ate after they go on grass. If half -acre lots are used, each should 
 have a sleeping house at the rear end, and artificial shade, if there 
 is not natural shade in each lot, for the comfort of the sow and 
 litter during hot weather. They should come to the general house 
 for feeding. 
 
 Forage Crop Mixture. A mixture of clover, alfalfa, orchard 
 grass and other grasses makes ideal pasture. The lots should be 
 situated on either side of the general hoghouse. Arrangements for 
 
8 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 watering should be ma.de so that all can drink from the central 
 house. Small fields of forage should be grown where a large 
 number of sows or young hogs may be placed after weaning time, 
 or those that have already weaned their litters, or animals being 
 fitted for market that would not necessarily be obliged to remain 
 in the central house and lot, but could run in the larger lots and 
 larger numbers together. I quote the following on the value of 
 forage crops for swine from Bulletins Nos. 136 and 143, from the 
 Iowa Experiment Station: 
 
 "Probably there is no kind of pasture that becomes green and suitable 
 for hogs as early in the season as a field of winter rye, sown early in the 
 fall previous. This rye often furnishes good grazing through the late fall 
 and early winter, or until it becomes covered with snow, then it is the first 
 thing that will furnish a green bite in the spring, coming on much earlier 
 than either alfalfa or clover. 
 
 "Following the early rye comes alfalfa, which furnishes green pasture 
 a little earlier than any of the clovers. By May 1 in the northern latitude 
 red clover will furnish a splendid pasture until such time as it begins to 
 dry and burn by the hot weather. By this time a field of rape should be 
 ready; it is probably as good pasture for making growth and gains as any 
 other one kind of green forage. This should be sown in May and the pigs 
 should be kept off of it until it becomes a few inches high, after which it 
 will stand extremely heavy pasturing. 
 
 "Where one wishes to hog down corn in the fall by turning in a large 
 number to fatten for market, there is nothing that will combine with this 
 as well as Dwarf Essex rape, drilled in between the rows just after the last 
 cultivation of corn. By the time the corn is ready to turn the hogs on you 
 have an ideal ration in the same field; or rye sown with the rape also makes 
 a good combination." 
 
 No greater opportunity exists for cheapening pork production 
 than through the general adoption of a forage crop system for 
 spring pigs. Where alfalfa pasture is used in this climate it should 
 not be pastured earlier than May 1 nor later than November, as 
 it must have enough growth after pasturing to make a cover crop 
 for the winter. Where rape pasture is used it will be found good 
 at any time during the growing season and furnish abundant pas- 
 ture after the clovers are dry and dead; in fact will furnish good 
 pasture until freezing weather comes. It can be used either for 
 pasturing or for soiling, that is, cutting and carrying to the lot 
 where the pigs are kept if they are not turned into the field. 
 
 Young hogs can be pushed very fast by having this good rape 
 pasture and ear corn, plus one-tenth of the corn in meat meal or 
 best quality tankage. This meatmeal or tankage is a great help in 
 furnishing the necessary protein and has a tendency to stop the 
 inclination for rooting that many pigs have when on clover or 
 alfalfa. 
 
 In Winter Quarters. When hogs and pigs are in winter quar- 
 ters with no succulent feed such as pasture, the other feeds may 
 be supplemented by using a good quality of third cutting alfalfa 
 which is greener and better than that of former cuttings. This 
 may be fed whole in racks made for the purpose to save waste, or 
 it may be run through a cutting machine and chaffed, and then 
 mixed 2 parts chaffed alfalfa, one part shelled corn and one part 
 
THE IDEAL HOG FARM 
 
 oats, thoroughly mixed and ground through a steel burr grinder, 
 which is better than any other for this kind of a mixture. If 
 desired a little middlings may be added and a little tankage to make 
 a balanced ration, and a complete one. This may be fed dry in 
 troughs where there would be no waste, or can be steamed a little 
 and thoroughly mixed so that all particles of ground feed and 
 alfalfa are well mixed. This makes an ideal feed in the winter for 
 brood sows or growing sows. A little of it for fall pigs is good but 
 they should also have a feed once or twice a day of a warm slop 
 containing skimmed milk if possible, or enough tankage to balance 
 the other materials. 
 
 Location. Further along the line of the ideal hog farm, I wish 
 to say that this farm should be located as near as possible to a 
 good shipping point or on an Interurban line leading to some city 
 where one or more railroads enter, the more the better. It should 
 also be located on a good hard road rather than on muddy lanes or 
 steep hills, so that pigs could be delivered at any time during the 
 year rain or shine. It should also have some portion of the farm 
 covered with a nice growth of trees where dry sows and young 
 hogs could be carried along on good pasture between breeding sea- 
 sons. This pasture for best results should have springs or running 
 water of some kind, but springs would be preferable rather than a 
 stream running through the farm. The farm should be large 
 enough to furnish all the grain and feed that would be used in the 
 business, as well as straw to make first-class bedding, and fields 
 should all be rather small, say from 10 to 20 acres each and all 
 fences, both outside and division, should be made of woven wire 
 with steel or cement posts, so that when once built there would 
 be no need of repairing for a generation. Suitable gates made of 
 galvanized piping with woven wire should open into every field and 
 pasture. These gates should not be less than 14 feet wide, so that 
 teams could be driven in and out when necessary. Suitable barns, 
 nicely painted and kept in good repair, should be of sufficient num- 
 ber to contain all the products of the farm, both grain, hay and 
 straw. A small building used as a shop should by all means be on 
 every well regulated breeding farm, where crates, hurdles and 
 anything along these lines could be made as needed. This shop 
 should be furnished with a complete set of tools, including car- 
 penters tools, pump, tongs, various kinds of wrenches and all such 
 tools as are constantly needed on a farm. 
 
 Shop Equipment. If the owner has any knowledge of black- 
 smithing a portable forge, and a drilling outfit should also be in 
 the shop. Also a good heating stove so that work could be done 
 here in cold or stormy weather. ^ If the business was large enough 
 to justify, a nice small office should be on every breeding farm, so 
 that all comers would have a place where they could go and "talk 
 hog" to their heart's content without being obliged to do this in 
 the dwelling. All buildings should be built of good material, nicely 
 painted and always kept in good condition. The various Jiog 
 houses, as well as the smaller individual ones should all be nicely 
 
10 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 made of lumber and well painted and each should be numbered. 
 A plat of the farm proper should also be made by a surveyor and 
 each field numbered, so that a regular record can be kept of what 
 each field produced and what its crop rotation should be each year. 
 All convenient utensils should be kept on every swine breeding 
 farm such as mixing vat, steam boiler or water heater, good well 
 made galvanized pails and dippers, a set of scales in the feed house 
 or some other convenient barn where pigs and feed for them can be 
 weighed, so that one could keep his feed account and know how 
 much feed he was giving each different lot of pigs or hogs. Water 
 should be in every feed house, either pumped directly with windmill 
 or engine or from a compressed air water system. A low down 
 wagon should be had, with the bottom not over 12 or 14 inches above 
 the ground large enough to hold three to five barrels, or in lieu of 
 this a galvanized tank made to set on the wagonT'with about 4 com- 
 partments holding a barrel or more each, with covers strongly 
 hinged with iron hinges to cover openings, so there would be no 
 slopping from the tank when hauled from yard to yard or from 
 field to field. Feed house should be so arranged that this wagon 
 could be driven into it, where feed and water could be mixed 
 and where the steam could be turned into the feed in cold weather 
 if desired. 
 
 If a central hog house is used a system of ventilation should be 
 arranged so that the walls would not be covered with dampness or 
 ice during cold weather. 
 
 A chute for loading pigs into wagon or into crates set on a 
 platform wagon should be made and set on a pair of wheels, so 
 that it would almost balance and could be wheeled from one place 
 to another, a picture of which is shown herewith. 
 
 Chute for Loading Hogs Into Wagon or Crate 
 
THE IDEAL HOG FARM 
 
 11 
 
 This will be found much more convenient than to lift the crate 
 from the ground whenever you wish to load a hog. A small pen in 
 the swine house or other place where water is convenient should be 
 made with a cement floor and outlet to sewer, where pigs could be 
 sprayed or washed and cleaned ready for shipment. Pigs should 
 always, especially during the warmer months, be nice and clean 
 before being crated for shipment. In fact everything about the 
 farm of the breeder should be attractive in appearance and general 
 arrangement. 
 
 Pigs about the same age and size should always be yarded or 
 pastured together, as they show to much better advantage ; in other 
 words the herd should be divided up in as even bunches as pos- 
 sible, all yearlings together, under year sows or boars in separate 
 yards each, early spring pigs and late ones in separate yards, and 
 so on all along the line. It makes a better impression on a visitor 
 than to see all ages and sizes running together. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A COMPLETE SWINE HOUSE 
 
 Where one is raising hogs on a large scale and does not have to 
 skimp for money to build proper buildings, the building known 
 as the Myers plan, Plate I, is probably the most convenient swine 
 house, with pasture and house attached, that could be built. The 
 swine house proper is built in a circle 87 ft. in diameter with 20 
 pens around the outer circle, each pen being 13 ft. front by 12 ft. 
 in depth and each opening to a one-half acre pasture, as shown in 
 ground plan of building and pastures, Plate II, with the sleeping 
 house at rear end of each lot, with additional larger pastures open- 
 ing out from each of these half-acre ones. You will notice also 
 
 PLATE I. Myers Plan Hog House 
 
 by the ground plan that each half-acre lot has artificial shade 
 along the fence between each two lots, thus accommodating the 
 pigs in each yard. 
 
 The house, proper, which stands in the center of the circle, is 30 
 ft. in diameter, with feed bins around the circle, Plate IV. This part 
 should be made with all concrete floor. You will notice an alley 
 out each side of this feed house. Inside is located a hydrant or 
 pump with a drain which runs to a sewer. A steel overhead track 
 with carrier should be used in this building to carry the feed out 
 to the cement walk around the front of the feeding pens, thus 
 making a very convenient way of feeding, requiring no heavy 
 lifting to feed in a trough, as shown in the side view. These 
 
 12 
 
A COMPLETE SWINE HOUSE 
 
 13 
 
 troughs should be made of cast iron or boiler iron. I would suggest 
 in making these houses that a good article of prepared roofing 
 other than galvanized iron be used. Galvanized iron draws too 
 much heat, and another thing : it would have to be painted every 
 year or it would soon rust out. A wagon scale should be located 
 
 PLATE II. Ground Plan of Pastures 
 
 in the circle outside of the feed house, this circle being 24 ft. 5 in. 
 in width between the concrete walk and the feed house all the 
 way around and should be filled with cinders or gravel. This 
 style of house would be a delightful place to work in and care for 
 the herd, as one would never have to be out in the weather during 
 summer or winter. All feeding would be done on a concrete floor, 
 and the pigs could go out and in from the feeding floor to the 
 pastures or sleeping quarters at will. \ strongly recommend this 
 house where a breeder has a large enough herd and business to 
 justify it. It would require about 40 acres of land for the entire 
 
14 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 PLATE III. Sectional View of the Myers Swine House 
 
A COMPLETE SWINE HOUSE 
 
 15 
 
 plant. The land should be well-set in clover, alfalfa and other 
 grasses before being occupied. To make an extra nice job, the 
 yards could all be fenced with what is known as the galvanized 
 hollow iron post, about 2 in. in diameter, which should be made 
 5 ft. in length and driven into the ground and the woven wire 
 
 reed Hcutt tn<t FttJ'me. Pts /"** 
 PLATE IV 
 
 fence attached with proper brace, etc. These posts usually come 
 in 7 ft. lengths and cost around 30c each, but could be made 2 ft. 
 shorter and driven into the ground 2 ft., which would leave them 
 only 3 ft. above ground, which with a 33 in. woven wire fence 
 would make a handsome job. They will last almost as long as 
 cement posts ; have little slots cut in them to hold each wire, which 
 can be closed with a hammer after the wire is entered. 
 
16 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 PLATE V. Some Types of Movable Hog Houses, Built at Iowa State College. 
 Photos Courtesy Animal Husbandry Department, Iowa State College of Agriculture. 
 
A COMPLETE SWINE HOUSE 
 
 17 
 
 i 
 
 PLATE VI. Some Types of Movable Hog Houses Built at the Iowa State College. 
 Photos Courtesy Animal Husbandry Department, Iowa State College of Agriculture. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 IMPORTANCE OF GOOD PASTURE 
 
 In forty years* experience I have come to the conclusion that 
 many breeders and growers of swine, whether for the. purebred 
 trade or the market, fail to appreciate the importance of good pas- 
 ture at all times, and the use of succulent feeds at such times and 
 in such parts of the country where snow or cold weather prevents 
 pasture during a portion of the year. 
 
 Probably there is nothing more desirable as a pasture for pigs 
 than some one of the clovers. Of course different states and differ- 
 ent parts of the country grow different kinds of grasses, and the 
 hograiser should select such clovers or grasses as may be adapted 
 to his locality. I would name the common red clover first. While 
 
 Figs in Clover 
 
 no better than alfalfa, it will stand tramping and close cropping 
 better. Of course the clovers in the colder states are not ready 
 for the pigs quite as early as are some other kinds of green feed. 
 Where this is the case, nothing is better than an early sowed field 
 of winter rye that had a fair start the fall previous and also has 
 been used as pasture when not covered with snow. This grain is 
 the earliest to form a good green bite in the early spring, and will 
 give an abundance of good pasture until such time as the clovers 
 or alfalfa are of proper growth. 
 
 It is generally acknowledged that while alfalfa is a splendid 
 pasture, it will not stand close grazing, and it will die out sooner 
 than other grasses; for this reason we have always kept our hogs 
 off the alfalfa fields, and especially should this be done during the 
 winter. 
 
 18 
 
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD PASTURE 19 
 
 Rape Valuable. If there is any prospect in the spring of 
 the pasture lot becoming short or danger of its becoming injured 
 by dry weather, it is desirable to prepare for this emergency by 
 sowing a field of dwarf essex rape, which is the best substitute for 
 clover or alfalfa that I know of. In fact, every hograiser should 
 sow a field of rape, as it is one of the best of all hog feeds. This 
 should be sown as early in the spring as possible after the ground 
 becomes warm, and should not be used as a pasture until it is six 
 inches or more in height. After it once has a good start the pigs 
 will never be able to keep it down, and this feed is good as a pas- 
 ture feed even until freezing weather comes in the fal^ and during 
 the months of July and August when all other kinds of green food 
 are withering and dried out this will furnish a very satisfactory 
 green feed. 
 
 We have fed more or less rape for years and have never had 
 anything but good results. Occasionally I have read of some 
 trouble with the pigs becoming scabby or sore about the ears and 
 parts of the body that come in contact with the rape; especially 
 when there was a dew or slight rain, making the leaves wet. I 
 understand, however, this trouble occurs only with the white breed 
 of hogs; their skin seems a little more sensitive and inclined to 
 blister in the sun, especially if wet. 
 
 An acre or two of rape, if a good stand and on good soil, will 
 produce a surprising amount of first-class pasture. If it is desira- 
 ble to sow a spring grain to be used before rape could become the 
 proper size for grazing, a mixture of barley and oats and even field 
 peas makes a desirable mixture to sow. I believe a hog prefers 
 green barley sown early in the spring to any of the other varieties 
 of spring-sown grain. Why this is I cannot explain, but if a patch 
 of oats and another of barley are sown early in the spring, side by 
 side, and pigs turned into the two lots when grain is a few inches 
 high, they will eat the barley all off and give little attention to 
 the oats, probably for the reason that the barley is more palatable. 
 
 Shade Natural or Artificial? The question of shade in the 
 pastures or lots where pigs are % kept during the summer, is of great 
 importance. The pig being an animal that does not perspire, of 
 course can not stand excessive heat and must have shade or suffer 
 the consequences. 
 
 Where the hog pastures can be arranged in a wooded lot, that 
 is all that can be desired. Where such is not the case artificial 
 shade of some kind must be furnished. In lots on open, sunny land 
 where there are no trees, very satisfactory arrangement for shade 
 can be had by setting posts along the division fence every sixteen 
 feet with corresponding posts eight feet each side of the fence, 
 about four or five feet high along the fence with the outer ones 
 about two and a half feet high, thus forming a covered place six- 
 teen feet square with the roof slightly sloping to the east and to 
 the west, or even each of the four ways. The cover should be of 
 
20 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 good lumber and the ends of the boards projecting well over to 
 prevent the sun shining under. This place should have no floor, 
 and the ground after being used will naturally become rooted up 
 and often gets very dusty; this condition can be overcome by one 
 or two liberal sprayings of crude oil, and in extremely hot weather 
 if the pigs suffer with heat, water can be thrown on the ground 
 under the shades each day. 
 
 Where many hogs are pastured in a large lot of several acres 
 or more, and there is no natural shade, a long shed can be built 
 with the sideirleft open for about two feet above the ground. This 
 should also be kept free from dust in the above manner and well 
 ventilated, and as dark as possible during the hot, dry weather 
 when flies are troublesome. But no shade equals that of a good 
 tree with spreading branches in a woods pasture well set in white 
 clover and bluegrass. However, I do not recommend the use of 
 a thickly set underbrush or where the trees are so close together 
 that the sun cannot penetrate to all parts some time during the 
 day. Avoid such a place, as the direct rays of the sun are necessary 
 for complete sanitation. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 NECESSITY OF PLENTY OF PURE WATER 
 
 The question of water for swine at all times is one that I fear 
 is not looked upon with as much importance as it should be. For 
 instance, many feeders men who are really good feeders, too 
 seem to think that when feeding pigs or older animals on a mix- 
 ture of wet feeds, containing more or less water, the animal is get- 
 ting all the water it requires in eating a half pail or more of nicely 
 mixed wet feed. To prove that this is not the case generally, let 
 the feeder pour a little pure water into a separate trough and nine 
 times out of ten the pig will take a drink of it while he is eating 
 his wet feed. Of course it is sometimes rather discouraging to 
 water a large number of hogs in separate troughs, and an hour or 
 so after they have been fed a wet feed notice that in several of the 
 lots or yards some of the pigs do not seem to drink any of it, but 
 just remember some of them will drink heartily. For this reason 
 it is far better, where possible, that a drinking fountain sheuld 
 be used where the pigs or hogs can go at will ; this, of course, where 
 there is no natural spring or water flowing through the yards or 
 pasture lots. 
 
 I know personally that I drink and enjoy lots of good cold water, 
 and while it is claimed by some that the drinking of water during 
 the meal is injurious, I have always drunk all the cold water 
 and it is never too cold with my meal that I wanted. I am now 
 much over three score years and still drink water, and have never 
 felt any ill results, and weigh over 250 pounds. I have an attrac- 
 tive stenographer who is helping me on this book and a great 
 help, too who never drinks any water to speak of. She weighs 
 106 pounds, although not three score and ten, but I wish you to 
 note the difference in weight, and that water is a valuable thing 
 for producing flesh as well as satisfying a normal thirst. 
 
 Systems of Watering. There are many ways of furnishing 
 water to the herd. If many are allowed to pasture together 
 or are yarded in 4he same winter quarters, it is an easy matter 
 by having self-watering fountains, as it would be necessary for 
 only one such fountain to be used in a covered shed or place 
 where forty to fifty animals were daily allowed to congregate. 
 Where animals are kept, .as has been our custom, in yards with 
 only a few in each, it is quite a serious matter, as each lot must 
 either have a drinking fountain, or the animals must be regularly 
 watered each day, and during the cold winter months no water 
 must be left over night in the trough to freeze. We have a self- 
 watering fountain which is connected with a forty-barrel supply 
 tank so arranged that a lamp can be safely set under the drinking 
 cup and fountain, always keeping the water warm. This is a very 
 
 21 
 
22 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 desirable fountain, but could not be used where there were forty 
 or more lots with a few; pigs in each, unless there was a regular 
 system of water pipes running along through these lots, and the 
 cost would be so great that it could hardly be afforded ; hence, out- 
 side of our one or two adjoining large lots, we are obliged during 
 the extremely cold months to water each individual lot with water 
 that has been warmed. In southern states it is probably not neces- 
 sary to use water that has had the chill taken off which is a 
 much more desirable condition. 
 
 There are other watering fountains on the market for use dur- 
 ing the extremely cold weather, arranged with a firebox for heating 
 the reservoir above, with openings along the drinking tank on 
 either side. In the case of breeders who use a central hog house, 
 a pipe running along the troughs on either side of the alley and 
 back to the water heater is very convenient to keep the chill off 
 the drinking water, but these are not common. It is a small matter 
 in what way water is furnished daily to every hog and pig on the 
 farm, but it is of much importance that it be furnished in some way. 
 
 j\qr\cu\Lura\ 
 .ArwTKJl Nujbondry Secti 
 -Iowa Experiment Stolon - 
 
 PLATE VII. A Half-monitor Roof Type of Community Hog House, Hollow Tile or 
 
 Brick Construction 
 
CHAPTER V 
 IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD SIRE 
 
 It is an old maxim that "a good sire is half the herd." If a 
 poor sire, he is all the herd, and that means failure. Whether 
 this is true or not, it is of great importance that the sire at the head 
 of the herd should be a good one, not only individually, but what 
 is more, he should be bred along blood lines that have proven pre- 
 potent and have made good even though used on promiscuously 
 bred sows; a strongly line-bred boar with an ancestry that is un- 
 questioned in the ability to breed on. 
 
 Often one may breed an animal that has great individual quality, 
 but without good ancestry, and such an animal should not be used 
 as a sire. A prepotent sire never comes by chance. He must trace 
 to good ancestry to be of much value to the breeding herd. There 
 is no breed of swine without a few outstanding sires that have had 
 great influence on the breed. This great value comes from inher- 
 ited excellence through generations of good blood, and is the only 
 reliable method of selecting the desirable sires in any breed. 
 
 In making a selection of a sire for a pure-bred herd, look first 
 to individuality, then to the breeding back through several gener- 
 ations; see that his ancestors are right and what they have done 
 for the breed. If you find all this to be of a high order and the 
 boar suits you, is a high-class individual, showing true character- 
 istics of his breed, rugged, full of vigor, masculine in appearance, 
 and with all the size possible, not sacrificing quality ; conformation 
 as near the standard of excellence of his breed as possible, buy him. 
 
 Among the few great sires that have stamped themselves on the 
 offspring of any breed, one can find their characteristics cropping 
 out even to many generations, and if you will go into almost any 
 prominent herd of the different breeds you will at once notice 
 a few outstanding pigs that show in many ways unusual excellence, 
 and if you take the trouble to look up their breeding you will 
 invariably find that they were either sired by some great sire or 
 by a son or a grandson of his, or from a sow by some great out- 
 standing sire ; plainly showing the ability of such a sire to repro- 
 duce the excellent qualities so much in demand. 
 
 On a recent visit to our farm by an expert in pedigrees, it was 
 found after -we had selected some fifteen head of pigs, as being 
 the tops of the litters, that every one of them traced to sires of 
 great ancestry. 
 
 Once in checking up our card system we found a certain sow 
 had produced a litter of only six pigs; two boars and four sows. 
 The choicest boar was given to the party who had offered us an 
 excellent sow if we would breed her to a certain boar and select 
 him the best boar pig ; we were to have the sow and balance of the 
 
 28 
 
24 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 litter for the service of the boar. The Utter above was the result. 
 We sold the four sows to prominent breeders for $1,250. All of 
 the sows proved great producers. One had a litter of seven pigs, 
 one of which was used at the head of the herd for years. Three 
 of this litter were made barrows for show at the International 
 Exposition, where one of them was the Grand Champion over all 
 breeds and the others were winners in class. All this goes to 
 prove the value of a great sire, which in this case gave a good 
 record and brought us a great sow for the herd, and $1,250, for 
 the service of the boar. 
 
 There are many such instances on record, which emphasize the 
 value of the right kind of a pedigree as well as "some hog" 
 which is certainly very necessary. It is also of great importance 
 that the same critical judgment be used in the selection of the 
 brood sows on which the herd is founded that the future may be 
 an assured success. 
 
 Every breeder should be constantly on the lookout for a sire 
 which he has reason to believe would help to improve his herd. 
 It is not likely that any man is so well fixed in regard to sires 
 that he need not think of better ones. Wise breeders are always 
 open-eyed and open-minded in reference to new sires for their 
 herds. They keep posted as to the performances of both boars 
 and sows representing popular blood lines. Moreover, they cor- 
 respond with or visit many of the less prominent breeders for 
 the purpose of finding out how things are going. Such men 
 make most of the so-called "lucky strikes." When they have the 
 evidence that given blood lines are producing extraordinarily 
 good things they are enterprising enough to secure boars or sows 
 representing those blood lines. Sometimes they have to pay long 
 prices; just as often they secure bargains. 
 
 A breeder who would steadily advance must pay studious atten- 
 tion to the operations of his fellow-breeders, and thus keep that 
 breadth of mind which is essential to genuine progress. He must 
 war against narrowness, and be big enough to see real merit 
 wherever it exists. 
 
 A Sire's Influence. In speaking of the influence of the sire 
 Prof. C. S. Plumb of the Ohio State University says : 
 
 "There is a great deal to learn regarding the reproduction of charac- 
 teristics among animals. However, one thing is pretty well established, 
 and that is, that what we know as well-bred animals transmit their 
 qualities with more certainty than do those of inferior breeding. It 
 is unfortunate that the results of the most successful experience in 
 breeding are not studied more carefully and made greater use of by tb.e 
 rank and file of breeders. The average man, a breeder so-called, is not 
 in fact a student of breeding at all. Far too many men are interested 
 in simply getting their females in pig, without regard to the fitness of 
 the sire. That methodless way has actually been the undoing of many 
 an American herd. This illustration has been made use of by one 
 author. Let two men start to breeding at the same time. One selects 
 a sire with great care and mates him to a lot of females with the view 
 
IMPORTANCE OP GOOD SIRE 25 
 
 of remedying their defects in the offspring and of systematically pro- 
 ducing a type. The other buys a sire with no special plan in mind. 
 He merely wishes a male and has no ideals to work toward. What is 
 the result? After a term of years one man has a herd that approaches 
 uniformity and that gives results in a measure approaching his ideals. 
 The other has bred a nondescript herd and produced nothing of serious 
 value. The stock produced by one is in constant demand. The other 
 wonders why he cannot find buyers. 
 
 "We have some breeders in America of a constructive sort, men who 
 have done much for the breed. These men have had ideals and have 
 sought to mate with the view of making something better than they 
 found. The number of men who desire to purchase $12.00 to $15.00 
 boars is far in excess of what some might think. They want something 
 pretty good at that What they really need is a scorching education, by 
 which they are made to comprehend the meaning of the breeding business 
 and what it leads to. It is most unfortunate that so many men measure 
 their needs by a definite price rather than a specific sort of animal. 
 
 ' ' Here is a man who has a lot of sows that are inferior in ham develop- 
 ment. They may be very good otherwise. With him it should not be 
 cost as a first consideration. Rather it should be the securing of a sire 
 to improve their weakness. No man today holds the trade of the par- 
 ticular buyer who does not recognize this fact and governs himself 
 accordingly. Thus it becomes apparent, and successful breeders readily 
 agree to it, that the man who expects to succeed must mate his hogs to 
 secure the most desirable form through the use of the right sort of sires. 
 
 "In my conversation with the best breeders of my acqaintance they 
 have very generally agreed that the most profitable animals they have 
 owned were the highest priced ones. Remember, I have specified \ lest 
 breeders, not promoters and speculators. A good many men have paid 
 very high prices and, as we say, "been stung," but this has no applica- 
 tion in this discussion. In the purchase of breeding stock, and especially 
 the herd headers, it is a big mistake for one to buy animals without 
 previous inspection. If one will sit down and figure out how far-reaching 
 the influence of a boar may be felt in the generations, he may conclude 
 that it will pay to look into the subject pretty carefully before buying. 
 Think what Longfellow meant in the Gentry herd! In more recent years 
 what a wonderful benefit has come to the breed through the use of 
 Masterpiece, one of the. real high-priced boars, in the herd of both Love- 
 joy and Corsa. Longfellow and Masterpiece are names to conjure with 
 today, and they were the products of men who measured the real value 
 of both pedigree and individual merit. 
 
 "The young man starting out in the development of a herd will do 
 well to secure high-class animals, bred well. Better try one good female, 
 a real topper, of both individual merit and with a popular pedigree, than 
 half a dozen common ones. She will pay much the best in the end. 
 That fact has been demonstrated time and again. And the cheap sire is 
 to be avoided. Young men should be ambitious and get sires that bid fair 
 promise to reproduce offspring of the sort in demand. If one aspires 
 to sell breeding stock, a cheap pedigree will be the heaviest handicap 
 imaginable. The average man inquires about pedigree, and if he knows 
 what it stands for he will not want the animal represented by a poor 
 pedigree, excepting at little above pork price. The intelligent, discrimi- 
 nating buyer will not want the stock, however, at any price. If one is 
 not seeking the trade of the select sort, then he might as well step down 
 and out as a producer of pure-bred stock. One should pattern after the 
 successes, not the failures. If one breeder is to have inspiration, it must 
 come to him through a knowledge of the results secured by the men 
 who know how and who have succeeded." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE HERD BOAR 
 
 It is necessary that the herd boar should be a good one, for the 
 reason that during his life he may be the sire of hundreds 
 of pigs, whereas a sow will only produce a limited number during 
 her life time, and if the boar is good enough to improve the 
 standard of the herd, his value as a breeder will be great beyond 
 compare. It is such sires that have made the breeds what they 
 are, and it is such sires that command almost unlimited prices. 
 
 Generally speaking, the sire should be a little more on the com- 
 pact order than the sow. By this I do not mean a chunky, short, 
 thick boar, but one showing full development at every point, 
 and of a strictly masculine type. There is nothing so unsatisfac- 
 tory as to have the head of a herd show a feminine appearance. 
 The boar particularly should be of the proper type of the breed 
 he represents. 
 
 He should be large, without sacrificing quality; smooth and 
 even in every part; a typical masculine head; eyes and ears wide 
 apart; the crest short, full, smooth and free from any creases; 
 the jowl reasonably full and well laid on to the shoulders, which 
 should be smooth and free from creases; a full heart girth ex- 
 tending well down; and the bottom lines nearly or quite on a 
 level, with as deep a flank as possible; rather short or medium 
 length legs with bone of\ good size and quality; pasterns short 
 and straight, and the hoofs well set ; legs standing square and well 
 under him and straight, like those of a Shorthorn, with long, 
 deep ham, tail set well up and of good size. 
 
 This type and description would fit any of the lard breeds 
 excepting that the head and ear should be characteristic of the 
 breed he represents. In Poland-Chinas a medium sized ear with 
 the proper setting and roll is desired; in the Duroc- Jersey prac- 
 tically the same type of head and ear, only a little more length 
 of snout allowable, but shorter preferred. These descriptions 
 should be insisted on in making selection, in order that the off- 
 spring may show an improvement each year. Careful attention 
 should be given to the blood lines of the sire. He should be what 
 is known as an intensive breeder one able to reproduce himself 
 and improve the get. 
 
 Such a sire is more often than otherwise found in a strongly 
 " line-bred " boar, carrying the blood of closely related ancestors. 
 If of proper conformation he can be relied upon to prove a good 
 sire. 
 
 Personally, I would never think of introducing a herd boar 
 into my herd of brood sows that did not carry much of the 
 blood represented by the sows, and yet it is not uncommon for 
 
 26 
 
THE HERD BOAR 27 
 
 a breeder to receive letters from prospective buyers insisting that 
 a boar be sent that is in no way related on either side to the 
 sows to which he is to be bred. 
 
 Handling the Herd Boar. The disposition and good behavior 
 of the herd boar depends much on how he is handled from pig- 
 hood to maturity. 
 
 Docility is a great thing in a herd boar and he should be 
 so handled that he will never cause any trouble in being driven 
 from place to place. Kindness has much to do with this. The 
 herdsman or owner should never under any consideration misuse 
 the boar, but handle him with a light buggy whip and have him 
 so trained that he can be driven as easily as a horse can be led. 
 This training should commence when the pig is young, and by 
 rubbing him a little at feeding time, he will become extremely 
 gentle and look for these attentions, and as he grows up under 
 this kind of treatment, will become a good natured, quiet, easily 
 handled boar, and it will not require two or three men with a 
 hurdle to bring him out of his yard to be used. 
 
 He should always be kept in a substantially fenced yard, with 
 grass to graze on at will, a dry place to sleep in that is warm enough 
 for comfort in winter months, and nice shade to lie under during 
 the hot weather. 
 
 Where one has a large herd and keeps several matured herd 
 boars, they can be so handled that they will run together like a 
 bunch of barrows. This can be done by cutting off the tusks very 
 closely, then on a cool day, turn them all together after thoroughly 
 spraying them with good coal tar disinfectant, and stay with them 
 until they have had their fight out at least once or twice, and the 
 boss has been recognized, after which they will let each other alone. 
 We did this recently with five aged herd boars, and by having 
 their tusks closely cut and smooth, they could not make any 
 scratches or cuts in their fight and after several good tussles they 
 gave it up and afterwards fed together along the trough in perfect 
 harmony. 
 
 During the breeding season the herd boar should be well fed 
 and receive plenty of exercise. If the lot where the boar or boars 
 are kept, is where they can see the sows, even though at some little 
 distance, it will, generally speaking, cause them to take plenty of 
 exercise walking up and down the lot along the fence, especially 
 during the breeding season. 
 
 If they do not take this exercise it will be necessary to exercise 
 them by driving, for they must be kept in prime vigor and perfect 
 condition. It is never wise to use a boar just after being fed ; better 
 use him early in the morning before being fed, and after a short 
 walk, so as to allow him an opportunity to empty out both bowel 
 and bladder: During the heavy breeding season he can again be 
 used toward evening after & little exercise and before feeding for 
 the night. 
 
28 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 Boar Apart from Sows. Where one has only a few sows I 
 believe it best to keep the boar in a separate lot from the sows and 
 use as just noted. However, on some farms where a large number 
 of sows are to be bred, a matured boar can be turned in the same 
 lot with ten to fifteen sows and the feeder should carefully note 
 sows in season and mark down the date the same as he would if the 
 sow was taken to the boar. In this way it is possible to keep a close 
 record of breeding dates and every sow will doubtless be gotten 
 safely with pig without injuring the boar. Care must be taken not 
 to turn a young boar in with a large bunch of old sows, and if your 
 boar frets under this treatment and is getting out of condition it 
 would be wise to put him by himself, feed him well and take the 
 sows to him. Judgment must be used in matters of this kind, as 
 it is the little things that are often most important and have much 
 to do with the success or failure of swine breeding. 
 
 While the herd boar should not be overloaded with fat, he 
 should be in a reasonably strong fleshy condition, the result of 
 proper feeding along lines that will not produce too much fat or 
 white meat. A muscle-producing-f eed should be used, such as mid- 
 dling, oats, peas, barley, a little corn and tankage, etc. Use a vari- 
 ety of feeds, with of course what grass he will eat, or other succu- 
 lent feed such as should be found on every farm. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 SELECTING BROOD SOWS 
 
 When the breeder or farmer lays the foundation of a herd of 
 brood sows it is necessary that he first make up his mind what breed 
 of swine he wishes to commence with. I am not recommending any 
 particular breed. There are a number of standard breeds and they 
 are all good, especially five or six of them. Looking over those 
 known as the lard breeds, one cannot go wrong by selecting any of 
 the following, named in alphabetical order: Berkshires, Chester 
 Whites, Duroc-Jerseys, Hampshires and Poland-Chinas. There are 
 also a number of Cheshires and Victorias used in the far eastern 
 states, probably more of them in New York than any other state, 
 and they are a very satisfactory breed. 
 
 Among the breeds known as bacon breeds, are the Large York- 
 shires and Tamworth. Further than these there are several small 
 breeds, used locally, such as Essex, Small Yorkshires and Suffolks ; 
 the latter three breeds are used little in the western states. 
 
 Get Posted. After deciding on one of these breeds for a foun- 
 dation herd, it will be best for one entering the business to post 
 himself as well as possible regarding the characteristics of that par- 
 ticular breed, and it is my opinion that other things being equal, 
 it is better for a man to produce only one bred and that should be 
 the one he thinks he would like best. He should never attempt to 
 raise a breed of hogs he does not like, either purebreds or for pork. 
 
 If he is going to raise hogs to sell on the market or to follow 
 cattle, he need not be as particular about bloodlines, but should be 
 just as particular regarding individual type and characteristics. 
 Let him make a careful study of type, size and general conforma- 
 tion, and always remember the desirability of getting as much size 
 as possible without sacrificing quality. 
 
 First let him see a number of the breed he wishes to purchase, 
 that he may have no reason afterwards to regret his selection. This 
 rule will be necessary no matter what breed he selects. No better 
 place can be found to study breed characteristics than at county 
 and^state fairs, at the International, and at public sales of pure-bred 
 swine. 
 
 Type of Sow to Select. It is well in making the selection of 
 a foundation herd of brood sows to secure only those that show 
 good length of body, well-sprung ribs, with deep sides ; a full loin ; 
 long deep hams, with as straight legs as possible ; not too high above 
 ground when in ordinary condition, and with a full heart girth giv- 
 ing plenty of room for the vital organs such as heart, lungs, etc. 
 The head should be characteristic of the breed. The neck short with 
 
 29 
 
30 FOETY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OP A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 a reasonably full jowl but not heavy and hanging especially not 
 flabby. This should connect with the shoulders smoothly ; the crest 
 should be reasonably short without crease or deep wrinkle laying 
 both on top and sides smoothly to the shoulders. Shoulders should 
 be well filled but not too broad on top to give flat appearance, but 
 should be round and smooth without crease back of them at the 
 heart girth. It is better always to select a sow that is strong in the 
 back, somewhat arched, so that even when carrying a heavy litter 
 her back would show no sign of sagging. From the loin coupling, 
 to what is known as the tail head, or where the tail sets, should 
 not be too steep or drooping, giving the top line a bad appearance, 
 but should on the other hand, be well up or nearly on a line with 
 the loin at least but slightly drooping. 
 
 It is common with some farmers and even with breeders who 
 have had years of experience, to select a brood sow that is too short 
 and thick throughout; such an animal is not apt to be as good a 
 producer as one with more length, more depth and mellowness in 
 her general make-up. One should look well to the bone, pasterns 
 and feet. It is not necessary that the bone should be extremely 
 large in diameter, like that of a Clydesdale or Shire horse, for often 
 an extremely large bone in a hog does not have as much firmness 
 and strength as a bone that is not so large. The pasterns should 
 be as short and upright as possible. This is surely one of the im- 
 portant things that we should look after in all of our present-day 
 breeds. If the pastern is short and the bone of good quality there 
 will never be any trouble with broken-down feet. 
 
 When it comes to the foot proper, the toes should be short and 
 not too sprawling, or in other words they should set rather close 
 together. The legs should be straight from a side view of the 
 animal, as well as from an end or front view. Often one finds a 
 hog with a front leg as crooked as a "fist" dog, with the knees close 
 together and feet wide apart, giving a very bad appearance to the 
 animal. Regarding the hind legs, they should be as straight and 
 upright as those of the Shorthorn, rather than being what is known 
 as "sickle hocked" and should stand square under the body. 
 
 The Coat of Hair. The coat of hair should be ample, yet 
 not curly or coarse, and the smoother it lays on the body the bet- 
 ter; all appearance of what is known as "swirls" should be avoided, 
 especially if the animals are intended for breeding purposes, and 
 the boar should not be considered if he has a "swirl." For the 
 benefit of the beginner, I will explain that a * ' swirl ' ' is what would 
 be called in the human race, a cowlick. In some hogs these are quite 
 small and hardly noticeable, while in others they appear as large as 
 a saucer and are generally located near the loin and some times near 
 the tail head. 
 
 A Crank on Markings. In selecting brood sows of any breed, 
 it is not so much how they are marked as it is whether or not they 
 are good sows of the right type, quality and conformation. Of 
 
SELECTING BROOD SOWS 31 
 
 course this trouble will not come up about those whose color is 
 solid, such as the Chester Whites, etc., but in the Berkshires, Poland- 
 Chinas and Hampshires, one often meets a man, who is more par- 
 ticular about fancy markings than he need be. I do not believe that 
 a perfectly marked Berkshire sow, bred to a perfectly marked Berk- 
 shire boar, would ever produce a litter that was perfectly marked, 
 nor do I believe that a sow or boar with one black foot, black switch, 
 or a white splash on the jowl or arm would ever produce a litter that 
 was all marked like the sire or dam. Of course the nearer the lit- 
 ters come to being perfectly marked the more we are pleased, but 
 we should look more to conformation, size and quality, than to the 
 markings. 
 
 We once paid $225 for a son of old Longfellow that had a splash 
 that nearly covered his entire left jowl and face and I cannot recall 
 that he ever sired a pig with the same marking. This rule will 
 apply to the Poland- China breed, and to the Hampshire when the 
 white belt varies in width and shape as well as some of the feet 
 having white part way up the leg. First look for quality and size, 
 then let the markings be a secondary consideration. 
 
 See also, in selecting your brood sows, that there is a mellow- 
 ness to the touch, which shows feeding quality. Avoid one that is 
 hard and coarse to the touch. 
 
 In selecting a herd of brood sows, it is my judgment that the 
 more uniform in type, size and conformation the sows are, the bet- 
 ter, and I would even go so far, if I were selecting but a few, to 
 have them all from one or two litters if possible, rather than take 
 the risk of getting such a great variety of types by the selection of 
 individuals from different families, and I would have them from 
 reasonably large litters. 
 
 While we all like good-sized litters, I am not a crank on this 
 subject. I prefer litters running from seven to nine rather than 
 from ten to twelve pigs each, and believe I could make more pounds 
 of meat and obtain better growth for breeding purposes, than I 
 could from extremely large litters. Of course we occasionally find 
 a good sow that can grow a litter of twelve or more, but the pigs 
 are not apt to be as thrifty and as growthly as those of a litter of 
 eight or nine. It is better to have pigs of a litter of medium size 
 that are very thrifty, than those from a larger litter that cannot 
 get enough nourishment to develop as they should. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AGE, TIME AND SEASON FOB BREEDING 
 
 I am a firm believer that for best results animals should not be 
 bred too young. Many breeders and farmers make a great mistake 
 in selecting the sows they wish to breed from the spring gilts each 
 year, also selecting from his own herd, or some other, a young boar 
 from a spring farrow, rather than carry over his older sows and 
 keeping a mature boar. I am positive that it is much better to use 
 only mature animals for breeding or those as nearly matured as 
 possible. We all know that a sow from two to five years old bred to 
 a boar of about the same age will produce stronger pigs with con- 
 siderably more size and weight at birth, than will a young gilt, 
 and yet many men each year purchase young bred gilts. 
 
 I think the average litter also is larger in number from mature 
 animals. Furthermore, it has been my observation that the farmer 
 who each year selects young gilts and breeds to a young boar and 
 follows it up for a number of years, gradually reduces by this 
 process the stamina and vitality of his herd, causing them to be in 
 a condition to contract disease much easier than would older ani- 
 mals. For this reason I would advise that, for best results, nothing 
 be bred under one year old, which would bring the litter at about 
 sixteen months of age, at which time the animals are well along 
 toward maturity. After having started a sow to breeding and it is 
 found that she is a good producer, a good mother, careful of her 
 litter and a good suckler, by all means keep that sow as long as 
 she produces satisfactorily, and when you strike the best mating, 
 or one that proves highly satisfactory, continue to breed her to the 
 same boar, rather than take chances by changing. 
 
 It is not necessary to do as we have done once or twice, to keep 
 a sow almost up to the limit of the average usefulness of produc- 
 tion, or you might get caught as we did, by having quite a number 
 of sows, that had been valuable breeders, but by holding too many 
 years, all quit breeding at once. It is very hard when one has a 
 sow that produces very high-class animals to quit using her until 
 he is obliged to. 
 
 We bred a sow once in her 13th year and she produced one 
 pig; of course she had been a valuable sow or we would not have 
 retained her in the herd until that age. When she farrowed her 
 litter of only one pig we concluded it was time to stop, so we fat- 
 tened her and sold her to the local butcher. He remarked as he 
 looked her over that she was no spring chicken, and some weeks 
 after when I asked him how the old sow turned out, he said all right 
 in every way. 
 
 Breeding Season. The season in which it is best for sows to 
 be bred depends entirely upon the part of the country in which 
 
 32 
 
AGE, TIME AND SEASON FOB BREEDING 33 
 
 you are located. Breeders and farmers residing in the southern 
 states where cold weather is not a factor, may breed at any time of 
 the year, and this is a great advantage over those of us who live in 
 the northern or eastern states. In the cold weather states, it is besl 
 not to have pigs farrowed later in the fall than September, and by 
 no means later than the latter part of October, for the reason that 
 these pigs will be farrowed too late to get sufficient growth to be 
 weaned and fed by themselves before the weather becomes too cold 
 for best results in development, unless one is especially fitted with 
 conveniences, such as warm sleeping houses, etc., with plenty of 
 warm feed to continue their development without check. 
 
 Nothing looks so bad as a little pig in the winter time doubled 
 up with cold and its hair pointing to its ears, but where the pigs 
 can be properly taken care of and continue to grow and look smooth 
 and thrifty, then it is a different matter and they are fully as valu- 
 able as the pigs farrowed in the spring, because they come to the 
 proper breeding age the fall following their birth, and there is 
 nothing more desirable or that sells better than fall litters that can 
 be bred a year from birth. 
 
 With the spring litters the northern and eastern breeder must 
 also be a little careful. It is all right in this section to have a few 
 pigs farrowed in February, but that is not generally best. There 
 are men who probably would like to buy February pigs, as they 
 have a little more size when the fall breeding season commences, 
 than those farrowed later, but they require much more attention 
 to bring them to weaning time than would the litters farrowed in 
 March and April; besides none of the February pigs could be 
 shown the following fall in the under six months class. This in a 
 measure militates against their being sold to breeders, but would 
 be all right where sold to farmers for breeding purposes without 
 considering the matter of showing. However, this is a matter that 
 is up to each farmer or breeder, as he sees it from his own viewpoint. 
 
 Use of Breeding Crates. There is considerable difference of 
 opinion regarding the use of breeding crates, but I have long con- 
 sidered them a necessity, although we do not use them in every 
 instance. Where there is much difference in size of the animals the 
 crate should be used; on the other hand where the size is nearly 
 equal, perhaps just as good or better results can be had without the 
 use of the crate, yet every well regulated establishment should have 
 one or more reliable breeding crates. Some claim that using a crate 
 is against nature, which may be true. I believe, however, when the 
 crate is to be used, the animals to be bred should be turned together 
 for a short time for the purpose of getting acquainted, and the 
 teasing is no doubt a great benefit, but the practice of forcing a sow 
 into a breeding crate, then bringing the boar to her, without any 
 teasing, does not always work out as expected and sometimes creates 
 much trouble. When everything is all right, a crate is quite satis- 
 factory. Any crate used for this purpose should be adjustable both 
 in length and width. If sows can be bred without a crate, it is 
 better, as a general thing. 
 
CPIAPTBR IX 
 
 FARROWING TIME 
 
 It is* presumed that all breeders of pure-bred stock keep a record 
 of the date sows are due to farrow. If this is not the case trouble 
 is sometimes the result. As farrowing time approaches no unusu- 
 ally special care need be given to the brood sow if she has been fed 
 along lines laid down in this book, and if she has had sufficient 
 exercise during the gestation period. It is only necessary that she 
 be placed in a quiet, warm, dry place in winter and cool in summer, 
 a week or two previous to the date of farrow. This should be done 
 so that she may become accustomed to the new surroundings. 
 
 As the time approaches for the coming of the litter, see that 
 the sow gets out of her sleeping place daily and takes plenty of 
 exercise, otherwise she will become more or less constipated. If 
 such is the case, two ounces of Epsom Salts should be given her in 
 the slop daily until her bowels are in a laxative condition. See that 
 the place where she is to farrow is provided with a guard rail 
 around at least three sides of the pen, to protect the young litter 
 being overlaid by the sow and crushed. 
 
 If everything is going right with the sow at farrowing time, let 
 her alone. If one finds that after several hours of labor, there are 
 no pigs in sight, it is well enough to investigate. Often by oiling the 
 hand and entering a few inches, one will find either the leg of the 
 pig or its head can be reached, when a slight pull results in an 
 immediate delivery. 
 
 If the sow is unduly fleshy and seems closely built, it is a very 
 good plan, when she is ready to farrow, to inject a little oil either 
 sweet oil, cotton seed oil, or any that is clean and pure that the 
 passage may be made easy. 
 
 During nearly forty years of breeding, we have only had to 
 resort to pig forceps once or twice, and then generally without good 
 results. 
 
 Cold Weather Precautions. If the weather is cold when the 
 young pigs are just farrowed, we have made it a practice to have 
 close at hand a barrel or box with either a hot brick or two or a 
 stone heated and laid in the box and covered thickly and deeply 
 with chaff or cut straw, and as fast as the youngsters appear we 
 wipe them off with a cloth and place them in this box, where it is 
 warm, covering the same with a blanket, and wait for the next 
 one's appearance, keeping this up until the entire litter is farrowed, 
 if not continuing over too long a period. If several hours' time is 
 occupied in farrowing the litter, we let those that have appeared 
 nurse once or twice during the time, placing them back in the box 
 
 34 
 
FARROWING TIME 35 
 
 as soon as they have nursed sufficiently, and when the whole litter 
 is farrowed, we place them all with the mother, and if everything 
 goes right and the mother is quiet, leave them there. If, however, 
 she is ugly and inclined to get up and turn around and act badly, 
 we place the pigs back in the box to keep them warm, and wait a 
 short time until she is again settled. But generally, after the sow 
 permits the litter to nurse once without undue restlessness, she will 
 be quiet with them. 
 
 We have used a farrowing box for many years, and consider it 
 one of the best appliances in the equipment of a farrowing house, 
 for while the sow can easily lie down on either her right or left 
 side, she cannot turn around or lie down on the pigs, as they are 
 protected by the sides of the farrowing box which do not extend 
 clear to the floor, but have a space of some nine inches in which 
 the youngsters can run out into the outer part of the box at 
 either side or end. "We found in the last Spring farrowing of over 
 two hundred pigs, that only three were injured in the farrowing 
 box. In a large herd three or four of these boxes would be one of 
 the best investments that could be made. 
 
 After the pigs are two or three days old, they, with the sow, 
 can be removed to an individual house or pen, without much danger 
 of their being overlaid by the sow, unless she is deaf, which is some- 
 times the case, but such a sow should be sold for pork and not kept 
 in the breeding herd. 
 
 Occasionally one finds a sow that is very nervous after farrow- 
 ing. She will get up and lie down again frequently, and may crush 
 one or more of the newly farrowed pigs. It is well to give such a 
 sow a small feed, mostly of bran with a little middlings or cornmeal, 
 as this will often quiet her. If she is extremely nervous and insists 
 on getting up and down, pour one teaspoonful of laudanum into 
 her ear. 
 
 Keep Breeding Dates. Every breeder and even every farmer 
 and grower of hogs for market should keep correct dates when his 
 sows were bred and should put down the date to retry them, mak- 
 ing it from twenty to twenty-two or twenty-three days from the 
 date bred, and should not neglect when this time comes, to try them 
 again and see if they are settled or if they will have to be rebred. 
 This should be carried on at least to the third period after first 
 breeding, so that he would absolutely know that his sows are safe 
 in pig, and if they are to be used to fill orders for bred sows, he 
 should still keep tab on them and not ship them out until they show 
 their own guarantee that they are safe in pig. It is a very dis- 
 tressing thing, both for the purchaser and seller, to find after ship- 
 ment, that the sow shipped had failed to prove in pig. Better wait 
 a little longer before shipping and know that the animal is abso- 
 lutely safe in pig. 
 
CHAPTEB X 
 CAEE OF THE BROOD SOW 
 
 To have brood sows in prime condition at the beginning of the 
 breeding season, in the Fall, it is well to have them come off from 
 good fresh grass or pasture of some kind, having for a short time 
 been fed grain and being in a slightly gaining condition. This 
 usually brings them in season very shortly, and generally where 
 there are many, all will come in season about the same time. This 
 is well, as it enables a large number to be bred as near the same 
 time as possible, and the litters to arrive about the same time in 
 the Spring, thereby giving one a large number of youngsters of 
 practically the same age. 
 
 During the time these sows are being bred and carrying their 
 litters they should be fed absolutely right for best results. First 
 and all the time they should have plenty of exercise the more the 
 better. If they could run about the pastures and fields during the 
 daytime, between the feeding periods, it would be well, and they 
 should sleep some distance from where they are fed. 
 
 Her Feed. The feed should be composed of a variety and 
 should be as nearly a balanced ration as possible, containing the 
 proper amounts of both fat and bone-making material, and never 
 solely an all-corn ration. Of course corn is the cheapest feed one 
 can use in the cornbelt, especially if he grows it on his own farm, 
 and if this must be used for the sake of economy, it can be to the 
 amount of about three-fourths of the ration, with the other fourth 
 composed of feeds containing a high percentage of protein. Tankage 
 fed in the proportion of one-tenth to nine-tenths corn, makes prac- 
 tically a balanced ration. Hogs on alfalfa or green feed, need less 
 tankage. For convenience it would be better to grind the corn and 
 mix the tankage with the meal, which can be fed dry or soaked 
 and fed as a slop. 
 
 "With this ration a feed of the third cutting of alfalfa hay, which 
 is always bright and green, would be an excellent addition, giving 
 both bulk and green feed for the sows. 
 
 A mixture of one part shelled corn, one part oats, and two parts 
 finely cut alfalfa hay put through a cutting box, makes a nicely 
 balanced ration, with the addition of five per cent, tankage, or where 
 skim milk is plentiful, use it instead of tankage, in the proportion 
 of three pounds of skim milk to one of grain. 
 
 Another good ration is equal parts of rye and barley ground 
 fine and mixed with twenty-five per cent white middlings or shorts 
 on account of price of middlings, although middlings are very 
 good adding about five per cent, oil meal or tankage. This makes 
 almost an ideal ration. 
 
 36 
 
CARE OF THE BROOD SOW 87 
 
 A small per cent, in weight of a good quality bran added to any 
 of the above makes a valuable addition. 
 
 Plenty of Water. One thing must not be overlooked, and 
 that is plenty of clean fresh water. If it can be had at will, so 
 much the better; if it cannot, it should at least be given once or 
 twice daily, for the hog needs a drink of water as much as any 
 other animal or human being. I have known pigs to walk directly 
 from a wet feed of nice rich slop to a drinking fountain and take a 
 good drink of water, as though they had been fed on dry feed. I 
 really think that the majority of breeders and farmers overlook 
 this matter of letting the hogs have plenty of water to drink. 
 
 Further, the brood sows during the season should, if possible, 
 have some kind of green feed or pasture. Of course in parts of the 
 country where there is heavy snow, something must be fed to take 
 the place of pasture. There is nothing equal to the third or fourth 
 cutting of alfalfa for this purpose. This, if cured without being 
 damaged by rains, is practically as green as it would be in June, 
 and is greatly relished. It can be fed in racks, properly made, 
 and mentioned elsewhere in this book, or it may be run through a 
 power cutter and chaffed and fed with a portion of the grain ration, 
 as above recommended. A mixture of salt, charcoal, wood ashes 
 and ground limestone or slacked lime is absolutely necessary, and 
 if convenient add also a portion of ground phosphate rock. This 
 mixture adds much in the way of mineral matter that is so neces- 
 sary in building up the bone and frame of the unborn litter. 
 
 Brood sows should have a dry warm place to sleep, and but few 
 in number not over ten or twelve should run together or sleep 
 in one compartment. This is to avoid their crowding or piling up 
 too closely. 
 
 The future of the pig depends much, in fact more than is usually 
 realized, on what the dam receives in feed and care before the birth 
 of the litter. "A litter well born is half raised," and there should 
 be no immediate change in the feeding formula for the sow having 
 just farrowed a litter of pigs from what she has been having dur- 
 ing the period of gestation, only after farrowing the sow should go 
 at least twenty-four hours without feed, with what water she will 
 drink, which in cold weather should be given her with the chill 
 taken off; then,' a very light portion of the same feed she has been 
 having. If she has been fed a dry feed, it would be well to use the 
 same proportion in the mixture, only feed it as a slop, with warm 
 water during the winter in a cold climate, and cold water if in the 
 southern states. 
 
 This feed should be gradually increased as the litter is able to 
 take all the milk furnished by the mother. Usually at the end of 
 one week, if the litter is an average sized one, the sow can be fed 
 all she will eat up clean. 
 
 By the time the pigs are three weeks old they will eat a little on 
 the side from the trough with their mother, and if it is desired to 
 push them to the limit in growth, a small feeding space can be 
 
38 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 arranged so they may feed from a very low, shallow trough by them- 
 selves, unmolested by the mother, giving them the same feed given 
 the mother. 
 
 During this period of the early life of the litter the sow and 
 litter should take plenty of exercise for the necessary good of the 
 pigs, for they must exercise considerably during each day, or they 
 will become fat around the heart and die with what is known as 
 "Thumps," which is nothing more or less than fatty degeneration 
 of the heart, which they will certainly have unless they are exercised 
 daily in some way. 
 
 Weaning Pigs. As weaning time approaches, which should 
 not be earlier than ten to twelve weeks, in my opinion, the feed 
 may be lessened for the sow and more given the litter, so that the 
 sow would gradually give less milk and have no trouble when the 
 pigs are taken entirely away. Some breeders have made it a prac- 
 tice to gradually wean the litter by taking them away for a few 
 hours and then returning them to the mother and following this 
 up for a few days until they are taken away entirely. Others have 
 practiced taking one or more of the most thrifty pigs in the litter 
 away from the mother first, then after a few days a few others, and 
 finally taking those remaining, believing that pigs so weaned would 
 leave the sow in better condition and less danger of swelling and 
 soreness of the udder. We never have practiced this, however, dur- 
 ing our forty years of breeding. By letting the litter suckle until 
 it is ten to twelve weeks old or a little over, the sow naturally is 
 inclined to wean them herself and if she has been properly fed the 
 last part of this period she will practically give no milk at the end 
 of three months or thereabouts. 
 
 When the litter is finally weaned the sow should be given a good 
 fresh pasture of some kind with a little grain and she will need 
 very little else during the next month or two or until time to begin 
 to bring her in condition for another season's breeding. 
 
 We pastured 40 brood sows that had weaned their pigs in May, 
 by turning them directly into a fresh white clover and blue grass 
 pasture where there was plenty of shade. They had no grain or 
 slop for four months, but were given daily from a water fountain 
 all the fresh clean water they could drink. They did well on this 
 grass and water diet, but hereafter we will feed two or three ears of 
 corn daily to each sow, besides the grass and water, as I believe for 
 best results they should have a little grain. The sows that were 
 bred for fall litters ran in the pasture with the others and were 
 removed into individual lots about a month before farrowing where 
 they were given a little corn and some slop with plenty of grass. 
 
 To have two litters a year sows must wean their spring litters by 
 May 1, so as to be bred for early fall farrow, and the fall litters 
 must be weaned in November or early December so as to be bred 
 for March and April farrow. In the north it is not always prac- 
 tical to have two litters a year and we find it often advisable to breed 
 the sows so that they will farrow one litter the first year and two 
 litters the next year, or in other words, three litters in two years. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 MARKING 
 
 The matter of having each litter marked so that pigs may be 
 identified at any time, is one that every breeder of pure-breds at 
 least should follow without fail. There is nothing that would be 
 more embarrassing than to have a prospective buyer, when looking 
 over the pigs ask how we identify them and be unable to answer 
 satisfactorily. After trying all kinds and varieties of ear labels 
 we settled many years ago on the only system that we have found 
 entirely reliable, and one that never fails to remain where it is put. 
 This system is a series of small punch marks in the outer and inner 
 rims of the two ears, and is fully illustrated herein. 
 
 One thing is quite important, namely, that a small punch be 
 used, one not larger than the largest size in a revolving harness 
 punch. The punch should be set on the rim of the ear, only cutting 
 out a half circle. If too large a punch is used the marks become 
 too prominent as the pig grows to maturity. 
 
 A small vest pocket memorandum book should always be carried, 
 using one leaf for each sow and her litter, with the stamp, as 
 shown in the illustrated system of marking, showing the same ear 
 marks as are given to the pig. In this way as one goes through the 
 herd and asks for the breeding of different pigs, it can very readily 
 be given, by referring to the small memorandum book. To illus- 
 trate : Suppose a prospective buyer selected a pig and said to me, 
 ' ' this pig has two marks in the right ear outer rim and one in the 
 left outer rim. What are his sire and dam and date of farrow." 
 By referring to the book showing this mark I will find it is the fifth 
 litter farrowed during the year and shows that the sire was Rival's 
 Majesty 150500 and the dam Locksley's Artful Belle 178745, and 
 that it was farrowed March 13, 1918. This is all in a nut shell and 
 very satisfactory to the one asking for the information. 
 
 In this system we use the same mark for each pig in the litter, 
 as the pig is not named or registered until sold, then a name is given 
 and a registry number which is entered on the card record of that 
 particular litter. If a sow in this litter or a boar is retained in the 
 herd the card record should show it and ear mark as well. This 
 system is started anew the 1st of January each year, as the previous 
 year's litters are supposed to be sold, but for the few that are not, 
 or are intended to be retained in the herd, a memorandum is made. 
 
 Record of Litters. We have found the following card system 
 for keeping a record of the litters, as well as disposition of each, to 
 be the most convenient of anything we have ever tried. The cards 
 should be 5x8 in. as illustrated. On one side should be written the 
 pedigree of the dam, her description, showing the ear marks she 
 
 39 
 
40 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 PLATE VIII. Ear Marking Chart 
 
MARKING 41 
 
 carries, and the date she was farrowed. The opposite side, as illus- 
 trated should show the sire and dam of the litter giving their herd 
 book numbers, and cut of the pigs head should show how the litter 
 was marked. You will note that this side of the card is ruled for 
 the purpose of entering on same the disposition of the pigs of the 
 litter ; the pigs that were sold as breeders as well as those for pork 
 should all be entered on this side, showing to whom sold and price ; 
 and where a portion of the litter was sold for pork, or butchered for 
 family use, they should also be entered. Those sold for breeders 
 should have their name and herd book numbers in proper column 
 as shown. We give one of these cards to the litter of each sow. If 
 she has two litters in one calendar year she has two cards to show 
 what her litters were in number and what disposition was made of 
 them. It would surprise many persons to see the footings of the 
 sales from a registered sow seven or eight years of age, that has 
 been a good producer once or twice each year. These cards should 
 be kept in a small cabinet drawer and each one numbered with the 
 number given to the sow, so that all cards for that sow may be of 
 the same number and in the same pocket. It takes but a moment's 
 time where this system is followed to open the drawer of the cabinet, 
 take all the cards belonging to a certain sow and add up what her 
 produce has brought you. I had occasion a short time since to 
 look over the cards of an old sow who was beginning to get along 
 in years, and added up what we had received for her direct produce 
 since she was old enough to breed, and found we had sold from 
 this individual sow over $3,500.00 worth of pigs, and none of them 
 at an extravagant price. It is much more convenient than having 
 to use a herd record, as the cards are all in one bunch and quickly 
 viewed. We have had many letters in the last few years asking us 
 to send a blank card showing this system, and all inquirers, so far 
 as I have heard, have put the system in practice and are well satis- 
 fied with it. A breeder cannot be too careful in keeping absolutely 
 correct records of dates of farrows and of pigs sold. 
 
FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
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 PLATE X. Farrowing Record Card, Showing Record of Litter 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 CARE OF PIGS 
 
 Three Months After Weaning. Weaning time is a very criti- 
 cal period in the life of the pig. We will suppose that the pig has 
 been fed in addition to what he received from the mother, so that 
 he is well started, and, without changing the rations he has had, 
 he should be fed at least twice daily all that he will eat up clean. 
 It is a bad custom to feed any animal more than it will eat and 
 clean up thoroughly. The pig should have, in addition to what 
 it is fed in concentrated ration, at all times of the year, the run of 
 a good fresh pasture of green feed. The different varieties are 
 treated in another chapter. 
 
 Probably the most economical ration for pigs for the first three 
 months after weaning is a mixture of home-grown grains, prefer- 
 ably ground into a fine meal and properly balanced. If one is grow- 
 ing his own grains for hog feed, a good ration is a mixture of corn 
 and oats very finely ground. I do not mean broken up with a cheap 
 steel grinder, but ground into a fine meal, and if it could be sifted, 
 so much the better. Oat husks are not a very desirable adjunct 
 in the mixture, but will not injure the pigs after a few months old, 
 but during the first few weeks of their lives the husks prove more or 
 less irritating in the intestines. This mixture would be improved 
 by an addition of ten per cent, tankage of not less than sixty 
 per cent, protein, unless one has enough skim milk with which to 
 mix the ration into a slop as thick as can be poured. There is 
 nothing better for growing pigs than skim milk properly balanced 
 with three pounds of milk to one pound of ground carbonaceous 
 grain. More than this amount of milk per pound of grain should 
 not be used. Where there is no milk, tankage will practically take 
 its place in balancing the ration. 
 
 All the feed should be fed while sweet. When the weather is 
 not too hot it would be better to mix it ten or twelve hours before 
 feeding, or so that it would soak after morning feeding time until 
 the evening feed, and vice versa. If it is desired to feed three 
 times a day, the noon feed could well be made up of shelled corn 
 soaked at least twenty-four hours, or until the kernels become 
 softened. Remember always to use the liquid or water from the 
 soaked corn to help in mixing the slop feed, as there is a large 
 amount of nutriment in water from soaked corn. It has been said 
 that "it is to a pig what beer is to a Dutchman." Some feeders 
 use ear corn for soaking, but I have never liked to feed wet ears of 
 corn, much preferring to shell it and soak as above. Above all, 
 feed only clean corn. 
 
 Here let me mention again the matter of clean, fresh water 
 never being neglected. 
 
CARE OF PIGS 
 
 Sanitary Precautions. In addition to the feeding and water- 
 ing, there are other little attentions that must not be overlooked. 
 The pigs should, if possible, have a shallow cement pool that could 
 be used as a wallow, and jt should be so made that the water can 
 
 PLATE XI. A Convenient and Sanitary Hog Wallow 
 
 be changed every day or two. By having this kind of a wallow, 
 and adding a good disinfectant and a little crude oil poured on the 
 water, the skin of the pigs will be kept in perfect condition, without 
 any danger of skin disease or eruption. 
 
 Where one is not prepared to place these clear water pools or 
 wallows, he should have a dipping tank. A dipping tank certainly 
 gets the dip and oil on every part of the body, for the animals have 
 to plunge or slide down the chute into the dipping tank, which 
 thoroughly immerses them. 
 
 One great trouble is that the pigs are not run through the dip 
 as often as they should be. Once every week in warm weather is 
 none too often if there are any lice or indications of skin trouble. 
 After they once become entirely free from all such troubles, once 
 every two to four weeks will do. 
 
 If, however, there are lice on the pigs, a good quality of crude 
 oil should be added to the dip, and the sleeping quarters carefully 
 looked after. It would be useless to dip a drove of lousy pigs and 
 allow them to return to an infected sleeping place. The sleeping 
 quarters should be thoroughly cleaned out and the ground or floor 
 thoroughly wet with the dip. This would be beneficial in several 
 ways ; if the ground was used instead of a floor, it would be damp- 
 ened by the dip and oil. The oil would certainly be a great help 
 here as well as in the dip, as it would keep down the dust. After 
 the sleeping place has been oiled once or twice, there would be no 
 danger of an accumulation of dust during the season. If the ground 
 is treated in this way, there will be no need of bedding during the 
 summer months, or until the weather becomes cold and bedding is 
 needed for warmth. 
 
 We have noticed in caring for pigs, that it is often the case that 
 the feed used lacks in mineral matter, and we have therefore found 
 it a great help to keep a mixture of mineral matter in troughs or 
 boxes where the pigs and hogs can go to it at will, and it is surpris- 
 ing how much will be eaten by them. The mixture we generally use 
 
46 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 is composed of ground rock phosphate which we buy for use on our 
 land, and to this we add finely ground limestone ; to give it a flavor 
 and a relish, also mix in some salt, and often add to this slacked 
 lime, thoroughly mixed; these ingredients form a very desirable 
 mineral feeding preparation. 
 
 In carrying the pigs along from weaning time to maturity, too 
 many should not be allowed to herd together especially is this 
 true if they are of various sizes and ages. Where they must run 
 together in large numbers and various sizes, there should be a sep- 
 arate feeding place with a graduated creep where small pigs can 
 pass through and eat by themselves, unmolested by the larger ones. 
 There is no surer way of getting a bunch of runts on the farm 
 than by allowing all sizes to eat in the same feeding yard. 
 
 A creep of from 12 to 16 feet long can be made between panels 
 of a fence dividing the feed yard where large numbers are fed. 
 These spaces should be made of rollers with a piece of iron in each 
 end standing upright and set into a two by six or other size timber 
 just wide enough apart, so that smaller pigs can pass through with- 
 out injury. 
 
 Pigs carried along in this way and fed and attended to in the 
 above manner should make rapid growth and development, and if 
 desired to be kept for breeders, this same treatment can be carried 
 on during the first year. If it is planned to put them on an early 
 market, and at a weight of from 200 to 250 pounds, the ration can 
 be somewhat changed for the last sixty days by using more corn 
 and a little less of the other kinds of feed. 
 
 Probably better weights can be made and much more econom- 
 ically with ninety per cent, corn and ten per cent, tankage. This 
 ration, by actual use, put a car of hogs on the market that topped 
 the market, and showed by records to have been made at a less 
 cost than those that were fed corn alone. It is a well-known 
 fact that the first one hundred pounds of growth of any hog is 
 made at a much less expense than any other subsequent one 
 hundred pounds. So it is economy to feed all the good feed that 
 can be properly digested from birth to maturity. 
 
 There are feeders, and always have been, and probably always 
 will be, who pay little attention to their pigs during the growing 
 period of the first six months, believing that if they are turned 
 out into any old pasture and can get water to drink, that they 
 can grow a frame and some size at little or no cost. This may 
 do for the careless farmer, who does not wish to give any time to 
 his crop of pigs, expecting to do it all after they have lived long 
 enough to develop some frame, which is in some way to be covered 
 up and rounded out with an all-corn ration thrown out to them in 
 any kind of a yard, in any season, expecting them to make pork at 
 small expense and little time given to their care. This may be sat- 
 isfactory to that class of men, but it has always been our plan and 
 belief that the mother's milk fat of the little pig should never be 
 lost, but be increased by liberal and proper rations during its 
 entire life. 
 
OARE OF PIGS 47 
 
 After Six Months Until Marketing. After the pigs have come 
 to about the age of six months, there should not be much change 
 in the feed from what they have had since weaning time ; however 
 it is well at this time to increase the corn or the fat producing 
 element in their feed, and reduce somewhat the other elements. 
 Probably at this time there is nothing better than a rape pasture 
 with what corn the pigs would clean up each day, with the addition 
 of about 10% in weight of corn in good meat meal or tankage. 
 This will bring them on to a finish and put two curls in their 
 tails. This for spring pigs in preparation for early marketing 
 in the fall or for shipping out as breeders. The grain ration of 
 course may be varied, using ground corn meal with 10% tankage, 
 or by using ground barley or wheat or rye with corn meal. Any 
 mixture of fattening grains balanced with a little tankage where 
 skim milk cannot be had is all that is necessary with good pasture 
 to make rapid gain. 
 
 Weight for Age. This is a very difficult subject, as there is 
 no iron clad rule for pigs of certain ages. A litter of pigs from 
 a sow that was a poor milker would not grow out at weaning 
 time nearly as heavy as a litter the same age from a sow that was 
 a good milker. Neither would either litter make as many pounds 
 per age in the hands of a poor feeder as in the hands of a good 
 feeder. Much will also depend on the inherited ability from the 
 sire and dam. Even different individuals in the same litter would 
 differ in weight at a certain age if each was fed by the same 
 man on the same ration, so it seems that not much information 
 can be given along this line, except in a general way. 
 
 One feeder will take a litter of pigs from a sow, that he is 
 particularly interested in making as large as possible at six months 
 of age, and he can make them weigh as high as 225 pounds each, 
 and possibly even more than this. He may take another litter 
 and fail to make, with the same care and ration, even 180 pounds 
 each at six months of age. 
 
 On the other hand the pig that is pushed to weigh every pound 
 possible at six months, will, if he accomplishes the feat of weigh- 
 ing 225 or 250 pounds, as is occasionally the case, be practically 
 ruined for future use in the breeding herd, but of course for the 
 market he could be cashed in quicker than a much lighter weight 
 pig. I think fair weights might be as follows: 
 
 3 months of age 60 to 75 pounds 
 
 6 months of age 140 to 180 pounds 
 
 8 months of age 225 to 250 pounds 
 
 1 year 300 to 350 pounds 
 
 This will be about right unless the pig has been crowded for 
 show, or for the purpose of seeing how heavy it could be made at 
 a certain age. For breeding purposes pigs that are not developed 
 too fast up to from 6 to 9 months of age, generally develop into 
 larger and better breeding animals than those that are crowded 
 to the limit from birth. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SYSTEMS OF BREEDING 
 
 Inbreeding. This is one of the surest ways known to establish 
 permanent type in animals, and has been from the time of the 
 early history of improved herds of swine, as well as all other 
 domestic animals. It might be said it is nature's way of repro- 
 duction among animals and all living things, except the. human 
 family, but it must be carried on with great caution when handled 
 by man. Of course in the matter of wild animals, birds, etc., it 
 is simply a matter of the survival of the fittest, so that weaklings 
 would never probably be reproducers of their kind. For instance, 
 take game birds; there seems to be no degeneration of their 
 species, as there would be in animals of the domestic kind if they 
 were allowed to take nature's course unlimited, but a man of 
 wise judgment can inbreed even to a great degree, by being ex- 
 tremely careful in his matings and always seeing that no female 
 with a marked weak point in her make-up is ever mated with a 
 sire with the same weakness. In other words, the mating should 
 be of two animals of similar blood lines, both strong and well 
 developed in their general make-up. In this latter case the produce 
 should be an improvement on either sire or dam, and yet there 
 will occasionally crop out an inferior animal or two in the off- 
 spring which should immediately be discarded as a future repro- 
 ducer of its kind. Herds would be improved to a great degree if 
 this rule was practiced intelligently, but woe be unto the practice 
 of indiscriminate inbreeding. 
 
 Line-Breeding. This is somewhat similar to inbreeding, but 
 not carried to as great an extent. It is the mating of animals 
 along similar blood lines on the part of both sire and dam with 
 occasional out-crosses, that is, a cross of different blood lines, but 
 of the same type, a little further back in the pedigree, as illustrated 
 in this chapter where a sample pedigree of a closely inbred animal 
 is shown and also another pedigree of a strongly line-bred animal. 
 
 Cross-Breeding. Strictly speaking, this is understood to mean 
 the mating of two animals that are of pure breeding but of 
 different breeds, as crossing a Berkshire boar on a Poland-China 
 sow, or any other of the pure breeds bred together. Cross-breeding 
 from the feeders' and farmers' standpoint produces in the first 
 cross a very superior feeding animal, often the produce being 
 better for pork purposes than the pure-bred but it must stop at 
 the first cross; by further crossing, the animals deteriorate and 
 the result is the reversion to the scrub. It is not generally cus- 
 tomary to do any cross breeding except for experiments or special 
 results in the first cross. 
 
 48 
 
SYSTEMS OF BREEDING 
 
 SPECIMEN PEDIGREE OF A LINE-BRED ANIMAL 
 
 Climax Baron 112983 
 Farrowed Sept. 26, 1907 
 
 49 
 
 I Masterpiece Climax 
 100001 . 
 
 Matchless Baroness 
 103002 . 
 
 Masterpiece 77000... 
 
 Lustre Lady 2d 
 66416 . 
 
 Black Robinhood 
 
 66086 
 Duchess 221st 56257 
 
 Imp. Lustre 's Bachelor 
 
 52262 
 Columbus Girl 2d 
 
 47068 
 
 Black Robinhood 
 
 66086 
 I Duchess 221st 56257 
 
 f Baron Lee of River- 
 Baron's Belle 4th B {^ e 70400 
 
 88138 ] CarlinviUe Belle 5th 
 
 63863 
 
 Masterpiece 77000. 
 
 You will notice that Climax Baron 112983 is a line-bred animal; that 
 his sire Masterpiece Climax is a son of Masterpiece, and his dam, Match- 
 less Baroness, is a daughter of Masterpiece. But Masterpiece Climax, the 
 sire of Climax Baron, was out of a sow sired by an imported boar, this 
 giving an outcross that proved especially desirable in our herd. 
 
 SPECIMEN PEDIGREE OF AN INBRED ANIMAL 
 Fairfield Rival 112412 
 
 Farrowed Sept. 10, 1907 
 
 OQ 
 
 Lord Premier's 
 Rival 92805 . 
 
 Longfellow's Duch- 
 
 ess 8th 102611, 
 
 Lord Premier 50001 
 
 Lee's Artful Belle 
 3rd 88403 . 
 
 Premier Longfellow 
 68600 . 
 
 I Baron Lee 4th 33446 
 1 Margery 37491 
 
 'Baron Lee 8th 48160 
 A,rtful Belle 30th 64947 
 
 Baron Lee 6th 34246 
 
 Duchess 279th 75009*. . 
 
 Lord Premier 50001 
 Duchess 168th 44532 
 
50 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 FAIRFIELD RIVAL 112412 is an intensely inbred animal and a careful 
 study of this boar's pedigree may not be out of place. 
 
 You will note that the sire of Fairfield Rival was Lord Premier's Rival, 
 a son of Lord Premier, and that Lord Premier's sire was Baron Lee 4th. 
 The dam of Lord Premier's Rival, was a daughter of Baron Lee 8th, a full 
 brother of the sire of Lord Premier, and the next dam, Artful Belle 30th, 
 was a daughter of Lord Premier. 
 
 Notice also how the dam of Fairfield Rival is bred. She is a daughter 
 of Premier Longfellow, who was sired by Baron Lee 6th, a full brother 
 of the sire of Lord Premier, and Premier Longfellow's dam, Duchess 222d, 
 was a daughter of Lord Premier. Her dam, Duchess 279th, was a daughter 
 of Lord Premier, and was out of a daughter of King Lee 2d, a full brother 
 of the sire of Lord Premier. 
 
 No matter how you trace the breeding of Fairfield Rival it traces 
 directly to one family, that is, Lord Premier or his sire, or full brothers 
 of his sire. 
 
 PLATE XII. Concrete Dipping Tank 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 SELECTING A BOAR FOR COMMON SOWS 
 
 There are thousands of pure-bred boars bought annually for 
 use in the herds of farmers who do not care to grow hogs except 
 for the open market, and while the selection of a boar for this pur- 
 pose is of much importance, yet it is not so necessary that the buyer 
 should be a student of pedigrees as in the case of the breeder of 
 pure-breds, but it is of vital importance that the farmer buy a pure- 
 bred boar and that the boar be not only well bred but a good indi- 
 vidual of the easy-feeding, early-maturing sort, and himself vigor- 
 ous and masculine. Such a boar will add several times his cost in 
 the feeding and quick-maturing qualities of his pigs from common 
 sows. Sometimes conservative farmers do not like to pay the price 
 asked by breeders for their good hogs, yet I feel sure it is false 
 economy, as the better ones will prove the most profitable. I once 
 saw a farmer outbid a breeder for a good boar, and he got him at a 
 higher price than many breeders will pay, saying, "I never stop at 
 any reasonable price for a good boar to sire pigs for the market." 
 This man was a breeder of pure-bred cattle and knew the value of a 
 good sire, and bred and fed hogs at a profit. 
 
 Buy the Boar Early. To the farmer who wishes to purchase 
 a boar for use as a producer of good feeding hogs for the market, I 
 would urge that he not wait too long as many do, but that he 
 buy the boar early, while the herd from which it is to come is not 
 all culled, so that he may get a better choice and the pig may become 
 accustomed to his new home long before he is to be used. 
 
 When the pig first comes to his new home he should be given a 
 good-sized grass lot to exercise in ; a dry, warm place to sleep, and 
 where other pigs or hogs cannot worry him by running along the 
 division fence. Take good care of him, feeding a good ration that 
 will make him grow rather than fatten him. Give him plenty of 
 good, clean water. Handle him as frequently as possible that he 
 may become gentle. A boar can run with sows under proper con- 
 ditions, but I have known men to buy a boar, and as soon as he 
 arrives turn him in with a lot of sows, and they would almost ruin 
 him, chasing him about the lot until he would pay no attention to 
 them, and the result would be a letter of complaint to the seller, 
 claiming that the boar was no good. Many a good boar has been 
 replaced for no other cause than poor judgment in starting to use 
 him. We replaced one a few years ago, and this discarded boar 
 got ninety-six pigs for a neighbor who took him at our request. A 
 man must have ' ' horse sense " if he is a successful hog man, and he 
 must use it at all times. A boar pig at $50 to use to produce pigs* 
 for market will add value enough to the pig crop that he gets, to 
 pay for two or three such boars value in finish, feeding quality, 
 uniformity and color, all of which go to help top the market when 
 they are sold. 
 
 51 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 FEEDING FOR MARKET 
 
 The matter of feeding hogs for breeders has been touched on in 
 this book in another chapter, but it would be well to say something 
 along the line of feeding hogs for market. It is the general cus- 
 tom where hogs are fed for market to run them together in larger 
 numbers than where they are fed for breeding purposes only, and 
 for this reason the system of feeding may be a little different. 
 
 In growing hogs for market it is quite important that the litters 
 come as nearly at the same time in the early spring as it is possible 
 to have them, that they may be uniform in size when the market- 
 able age arrives. These pigs should be fed lightly while suckling 
 the sows and not weaned any earlier than ten to twelve weeks old 
 that they may be well on in the process of feeding, and after wean- 
 ing should be placed in a first-class pasture where the grass is fresh, 
 thick and green. Clover of course is one of the early things. Pos- 
 sibly the fall sown rye should come on first ; a pasture of this would 
 be a grand place to start the pigs after weaning. They should, 
 however, have a good ration of some kind of flesh producing feed, 
 grains that are produced on the farm if possible, adding to this as 
 they develop some shelled corn soaked for about 12 to 14 hours; 
 enough to keep them growing and developing at a rapid rate. 
 
 After the rye pasture then a choice clover pasture or alfalfa 
 which is still better. Later a field of rape sown early enough so that 
 it will be several inches high before the pigs are turned into it. 
 This would furnish them a very satisfactory green feed for the bal- 
 ance of the season, or until time to begin feeding green corn of some 
 kind, preferably from a field of evergreen sweet corn, which when 
 planted in the northern country, would be ready the 1st of August. 
 This is a great feed to put on growth and flesh but should be fed 
 with great care until the pigs become used to it, as it is apt to scour 
 them if fed too liberally at first. This will last until the field corn 
 is in good condition to commence feeding. 
 
 Ill-Effects of Overfeeding. I am practically sure that much of 
 our so-called hog cholera in the early months of the fall or late 
 summer, is nothing more than a condition brought about by over- 
 feeding green corn when it is in the roasting ear stage. Pigs that 
 have been fed possibly on scant feed during the summer and that 
 are in rather thin condition would, if given too much green corn in 
 its early stage eat much more than they could properly digest, 
 bringing about a condition that leaves the pigs ready to take any 
 disease that comes along. If they are troubled with worms at this 
 time, and the worms are not expelled, they will die about as fast as 
 if they had the cholera. 
 
 52 
 
FEEDING FOR MARKET 53 
 
 Pigs handled as above mentioned from birth, should be ready 
 to market at any time after seven or eight months of age, as suits 
 the owner, or could be carried along until late fall or early winter, 
 but should be marketed before cold weather comes on. It is not so 
 easy to make rapid gains in cold weather as during the early fall 
 months. Pigs handled in this manner should top the market when- 
 ever they are shipped. 
 
 Of course they should be as well bred as possible from high- 
 grade sows and pure-bred sires to make the best gain, and should 
 also have other attentions such as either good bathing pools made of 
 cement, as described in this book, in which they can lie during the 
 hot hours of the day, or should often be run through the dipping 
 tank, or should be sprayed with some good disinfectant to which 
 crude oil has been added, thus keeping them free from vermin, the 
 skin in good condition, and assuring good health. 
 
 The mixture of mineral matter mentioned in another place 
 should always be before them under cover where they can go and 
 eat when they desire. They should be kept free from worms. This 
 may be done by various methods as herein described. 
 
 Porkmakmg Profitable. The feeding of hogs for market will 
 be found one of the most profitable departments of the farm, and 
 with as little trouble as anything could be for the amount of money 
 it will bring in, and quite a large number of hogs might be fed 
 for market on every farm even if it be a small one, and if one will 
 be sure to have his hogs inoculated with both the virus and serum, 
 known as the simultaneous treatment, before they are even exposed 
 to cholera, he need have no fears of losing them, provided the work 
 is properly done. They may become slightly sick from the treat- 
 ment at about 14 to 15 days after being treated, but it will soon 
 pass off and the death loss should be but little if any. The writer 
 knows one party that had 3,000 inoculated and lost but ten from the 
 treatment. In our own herd in 1913 we inoculated 219 and lost 
 but four which were quite young and probably got a little larger 
 dose of virus than they could carry. 
 
 Value of Uniformity. If one thinks that all kinds of hogs will 
 sell for the same price on the market, just let him ship a car- 
 load of even weight and uniformly colored pigs to any market 
 and watch them sell in comparison to a load of mixed breeding, 
 colors and weights. He will then be fully convinced that it pays, 
 and pays well, to use a good pure-bred boar for producing pork 
 hogs. The writer once shipped a carload of short year-old hogs 
 to the Chicago market that averaged 409 pounds on the scales 
 there. The shrinkage was but 80 pounds on the whole load, and 
 they brought 25c per 100 pounds above the top of the market that 
 day. 
 
 Why? Simply because they were as alike as a lot of beans, 
 and were so well finished that there was little shrink in them. 
 
 It is a well known fact that quality counts in any market and 
 with any kind of stock or other produce of the farm. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 FEEDS AND FEEDING 
 
 Under this head comes tankage, which is the by-product of 
 the packing house, made up from various waste products steamed 
 to a high degree of heat, after which the liquid is drawn off and 
 the residue dried and ground into a fine meal. Meatmeal is prac- 
 tically the same thing only wholly made from meat scraps. Both 
 of these feeds are extremely high in protein, which is a very 
 necessary element combined with other feeds to make up a balanced 
 ration. 
 
 From 5 to 10 per cent, of 60 per cent, protein tankage is gener- 
 ally sufficient to balance a corn ration for swine. I have mentioned 
 the use of tankage in several places in this book. 
 
 There is another variety of meatmeal which the writer has used 
 quite extensively. It is purchased from the large butcher shops, or 
 from the small packing; house near home where a few hundred 
 hogs are slaughtered daily, and is known as "cracklings," being 
 the compressed part of the fat after. the lard is pressed out by 
 hydraulic pressure, and usually comes in cakes of about 125 Ibs. 
 each. We purchase these cakes half a ton or a ton at a time, break 
 them up into small pieces with an axe and run the broken pieces 
 through our steel burr grinder, making a finely ground article 
 of pure scrap meat. We add about five percent of this to a pig's 
 ration, and it is certainly relished by pigs of any age. It keeps 
 the bowels open and in nice condition, makes the hair glossy and 
 is of great value. 
 
 Hogging Down Corn. Some farmers and perhaps breeders of 
 pure-breds, practice the custom of "hogging down" a field of 
 corn. If this is to be done and it is a good custom it would be a 
 very great help at the time of the last cultivation of the corn to 
 sow some rye or rape, or both, in the corn and let it get a few 
 inches high by the time the hogs would be turned into the corn. 
 This would be a help in balancing the ration. It is also well if 
 the field of corn is adjoining a clover or alfalfa field, as either 
 would have the same tendency to make a quicker and a cheaper 
 growth than would the corn alone. If the field is large it will be well 
 to fence off by some kind of temporary fence, a portion not too 
 large, and let the hogs have that until it is well worked down, pre- 
 ferably by the older hogs that would be ready for market first 
 and followed by the younger hogs or shotes that do not need so 
 heavy a feeding of corn. This is a very economical way of finishing 
 up a bunch of hogs for the market. 
 
 Prof. W. J. Carmichael, formerly of the University of Illinois, 
 and now secretary of the National Swine Growers' Association, 
 
 54 
 
FEEDS AND FEEDING 55 
 
 states that a field had been planted with corn continuously for 33 
 years and every year was " hogged down." 
 
 Within the last year or two the owner desiring to learn the 
 condition of the soil and how much corn this particular piece 
 was producing after having been planted to corn for 33 continu- 
 ous years, measured off a piece before turning in the hogs, and by 
 actual measurement learned that the land was producing over 100 
 bushels of corn to the acre. 
 
 It behooves the thinking farmer to keep up soil production, 
 especially during these days of high priced land, and this can be 
 done profitably and economically by "hogging down corn," 
 especially if rape or some of the clovers or other grasses, or some 
 of the grains like rye, is sown in the field when the corn is laid 
 by. This will give a good balanced ration, and the hogs will do 
 the harvesting themselves without cost to the farmer, and will 
 doubtless, taking one year with another, bring up. the selling price 
 of his corn. 
 
 Comparison of Practices. I have a friend who made a com- 
 parison between "hogging down" part of a field of wheat, in 
 1913, and cutting the other part of the field, threshing it and 
 hauling it to the elevator and selling it at 80c per bushel. Estim- 
 ating the yield of the entire field the same, the portion that he 
 "hogged down" after weighing the hogs when turned into the 
 wheat field, and again when the wheat was all eaten and the hogs 
 sold on the market, he found that his wheat that was "hogged 
 down" brought him $1.40 per bushel compred with 80 cents per 
 bushel for that threshed and hauled to market. Further than 
 this it required no expense to market the wheat that was "hogged 
 down," and it also benefited the land to have the hogs on it. 
 There are many little things in the hog business if one will try 
 them out that are not only more economical but much less work 
 than old methods. 
 
 Of course where men are breeding hogs of the pure breeds, 
 to be sold as breeders, it is necessary that the animals should be 
 in good flesh and prime condition at all times, to be ready for in- 
 spection by visiting breeders. With such animals additional care 
 and feed may be necessary. Certainly it is a good plan to have 
 everything in the hog line at least in good breeding condition and 
 always ready for inspection. 
 
 Green Feed. Every breeder or feeder should know what are 
 the best grasses, grains and other feeds that can be grown in his 
 locality, and can easily get this information from his state agri- 
 cultural college, and should use his judgment in selecting those 
 that are best. The essential thing is to have plenty of green feed at 
 all times of the year if possible, either for grazing or that can be 
 used during the season when there is no pasture, as in our north- 
 ern and western states. In portions of the country where roots 
 are grown to some extent, such as mangels, turnips, sugar beets, etc., 
 
56 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OP A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 they can be used with success as a succulent feed during the winter 
 months, but my experience is that the average farmer or any help 
 that he can hire will do mighty little getting down on the knees to 
 work among roots of any kind, which is necessary in order to thin 
 out and keep clean from weeds until they become large enough to be 
 cultivated in the proper manner, so the root question with us has 
 never, with the exception of one or two years, been considered in 
 our ration for succulent feed, preferring to use the last cutting 
 of green alfalfa instead. Let me emphasize the great importance 
 of pasture and succulent feed at all times. 
 
 Cooking Feed. It is a well-known fact that the nutriment in 
 feed for swine, or its value as a flesh producer, is not increased 
 by cooking; but it is also a well-known fact that during the cold 
 months, at least in the northern^ states, much benefit is derived 
 in feeding Fall pigs and others not well on to maturity, a warm 
 feed rather than one mixed with cold, icy water. 
 
 There are some kinds of feed, however, often fed during the 
 winter that require thorough cooking; particularly is this true of 
 potatoes, which some people use when they have a quantity of 
 small ones sorted out from the regular lot. Potatoes are of little 
 food value unless thoroughly cooked, and when so cooked and mixed 
 with corn meal and other ground grains are really a valuable 
 adjunct to the ration. Shelled corn is often fed to young pigs 
 during the winter, and this is much improved by being steamed 
 until soft, then cooled down to the proper temperature for feed- 
 ing, but such matters will be treated in another chapter. 
 
 For Fall Litters. We have for many years made it a practice 
 to feed fall litters (either not weaned or recently weaned) during 
 the entire winter on a feed mixed with hot water that would make 
 it quite warm for the pigs when poured in the trough. For this 
 purpose we have used a boiler of about ten-horse-power capacity, 
 in which steam can be raised in a very few minutes, with pres- 
 sure enough to heat several barrels of water. While steam is 
 getting up the water is let into the barrels or mixing tank, which, 
 in our case, is on wheels and divided into four compartments, and as 
 soon as steam is up the hose is turned in and in a few minutes 
 the water is as hot as necessary. We then mix in the feed, perhaps 
 of several different mixtures in the four compartments, to ac- 
 commodate the animals of different ages and conditions. This 
 is fed and quickly eaten, when the pigs go back to their warm 
 sleeping houses, thoroughly satisfied and contented. Whereas, 
 if cold or ice water was used, it would require most of the day 
 for the animal heat to warm the pig up to its normal temperature, 
 thus taking more feed and giving far less satisfactory results. 
 
 There are various methods of getting hot water for the purpose 
 of mixing the feed for pigs during cold weather. There is manu- 
 factured a very desirable outfit for heating water by process of 
 steam, with an attachment to temporarily or permanently warm 
 
FEEDS AND FEEDING 57 
 
 farrowing pens. We speak advisedly regarding this cooker for 
 the reason we formerly used two of them, but in later years thought 
 we needed a larger affair and purchased a ten-horse-power steam 
 boiler, which has proven a great success. 
 
 There are other kinds of hot-water heaters made for this pur- 
 pose, as well as the old-fashioned kettle set in a stone arch, which 
 will do where but little water is needed, but it would be entirely 
 unfit for furnishing hot water for a large herd. 
 
 The kind of steam generator or hot-water heater is immaterial 
 so long as it does the work and furnishes enough for mixing the 
 feed for the herd, but I must insist that, for young pigs before 
 and just after weaning, warm feed is necessary for best results 
 and is of equal value for young shotes. 
 
 When the hogs are well matured it is not necessary to give 
 them this extra attention and they can make good growth and 
 development on dry feed, where plenty of pure water is supplied 
 for them. This saves much labor and prevents the freezing of swill 
 in troughs. 
 
 Of course the breeders in the southern states and the warmer 
 countries are not supposed to have this extra expense in warming 
 feed, yet even in such states there are times when warm feed would 
 taste wonderfully good to a pig from a late fall litter. 
 
 Soiling. Where large numbers of hogs are kept on a small 
 farm, it is sometimes quite convenient to have small plots of green 
 feed that can be cut and fed in the troughs or feed places where 
 the hogs are kept. This method of feeding green feed is known 
 as " soiling. " For instance, take a small patch of fall rye, which 
 is about the earliest green thing to be found in the spring, and 
 when it gets up a few inches high it can be mowed off in small 
 quantities daily and fed to the hogs in their regular feeding 
 places while fresh and green. A very small piece of ground in 
 this manner will furnish a large amount of green feed. While 
 the green rye is being cut off some other crop can be planted or 
 sown such as rape for feeding after the rye is gone and the clovers 
 are dried up. A small patch of alfalfa adjoining hog pastures 
 would also be of great value ; this could be cut and fed green, and 
 a very small patch would feed a large number of hogs, for some 
 time. By feeding it in racks such as described in this book, there 
 would be very little waste from soiling. 
 
 Crops to Feed Green. After rape once gets a good start and 
 becomes large enough to mow and feed as in the above manner it 
 can be recut as fast as it grows up to the proper height, all through 
 the season until freezing weather comes. A small field of evergreen 
 sweet corn can be handled in the same way. As soon as the ears 
 are formed and are of proper size for roasting, this may be 
 cut and given to the pigs daily in small quantities at first, in- 
 creasing as they become used to it, until they can have all they 
 will eat up clean. I believe soiling can be practiced with economy, 
 
58 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 especially where hogs are kept in separate lots and could not be 
 placed in a pasture. Besides there would be no waste from soil- 
 ing as none of the feed would be injured by the animals walking 
 over it. We have never practiced this system to any extent, but 
 believe it could be made one of the best ways of handling green 
 feed where one did not have suitable pastures for each lot. 
 
 Roots could be handled in this way also, but would not be neces- 
 sary except for winter, when green forage was impossible other 
 than alfalfa, cowpeas and clover. 
 
 How to Make Cob Charcoal. As charcoal is a very desirable 
 supplemental food for pigs, it is well to know how to make a 
 good article and cheaply, particularly in the cornbelt where there 
 are more or less cobs after corn shelling season. 
 
 Dig a hole in the ground about six feet deep, and four or five 
 feet across, bricking it up with fire brick so there will be no 
 danger of its caving in or becoming broken up. Build it up to a 
 level with the ground and have a heavy galvanized iron cover made 
 large enough to cover the pit tightly. Then take a double wagon 
 box full of dry cobs and start a little fire in the bottom of the pit, 
 adding a few cobs as fast as those in the pit begin to burn and come 
 to a red glow actually burned to a charcoal yet looking bright 
 red. As fast as this condition appears in the pit add a few more 
 cobs, until the entire pit becomes filled to the top with a glowing 
 mass of burned cobs. Then have handy a few barrels of water in 
 which salt is dissolved and sprinkle it on this pit of burning, glow- 
 ing cobs until the fire is entirely extinguished. Then cover the 
 pit with the iron cover, packing a little dirt on the edge so no 
 air can get in the glowing mass, and leave it until the next day, 
 when the fire will be all gone and the pit full of charred cobs in 
 a condition where they can almost be crushed with the thumb and 
 finger. Let it stand until you know it is absolutely cool before 
 feeding, then put a bushel basket full in every lot where there 
 is a sow and litter or where there are eight or more pigs. It will 
 be surprising to you to see how eagerly this is eaten by pigs and 
 hogs of eve.ry age and condition. They seem to relish it very 
 much and it acts as a corrector of acidity. This is a good thing 
 to have on hand at all times if possible. Good charcoal cannot be 
 made by raking up cobs from the feed yard and burning them in 
 the open air, for the reason they will either all burn up to ashes, 
 or if put out with water, will leave many of them simply scorched 
 and not burned to charcoal. 
 
 Pig Meal. For many years we have been experimenting with 
 different rations for pigs, and are now perfecting a pig meal which 
 is giving splendid results, and can be fed not only to young pigs 
 but to older animals as well. 
 
 Housecleaning. Besides the matter of keeping all sleeping 
 pens and feeding places clean, it is well for the breeder to look 
 
FEEDS AND FEEDING 
 
 59 
 
 carefully after the premises in general by having a regular clean- 
 up at least twice a year, buildings, yards, fences, etc. This would 
 not only give a good appearance but would be a benefit along sani- 
 tary lines. There are many good disinfectants and some should 
 be used weekly, by spraying the troughs, feeding utensils, mixing 
 barrels, etc., as well as the feeding floors and sleeping places. 
 Feed yards should be well cleaned up and kept free from cobs 
 and other accumulations. These are small matters, yet quite 
 important and should be carefully looked after. 
 
 PLATE XIII. Convenient Back for Feeding Alfalfa 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF SHOWING 
 
 For the breeder of pure-bred hogs who wishes to establish a 
 substantial trade, it is very necessary that, as soon as he becomes 
 well versed and properly started in his breeding line, he should 
 make it a practice each year to fit a show herd. Possibly at first it 
 is as well for him to prepare only for county shows, until he thor- 
 oughly learns what is required to win at the big shows and ex- 
 positions. There is no way, in my opinion, in which a young 
 breeder can so quickly get before the people and started to selling 
 his hogs for breeders as to annually fit enough animals to fill the 
 classes usually provided for in the various premium lists. 
 
 The reason I suggest that the beginner commence his show 
 career at the county fairs, is from the fact that I passed through 
 all these little troubles when I was a great many years younger 
 than I am now and know what the difficulties are for a beginner. 
 It is hardly expected that a young breeder who has never followed 
 the practice of showing, and who has probably not spent a very 
 large amount of money in the foundation of his herd, can win at 
 state fairs and expositions where only a few great show animals 
 can get the money. Let the county fairs be the stepping stones to 
 larger ones where it requires, practically speaking, the P. T. 
 Barnums of the business to win. 
 
 Never will I forget the time way back in the '70 's when I made 
 my first show at a state fair. It was at the Illinois State Fair 
 when it went around on wheels, and that year was located at 
 Freeport. I had only been in the business a year; knew nothing 
 of what it required to; even have a chance of getting into the 
 money ; but nevertheless I was full of enthusiasm and overflowing 
 with ignorance. I fitted up a portion of a herd which I thought 
 was "some pigs" but found, much to my profit eventually, that 
 they were only ordinary. Starting out with much pride and hav- 
 ing already figured the amount of money I would bring home 
 by adding, up the amounts in( the premium lists, I found after 
 the fair was over, that I was really a wiser man and richer in 
 knowledge, but poorer financially than when I arrived on the 
 grounds, beaming with confidence. I did not even get in sight 
 of the premium money. Those were the days when a young 
 breeder was hardly noticed, but, being made of the kind of stuff 
 that never gives up, but sticks, I did not parade the grounds con- 
 demning the judges for lack of knowledge, nor inform the manag- 
 ers of the state fair that I would never show again at their fair ; but 
 quietly studied the conformation of the animals that were good 
 enough to win, then returned home with the determination to come 
 a little stronger next year. 
 
 60 
 
ADVANTAGES OF SHOWING 
 
 61 
 
 This was followed up several years before getting much above 
 the white and yellow ribbons. The only blue thing I found in 
 those days was my feelings in not being able to win. This is where 
 I made a mistake by attempting, ignorant as I was, to show at the 
 great state fairs, rather than starting at county fairs. But the 
 determination was in me and the show ring was followed, as large 
 as it was and as great as the shows were, from 1877 until 1893, 
 when the climax was reached at the Chicago World's Fair. As 
 I grew in knowledge and experience each year, I was able to win 
 a few of the better prizes and as the years came and went, won 
 more prizes, until it was a pretty sure thing when I started out 
 on an eight weeks' trip to the big state fairs, that I would win 
 money enough to pay all expenses and more and be benefited 
 greatly by building a substantial acquaintance among breeders 
 in our line. 
 
 The trade grew annually and after winning the grand champion- 
 ship at the World's Fair in Chicago for the best herd, consisting 
 of one boar and four sows, over one year old, my name was finally 
 placed on the map and my son and I have practically discontinued 
 showing since that time. 
 
 I strongly urge the show ring as a means, not only of education 
 for the breeder, but of building up a substantial business. 
 
"V 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 SELECTING AND FITTING THE SHOW HERD 
 
 The selection of the. show herd requires a knowledge of what 
 it takes, when well fitted, to win. One should commence months 
 in advance of the show to make his selections, first making up his 
 mind whether or not he wishes to fill all the various classes fisted 
 in the premium lists, which are now so made up that the same 
 animals can show throughout the circuit without being required 
 to carry along other animals of various ages from those first se- 
 lected to fill the classes. 
 
 In making the selection for the show herd, commence first by 
 selecting the animals that are required to show in the * ' aged class. ' ' 
 
 The aged sow class should be made up of animals that have 
 proven themselves breeders and should show by their appearance 
 that they have been breeders. Le.t them, however, be well fitted 
 without overdoing and as uniform as possible in type and conforma- 
 tion, with an aged boar of the same general type, showing that he 
 has been a breeder, only of a more masculine appearance, thus 
 making up a desirable herd for the aged class. 
 
 The tusks of the boar should be removed before starting out on 
 the show circuit and should be so closely cut that no trace of the 
 same can be seen. This should be done both for the safety of 
 the caretaker and those about the show ring. 
 
 Next, select the senior yearlings, a boar and three sows which 
 should carry as much size, or nearly so as the aged herd, but would 
 naturally be somewhat smoother owing to the difference in age and 
 previous service. Be sure that these are also uniform in type 
 with the aged herd. 
 
 Next select the junior yearling a boar and three sows, which 
 are, generally speaking, the sweetest things in the show ring, and 
 being at an age that shows full development and yet not re- 
 quired to have produced any offspring, naturally will be much 
 smoother and more in bloom. This class is usually the best of 
 all at any breed show. These should be of the same general type 
 as the older ones selected, and should be in the pink of show condi- 
 tion well developed at every point carrying all the flesh that 
 goes to make an ideal show animal, yet under no circumstances 
 to be overly fatted or fleshed to a condition of unevenness or 
 roughness. 
 
 This same careful selection must be carried out also in the boar 
 and three sows under twelve months of age. This is really the 
 hardest class to fill satisfactorily. First, for the reason that the 
 young boar over six and under twelve months of age is passing 
 
 62 
 
SELECTING AND FITTING THE SHOW HERD 63 
 
 through a crisis in his development; this being an age that al- 
 most invariably, if the boar is a vigorous one, finds him fretting 
 and champing more or less when in sight of other animals. The 
 sows, also of this age, are harder to properly develop and bring 
 out in their best form, as they too are passing through a period 
 of life when there is more or less restlessness and excitement than 
 when older. 
 
 Some people greatly enjoy bringing put a pig herd, under six 
 months of age, as there are often enticing prizes offered in this 
 class, and it is a good way to show the class of pigs you are pro- 
 ducing. While this class should also be as uniform in type and 
 conformation as the others, and should be well fitted in flesh, care 
 should be taken that they are not pushed too hard and become 
 overdone, and more or less wrinkled in appearance. 
 
 Fitting the Show Herd. We will now suppose that the herd 
 has been selected along proper lines and we are ready to start 
 the fitting process with a bunch of animals of the same type. 
 The question now is how to fit these animals to the best advantage 
 without overdoing them, so they will show when the fair season 
 opens, in the best possible bloom. 
 
 Always remember that "bloom" is a desirable thing in a show 
 animal. When "in bloom" a hog is at its best and this "bloom" 
 only lasts for a short time, and is as easily lost as the bloom 
 of a ripe peach, hence the matter of fitting should commence in 
 time and be carried on in a manner to have the animals "in bloom" 
 when the fair season opens. 
 
 For convenience in handling and caring for them, the show 
 animals should be kept by themselves and not allowed to roam 
 with the general herd. The four boars being fitted for the dif- 
 ferent herds should be carefully prepared and put together in 
 one lot where they can be fed and handled together so that there 
 will be no danger of their fighting should it be necessary to drive 
 them to or from show building together. The aged sows, the 
 senior and junior yearlings, should also be fed and kept in one 
 enclosure for best results during the fair circuit, when it is neces- 
 sary to exercise them mornings during the show season. The 
 over six months and under six months sows can also be kept to- 
 gether for the same reasons. 
 
 The yards or lots, where the animals are to be fitted during the 
 next few months, should have an abundance of succulent pasture, 
 either natural grasses or other green forage crop provided and 
 each lot should have a water fountain that should be kept well sup- 
 plied with pure clean water at all times. Of course ample shade 
 should be provided either natural or artificial and no dust 
 should be allowed to accumulate where these animals lie in the 
 shade. If possible, a cement bathing pool large enough and 
 deep enough in the deepest part to practically cover them should 
 
64 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OP A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 be provided, in which the water should be changed every few 
 days, always remembering to add a little disinfectant and crude 
 oil to the water, preventing any skin troubles or lice. 
 
 Feeding the Herd. "When one starts out to fit a herd of show 
 animals for the large fair circuits, the matter of expense must, 
 in a measure be forgotten as these animals should have the 
 best feed possible to put them in just the right condition to show 
 all that is in them. We have found, when fitting animals for 
 show, that we have to make some changes in pur regular grain 
 mixtures for best results. I have found nothing better in this 
 case than to feed a nice rich slop feed, made up about as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 For the older animals above one year I would use equal parts 
 of finely ground corn meal and the best quality of white heavy 
 middlings, with an addition of ten per cent old process oil meal, 
 thoroughly mixed together before being wet, and if sweet skimmed 
 milk or that from the separator is possible to be had at any rea- 
 sonable price, the feed should be mixed with this and all feed 
 in a sweet condition. If it is found impossible to get milk, add 
 tankage to the oil meal (eight to ten percent oil meal and five 
 percent tankage), and the mixture of meal and middlings, and mix 
 this with fresh water and feed it after it soaks a few hours but 
 never allow it to become sour. 
 
 Two Feeds a Day. I think two feeds a day, even in the fitting 
 of a show herd, is as good as three, generally; however, it would 
 be proper and perhaps as well to give these animals a little soaked 
 shelled corn that has soaked long enough to become soft, as a 
 noon-day meal. Where this is done, the morning and evening 
 feed can be fed a little earlier and later, respectively. 
 
 For the younger herds of over six and under twelve months, 
 as well as the herd under six months, I should certainly urge the 
 use of skimmed sweet milk for best results. I have known show- 
 men, while fitting young pigs, to feed whole milk fresh from the 
 cow. This js entirely useless and, I think, is one of the surest 
 ways of overdoing the pig and causing him to break down in the 
 pasterns and it is also almost a certainty that pigs fed fresh 
 warm whole milk will become more or less wrinkled, but skim 
 milk is not so apt to cause this trouble, and this is especially 
 true when well balanced with the ground feed. 
 
 Always remember, however, that too much milk is worse than 
 none. The proper amount is three pounds milk to one pound 
 of grain; with this your ration is practically balanced or at least 
 gives the best results. 
 
 Condiments. If any of the animals at any time during the 
 fitting do not eat with as much relish as would seem best, there 
 are many kinds of condiments that could be used to make the 
 feed more palatable. A sufficient amount of brown sugar or 
 
SELECTING AND FITTING THE SHOW HERD 65 
 
 black strap molasses to well sweeten the mixture, will make the 
 feed much more palatable. This would be the case even when 
 milk was used instead of water in mixing the feed. 
 
 I would, by all means urge, while fitting these hogs for show, 
 that a mixture of mineral matter (mentioned in another part 
 of this book) be used. It may be well to mention here that this 
 should be made up of ground limestone, with perhaps some slacked 
 lime-, together with ground phosphate rock or any other material 
 that would contain plenty of phosphate and the whole mixed with 
 salt to make it more palatable. I urge the use of this material 
 so that while fleshing these animals there would be no danger 
 of breaking down the bone, as the mineral matter is essential 
 for bone growth. 
 
 If any of the younger animals in the show herd were inclined 
 to be a little weak in the feet or pasterns, I would buy one hundred 
 pounds of finely ground bone meal or bone dust and mix it with the 
 mineral matter or even add it in small quantities to the slop feed. 
 
 Exercise Necessary. Much care should be taken in fitting the 
 show herd not to break them down, and as a help in this matter 
 as well as in keeping them in better condition, it is necessary that 
 the show herd be given some special exercise other than that which 
 they will naturally take in their enclosure. By taking the three 
 older boars out each day and driving a half mile or more you 
 will not only have them under perfect control, but will also have 
 them in a condition to show at their best when driven in the show 
 ring, and the same is true of the show sows and even the under 
 a year herds. 
 
 We have all noticed, while standing about a show ring and 
 watching the animals come in from their pens, that many of them, 
 while in good flesh, are not really in show condition, for the reason 
 that they cannot walk with ease and, grace but wabble around. 
 A show animal should not be so heavily loaded with fat as not 
 to be able to walk with ease and comfort. It is not always the 
 amount of flesh that an animal is carrying that makes it show at 
 its best, but the smoothness in which it is put on and the ease 
 with which it is carried. 
 
 It is my opinion that what is known as "strong breeding con- 
 dition", that is, flesh enough to round out every point without 
 overloading, is the proper show condition. 
 
 What I have said about the feed to be used in fitting the show 
 herd, need not be considered as an absolute iron-clad rule. Any of 
 the mixtures of grain, grasses, etc., that will come close to being 
 a balanced ration is all that is necessary. I merely name these 
 feeds as among what we have found to be the most satisfactory. 
 The real object is to feed what will flesh them rapidly and not 
 add too much fat, but more red meat or flesh. 
 
66 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 Finishing Touches. While fitting the herd for the show ring 
 they should be handled daily by the feeder, by brushing them a 
 little or scratching them and coaxing them to lie down where 
 he can handle them about the legs and feet, so that when you 
 are ready to trim the toes and hoofs into nice shape they will not 
 get excited, but will lie quietly and let you work over them as you 
 wish. 
 
 The foot and pastern of the show pig can be improved one 
 hundred percent by proper trimming. When the pig is lying 
 down, quietly take the foot in the left hand and with a very 
 sharp knife trim the lower edges off the hoof, commencing well 
 back and following around the entire hoof, shaping the toe up as 
 close as possible to the fleshy part of the foot without injury. 
 If the dewclaws are of unusual length these too can be shaped 
 up at the bottom and pared down to proper shape. All this work 
 should be done at odd times before starting out to the fair. 
 
 A nice brushing every day or two after sprinkling with dis- 
 infectant and crude oil is very essential, not only to make the show 
 herd quiet and docile, but to improve the condition of the skin 
 and hair. All this is a help in shedding the old coat. The earlier 
 this is commenced in the. preparation of fitting a show herd the 
 better. Every animal except the under six months pigs should 
 shed off his or her old coat not later than the first of August, that 
 the new coat may be nicely started before the fair season opens. 
 Generally all this will come along in due time if the animals 
 are fed as above and are gaining in flesh constantly. If any of 
 the herd should not begin to show inclination to shed by the mid- 
 dle of June or the first of July, . I would give them a wallow 
 hole in which some clay has been placed, if it is not naturally a 
 clay soil, keeping this hole rather thick in mud, and adding 
 some wood ashes. 
 
 Clipping the Hair. Many showmen are in the habit of clip- 
 ping the hair of their older animals when they do not shed off 
 in time. While this, in some instances, looks better than an 
 extremely coarse coat of hair, it always shows every little un- 
 evenness in the flesh of the animal. This practice is more com- 
 mon among the Poland-China showmen than any other breed 
 I believe, yet I have seen some show animals come into the ring 
 that were closely clipped, showing almost no hair and sprayed in 
 oil, that really I think were not showing as well as though not 
 clipped, for the reason that little uneven places could be plainly 
 seen along the back and sides, evidence to the Judge that they did 
 not flesh evenly as they should, and would in a way, militate 
 against them. 
 
 Before entering the show ring or as early after arriving on 
 the fair grounds as possible, the herdsman should take a hand 
 clipper and clip the long hairs off the edges of the ears and about 
 the nose and jaw of the hogs and also clip the tail clean from 
 
SELECTING AND FITTING THE SHOW HERD 67 
 
 the brush back to the tail head, giving a much more finished ap- 
 pearance to the animal than though this was neglected. The above 
 suggestions properly followed and the bringing of the herd to the 
 shows in a thoroughly docile, well mannered condition, add much 
 to their credit while in the show ring. It is pretty hard for a 
 Judge to properly examine an aged boar or one even younger, 
 if he is brought into the ring with four or five men, each bump- 
 ing him around with a short hurdle the boar certainly is not 
 showing to the best advantage. 
 
 Dressing. A nice dressing to use after the hogs are fitted and 
 in show condition, before entering the ring, is made as follows: 
 
 Take a good quality of cotton seed oil, adding enough wood 
 alcohol to thoroughly cut and make a nice thin easy running 
 dressing. After the hog is thoroughly washed and his skin is 
 clean apply with a brush and rub it in thoroughly. 
 
 One of the most detestable dressings that I have ever come in 
 contact with as judge at the great shows is made of oil and lamp 
 black. The animals, as they come into the show ring, are not only 
 a mass of grease and lamp black, but the attendants are about as 
 badly blacked up as the hogs, and before the judge is half through 
 he is also more or less greased up. I have known of cases where 
 the judge had to send his clothes to be cleaned each night or 
 put on a clean pair of overalls each day. All that is necessary 
 as a dressing is something that will make the hair glossy and 
 yet not be gummy. 
 
 Exercise on the Show Circuit. The good herdsman and care- 
 taker does not lie in bed until late in the morning, but is up early 
 and has his show animals out on the grass somewhere about the 
 fair grounds, and drives them around for an hour until each 
 animal is thoroughly emptied out and has had proper exercise. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 HANDLING SHOW HERD IN THE EING 
 
 The proper fitting and handling; of the show herd before it 
 starts put on the circuit, will prevent much trouble in handling 
 the animals in the ring. 
 
 With the herd properly trained, there is nothing with which 
 to handle them compared with a buggy whip, in the hands of a 
 man who has sense enough not to whip the hogs, but quietly touch 
 them on, either side of the head to place them where he wishes. 
 As a matter of fact this has been my experience in the many years 
 of handling show hogs. I never need a hurdle with our hogs. 
 With some breeds it is absolutely necessary to have a hurdle in 
 handling a mature boar even though he is supposed to be well 
 mannered and docile, but there is no excuse in using a hurdle with 
 a bunch of sows if they are half way prepared before starting 
 on the circuit. When a hurdle must be used, let it be a light one 
 and made so that the hog cannot see through it. Don't make it 
 of narrow slats a few inches apart, but cover it with heavy material, 
 or else make it of boards tightly matched so there can be no see- 
 ing through it. When in the ring with the herd or a single animal, 
 show to the best possible advantage. The showman has this 
 privilege. 
 
 Feeding on Circuit. Many exhibitors seem to think that 
 when they start out on the show circuit they must stuff the 
 animals with all the feed possible, not only during the time they 
 are on the cars going to and from the shows but each day while 
 on the grounds. It has been our experience that the man who 
 follows this custom generally arrives home with his hogs much 
 lighter in weight than when he started out, while if the hogs 
 had been given only water to drink while en route to the shows 
 and fed lightly for the first day afte.r arriving and given plenty 
 of exercise, they would wind up the circuit in much better 'con- 
 dition than if they had been stuffed all the time. 
 
 I have known an exhibitor to buy warm milk from some of the 
 dairymen and feed his pigs all they could hold, though they 
 had never had a drop at home while being fitted. This generally 
 results in a case of scours with the pigs "off feed" for several 
 days and by the time they go into the ring they are badly gaunted 
 up. Of course if the pigs have had this ration at home it should 
 be continued. Avoid radical changes in the rations. 
 
 Treatment of the Herd on Its Return Home. Many successful 
 exhibitors, when they have finished the show circuit, won their 
 laurels and arrived home safely with their herds, seem to think 
 that the animals now need no further attention, except feed. 
 
HANDLING SHOW HERD IN THE RING 69 
 
 This is a great mistake, and if these show animals are expected 
 to go on and prove what they should be, desirable and regular 
 breeders, they must be. handled very carefully. 
 
 The first thing I would advise on return from the shows, would 
 be to quarantine the show herd on a portion of the farm or 
 some other place where they would not come in contact with 
 the home herd. They should be placed on good, green, succulent 
 pasture, if possible, and if not possible, should have some kind 
 of green feed to take the place of pasture. They should be fed 
 quite a little less than while on the show circuit, and no fat- 
 making feed, and be made to take all the exercise possible, so that 
 they may be reduced in flesh somewhat not by starving, but by 
 lighter feeding and abundant exercise and if they have not been 
 too strongly fitted, they will soon be in prime condition to breed. 
 
 The show herd should be kept in quarantine about three weeks, 
 and if no symptoms of disease appear by that time, it would be 
 safe to put them with the home herd. 
 
 Now that we can procure a reliable hog cholera serum I would 
 advise all hog men making the fair circuits to give each show 
 animal a large dose of serum (no virus) about a week before leav- 
 ing home for the fairs, unless they have positive knowledge that 
 every animal in their show herd has been properly and permanently 
 immuned by the simultaneous treatment. 
 
 A large percent of bran and oats mixed with a small amount 
 of middlings and cornmeal is an excellent feed to use during the 
 reducing period. They must have exercise and if necessary see 
 that they get it by driving daily. This is very important and 
 must not be overlooked. 
 
 A part of the ration may consist of whole oats scattered freely 
 in a clean place, as the oats themselves are an excellent feed, and 
 they will get considerable exercise while eating them. 
 
 I might say right here that with many exhibitors it is a cus- 
 tom to breed the show sows a month before starting out on the 
 fair circuit, and if successful in settling them, so much the better, 
 even though the litter comes at an unfavorable time of the year. It 
 simply keeps the animals breeding, and it is much better for them. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 TO THE EXHIBITOR AND FAIR MANAGER 
 
 The wise exhibitor or herdsman will so arrange his circuit 
 that he will arrive on the fair grounds as early before the open- 
 ing of the fair as possible, that he may have his hogs well rested 
 and in the pink of condition before the show opens. "Where one 
 attends a fair each week, this of course is sometimes a hard rule 
 with which to comply, but many thinking fair managers today 
 are so arranging their dates and days of show that the live stock 
 that is to show the following week at a distant state is allowed 
 to be released on Friday night which, by the way, is a custom 
 that all fairs and expositions should follow. 
 
 Many state fairs have, too many men among their management 
 who know nothing whatever of the needs of the live-stock exhibitor 
 while on the circuit. They manage their show as though it were 
 the only one the exhibitor was going to attend and seem to think 
 that the exhibitor, because he made an exhibition at their fair, 
 should be obliged to remain there until the last man is gone. They 
 should always remember that without the live-stock exhibit their 
 fair would soon be a thing of the past, and for this reason should 
 give the live-stock exhibitor every encouragement and help pos- 
 sible. 
 
 Be Prepared to Show Pedigrees. Oftentimes in the under-six- 
 months class or the class over six and under twelve months, there is 
 such a wide range of sizes that one hesitates in comparing. Here is 
 where every exhibitor should produce the certificates of registry, 
 and if any of the animals have been purchased of others, the cer- 
 tificates of transfer, showing exact age of the animals on exhibi- 
 tion. This would avoid any unpleasantness between exhibitors 
 or between the exhibitor and the judge. 
 
 Authenticating Ages. It is pretty hard for an experienced 
 judge to step into a ring of pigs showing in the under-six-months 
 class and find most of them of proper size and development, and 
 others showing by their general make-up that they are far beyond 
 six months old, even being old enough to show well developed 
 tusks, which every man knows are not developed until after the 
 pig is six months of age. The judge who knows his business, while 
 not inclined to quarrel with the exhibitor over the age of his pigs, 
 will quietly ignore them, not considering them eligible to the 
 class. This, of course, generally causes the exhibitor to complain 
 when he should be quietly informed that his pigs are out of their 
 class owing to age, and unless he can prove by certificates of reg- 
 istry, properly signed by the record association, he should not 
 be allowed in the ring. For this reason I would urge every pros- 
 pective showman to always start out fully prepared for such 
 
 70 
 
TO THE EXHIBITOR AND FAIR MANAGER 71 
 
 emergencies. Many is the time that I have asked the exhibitor, 
 while acting as judge, the age of his animal; he generally has an 
 answer ready, and when asked if he has his registry papers with 
 him, he replies that he has them at home, but forgot to bring 
 them, and after passing around the ring once or twice, I again 
 ask the gentleman, "What did you tell me the age of this animal 
 is?" and he would give an age entirely different. I have done 
 this on purpose to find out if the man was telling the truth. You 
 know it has been said that it takes an awfully smart man to be a 
 liar. 
 
 Again, where registry papers are not absolutely insisted upon, 
 many exhibitors are inclined, when asked the age of under-a-year 
 animals, to give the date of Sept. 1 to 3, as their date of birth, 
 and those in the under-six-months class from March 1 to 3. This 
 of course, has to be taken by the judge as a fact, however much he 
 may doubt or suspect. 
 
 This matter of showing pigs of uncertain ages is somewhat in 
 disrepute. It simply puts the man doing business right up against 
 an almost impossible chance of winning, where older pigs than 
 should be admitted to the class are being shown. I know of no 
 way to stop this except by the rigid enforcement of showing 
 certificates of registry. 
 
 One may say that the same rascality might be covered up 
 by the owner when sending his pedigree in for registration giving 
 a wrong birth date, showing the animal younger than it really 
 was. When it comes to this proposition the fellow will have to be 
 very smart or he will be tripped up sometime by having regis- 
 tered two litters from the same sow that were born too nearly at 
 the same time. 
 
CHAPTEB XXI 
 
 JUDGING AT SHOWS 
 
 There are many good judges; men who not only know the 
 correct type and conformation of show animals of the various 
 breeds, but are men above reproach and can always be relied on to 
 be absolutely square and honest in their decisions. The matter of 
 selecting the best three or five animals, as the rules in the pre- 
 mium list require, is no small task. 
 
 The first thing the judge must do when he steps into the arena 
 is to forget all friends and know no man. He must judge the 
 hogs only and let no personal feelings enter his mind. If his 
 brother or son should be showing in the ring he should be a man 
 of strong enough character to turn down their animals, if not 
 worthy, just as quickly as though shown or owned by an entire 
 stranger. 
 
 The judge should not attempt to pass on the animal unless 
 he has in his mind a true picture of what the animal of that age 
 and that breed should be. Of course no animal, even a show 
 animal, is perfect. 
 
 After carefully examining each animal of the class under view, 
 and finally deciding which, in his opinion, is the best, let him pass 
 this without further attention and consider which is the second 
 best. It is usually much easier to find the first prize animal than 
 the third, fourth or fifth, but after the judge compares points, 
 conditions, general type and conformation, and has his mind 
 made; up, let him line these animals up as first, second, third, 
 fourth and fifth as the case may be, for the clerk to take the entry 
 number and write the proper names and the award in the book. 
 Then he should by all means be ready to compare these animals 
 in the presence of the bystanders, explaining why he gave this 
 one the first over that one and so on. It is surprising to a judge 
 sometimes to find what great satisfaction it gives the exhibitor 
 to be shown where his animal lacked in comparison with the one 
 above him, and no judge should act unless he is able to give the 
 reason. 
 
 While disliking to speak of myself as a judge, I may be par- 
 doned in saying that I have acted as judge at practically every 
 state fair in the Union and I make it a practice to make this 
 explanation after each decision and many and many a time has the 
 loser come to me and said: "Mr. Lovejoy, I learned more today 
 from what you have shown me about weak points or undesirable 
 ones in hogs than I ever knew before, and I thank you, and I 
 now know I was not entitled to higher honors." 
 
 72 
 
JUDGING AT SHOWS 73 
 
 Tricks by Exhibitors. A judge in a hot ring has many little 
 annoyances; for instance, there is the showman (and it is his 
 right) who brings in an animal that possibly drops a little in the 
 back, with possibly an inclination to sag too much, and while the 
 judge is trying to find this out, the showman is continually bump- 
 ing the animal on the nose to keep its head down and its back up. 
 It is also amusing often to find an exhibitor who is continually 
 squatting beside or in front of his animal and patting it, trying 
 to attract the attention of the judge to certain points that he 
 thinks might be overlooked. Let me say to this kind of exhibitor 
 that the judge will find all the good points quickly; what the 
 judge is looking for is the weak ones, and if he knows his business 
 he will find them. 
 
 Really the best showmen, who are not only good winners 
 but good losers, say very little to the judge unless asked a ques- 
 tion, and this id as it should be, for the judge knows that the 
 whole responsibility is on his shoulders and he is willing to take 
 this responsibility without, rather than with, the advice of the 
 owner or showman. 
 
 I always like to have the animal that I am judging walk off 
 naturally and without an attendant. I think this quite import- 
 ant, as it will many times show up defects that an expert showman 
 will completely hide from the judge if the showman is allowed 
 to show that animal all the time. With this idea in mind, I in- 
 variably stand where I can see the animals come into the ring 
 from their pens. 
 
 If you are fortunate enough while showing to win the blue or 
 purple let that joy be confined in your heart; if you are so un- 
 fortunate as to lose let that disappointment also be confined in 
 your heart and try to appear a good loser. It really requires a 
 ''good sport " to be a good showman, and especially to be a good 
 loser. The judge canuot in his decisions consider the desires or 
 hopes of the exhibitor, but; must at all times make the awards 
 according to his judgement and not be influenced by the ringside. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 SHIPPING CRATES 
 
 Shipping crates are probably sent out in a greater variety 
 than almost any other article used in the swine breeding business. 
 It is not always the fault of the shipper that he cannot send a 
 better crate or a nicer looking one, from the fact that crate 
 material in many states is almost impossible to be had. At least 
 this is the case in our vicinity. We have no hardwood lumber 
 for sale in our county, neither do we have any old fashioned white 
 pine. We do have southern pine that is so full of sap and knots 
 that it is hardly worth while to use it, and if it is used it makes an 
 extremely heavy crate. 
 
 Probably the best lumber from which to make shipping crates 
 is poplar if it can be procured, being both light and strong. 
 Following this comes a straight grained elm, used principally 
 in a half inch thickness, with exceptions of bottoms and corners. 
 
 The matter of crating hogs, where there are many to ship, 
 is an item of bother and labor, which many times can be lightened. 
 We have a scale of sizes for crates. When we build we make a 
 side; then lay another side on top and build all the sides first. 
 Then make all the bottoms, then the tops. If crowded for room, 
 one can build twenty crates in this way and leave them knocked 
 down and put them together when needed. When in this form a 
 crate can be put together in five minutes. Always have a few of 
 each size on hand for immediate use when they are wanted. It 
 is good rainy-day work. The average crate is made too low 
 for comfort; a crate should be high enough to allow a hog to sit 
 on his hind quarters and stand in, front, which raises his head 
 some higher than when he stands on all four quarters. Here is 
 a table of measurements for different-sized crates which will answer 
 the purpose in shipping different sized pigs or hogs : 
 
 Length Height Width 
 
 3' 28" 14" 
 
 3' 6" 30" 18" 
 
 4' 30" 20" 
 
 4' 6" 32" 22" 
 
 5' 34" 22" 
 
 6' 36" 24" 
 
 Bottoms are made by using strips one inch thick and one and 
 one-half inches wide. Lay them down the length of the crate 
 and build the floor on them crossways. The sides are fastened by 
 nailing to the under strip, which is flush with the floor. All 
 standards are on the outside of crate to prevent the strips 
 being pushed off if the animal presses against the side of the 
 
 74 
 
SHIPPING CRATES 75 
 
 crate. Tops are made lengthwise with cross piece at front, middle, 
 and one inch from back, so tail boards can be put in up and down; 
 these are less liable to rub tail than when a hog is nailed in with 
 strips across the crate as in front. Crates four and one-half 
 feet long, and longer, should have center standards to strengthen 
 the crate. Bred sows should have good roomy crates, especially 
 in width. 
 
 Kinds of Timber Used. I believe that linden sometimes 
 called basswood makes even a better crate than elm or poplar, but 
 this is also hard to be found and as high in price as clear cork 
 pine, so that one is almost compelled to use such material as can 
 be found in his own vicinity. "We have used a little half-inch 
 beechwood for the sides of crates for light pigs, which is fairly 
 satisfactory but inclined to split when driving nails in it, unless 
 previously softened by placing the ends in water. We once bought 
 a dozen or so of the nicest shipping crates that it is possible to im- 
 agine, made of electric welded woven wire sides, end and top, 
 so hinged and locked together that they made an ideal crate which 
 could be quickly knocked down and returned in a collapsed form 
 to the shipper. A plainly printed, substantial tag was fastened 
 on each crate giving directions to the receiver of the animal to 
 please knock clown and return. This was usually done, but oc- 
 casionally a man receiving it would either forget to return the 
 crate or imagine that it belonged to him, and in this way the 
 original number purchased by us, after a year or two, were 
 all lost by not being returned. We decided, however, to try them 
 again and ordered a new lot, only to find that the party making 
 them had gone out of business and he replied that he was unable 
 to make any more. If his patent could be secured by some enter- 
 prising company and the crates made in large numbers, I think 
 they would prove very profitable to the manufacturer, as they 
 are the most satisfactory shipping crates that can be conceived 
 of for hogs of all ages. 
 
 There should be a manufacturing company somewhere that 
 would get together all these conveniences for the equipment of 
 swine breeding farms. 
 
 Preparing a Pig for Shipment. Some men think that when a 
 pig is to be shipped some distance he must be stuffed with an 
 unusually large feed the morning he is to leave. This is a mis- 
 take. We had rather the pig would not be fed the morning he is 
 to be shipped, as he will ship better and arrive at destination 
 in better condition without his morning feed, unless it is a dis- 
 tance that will require more than two days. This may seem strange 
 to a beginner but an old breeder generally prefers to ship his 
 pigs on an empty stomach. Particularly is this true when pigs 
 are shipped during the hot months, as they will ship cooler by 
 simply having what water they will drink and no feed. 
 
 It is well to brush the pig and make him thoroughly clean be- 
 fore he is crated; then he should be sprayed with a disinfectant 
 
76 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 giving him a nice clean finish. A little dry clean bedding of 
 some kind should be placed in the crate. If the pig is going a dis- 
 tance that will require four or five days to make the trip, then 
 it is best to put a little feed in a small sack and tie it to the crate 
 with instructions to feed a very little once daily. A five-cent tin 
 basin wired in one corner of the crate on the floor will serve as a 
 place to water and give a little feed if it is necessary. A notice 
 should be placed on the crate, if it is during the summer months 
 "See that the crate is kept near an open door in the car, facing 
 the way the train is going, that the pig may get the benefit of the 
 breeze. " Should the pig become over-heated it should have at- 
 tention at once, and instructions should be given the route agent 
 to sprinkle the pig's nose with a little water and put some water 
 on the floor of his crate so as to wet the pig underneath, but 
 under no consideration should cold water be thrown on the body 
 of the pig when over-heated, as it means almost certain death. 
 
 The Pig on Arrival. On receiving a pig that has been shipped 
 a long distance, do not expect to see him, come out the crate 
 looking as if he were just from a bandbox, for naturally he will 
 be gaunt, somewhat dirty and probably quite tired. Brush him 
 off nicely, put him in a place by himself and give him a drink 
 of fresh water, after which give him a light feed, only a little at 
 first, until he is rested, or until the next feeding time comes, when 
 you may give him a little more feed than at the first time; thus 
 you will gradually bring him up to his full feed. 
 
 Notice, on receiving the pig, if he seems constipated; if so 
 give him 2 tablespoonfuls of Epsom salts in his feed and let him 
 take a little exercise where there is some grass. 
 
 It is a good thing when ordering a pig from a breeder, to ask 
 how the pig has been fed, and if you can do so, continue about 
 the same ration he has been getting. If you wish to change to 
 a different system of feeding, do so very gradually and you will 
 not be disappointed. If you should overfeed the pig on the start, 
 everything will go wrong, and you will be much disappointed later. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 WHAT A BREEDER OF FULL BREDS 
 SHOULD BE 
 
 Probably there is no business that requires character and in- 
 telligence in a man, to a greater degree, than the breeding of 
 pure-bred stock of any kind. First, the young man when starting 
 should know that he likes the business, and has made up his mind 
 to follow it as a permanent business and to stick to it through 
 thick and thin. This matter of stick-to-it-ive-ness is one of the 
 principle elements a man should have. Next, he should be a man 
 whose character is above reproach and absolutely honest. With 
 these elements and a determination to succeed, he can build up a 
 life business that is gratifying in every way. 
 
 Then, he must select as good animals as possible to found 
 his herd; he must cull a goodly proportion from the produce each 
 year to sell as pork hogs, selling nothing but the better animals 
 for breeding purposes. He must keep careful records of his breed- 
 ing ; he must be prompt in answering inquiries ; he must be truth- 
 ful and reliable in every way, so that the purchaser may know 
 when he receives the pedigree of a pure-bred animal that it is ab- 
 solutely correct. Much, in fact, depends on the correctness of the 
 pedigree, and that is dependent on the man who writes it, for this 
 reason he must be dependable in every respect. A man who is not 
 dependable cannot build up a permanent business. 
 
 The policy of the pure-bred stock breeder should be always 
 to satisfy his customer, if possible. 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 PEDIGREES 
 
 This is a matter that does not greatly interest the farmer or 
 feeder who is growing hogs simply for the open market, but must 
 be understood, and thoroughly so, by the breeder of registered hogs 
 who expects to sell a large portion of his produce, to other breeders. 
 A pedigree amounts to nothing unless it is a correct record of the 
 different blood lines in the sire, and dam taken from the established 
 records for the breed. The pedigree in itself adds no value to the 
 individuality of the animal but it is a means of noting the various 
 blood lines that has produced the animal. Neither is a pedigree 
 of any value unless it is made by a man who would under no cir- 
 cumstance write in other than the correct names of animals, with 
 their herd book numbers. A man who would make a false pedi- 
 gree would do anything else false that came to his mind and should 
 not last long as a breeder of pure-bred hogs of any breed. In 
 other words the pedigree should be a guarantee that only such 
 animals were used in producing the particular individual as really 
 were used. 
 
 Study Blood Lines. One who is well versed in the principles of 
 breeding pure-bred animals, and familiar with the value of the 
 different blood lines of the breed, can by studying the pedigree of 
 the animal he purchases to head his herd, know practically what 
 the results will be from using him. The more animals that ap- 
 pear in the pedigree that have made good as producers of superior 
 stock, the better the pedigree, and the more valuable it becomes 
 as a guarantee for future quality in the herd ; hence it is of great 
 importance that the owner of a high class breeding herd, who 
 wishes to continually improve the quality of his herd, study care- 
 fully the pedigree of any new animal that he wishes to introduce 
 as the head of his herd. It is a well known fact, however, that 
 there are few outstanding sires that are worthy of special note 
 in any breed of pure-bred hogs, and buyers of boars, when they 
 order a boar for use, should not expect him to be "one in a 
 thousand," unless he has investigated the animal's get and has 
 proof of the fact that he is "one in a thousand," and if such a boar 
 is found he, the buyer, must expect to pay a very large price to 
 secure him, for the owner can ill afford to part with this kind. 
 
 Correspondence. The breeder of pure-bred hogs, after he is 
 established, will have a large amount of daily correspondence to 
 look after. He should make a rule to be prompt in his replies, 
 answering all questions carefully, describing the animal he offers 
 so that the man will not be disappointed, should be order. He 
 should keep a carbon copy of each letter written. He should always 
 keep a letter file of some kind, whereby he can keep each man's 
 
 78 
 
PEDIGREES 
 
 79 
 
 correspondence by itself. I think we have every letter received 
 in thirty years, and pasted to it is a carbon copy of the reply. A 
 card system should be -kept with the name of each and every cor- 
 respondent you do business with, and a follow-up card system 
 would be well, as a follow-up letter often results in getting an 
 order that would be overlooked otherwise.. 
 
 Every breeder should procure a typewriter and learn to use 
 it, and write all letters on this machine. It is rather hard for 
 some men to write a nice hand with a pen, and there are often 
 some words in the letter that are not plainly written and that puz- 
 zle the one receiving it; besides, when writing a letter on the 
 machine the copy can be made at the same time and filed with 
 the original letter. 
 
 System. System is a great thing, even in the hog business. 
 Systematic methods of keeping all records, filing all letters, keeping 
 the cards, the breeding records, the feeding records, and everything 
 connected with the business, is most important. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 ADVERTISING 
 
 This chapter is written for the benefit of breeders who are sell- 
 ing pedigreed stock for breeding purposes, and I want them to con- 
 sider the matter of advertising one of the most important parts of 
 the business. First is the breeding of the right kind of hogs to fur- 
 nish breeders. The next thing is the proper care of them until they 
 are ready to ship to the breeders. Then comes advertising, which 
 is as important as anything else, for without advertising of some 
 kind there will be little or no business. 
 
 I have mentioned in a previous chapter, that the matter of at- 
 tending the county fair circuits and showing was one way to com- 
 mence a good line of advertising, and after a little experience at 
 county fairs, to take a step a little further up, and show at the 
 state fairs and large expositions, or in other words increase the 
 show ring practice as you increase your knowledge of the business, 
 and ability to bring out the right qualities in animals. This show 
 ring experience and mingling with hundreds of farmers and others, 
 is a good way to start a permanent acquaintance, and establish the 
 business, and the orders taken while at the county shows should be 
 almost enough to dispose of the surplus for the first year or two, 
 and when later the larger shows are made the sales should increase 
 accordingly. 
 
 The young breeder should at these shows keep a list of the 
 names of all men with whom he becomes acquainted and who are 
 interested in his breed, as well as a list of the men to whom he 
 sold pigs. 
 
 Persistence in Journals. Besides the advertising made at the 
 shows, the breeder should be a liberal advertiser, not only with his 
 breed organ but with other leading reliable publications that go 
 to the homes of the better farmers and breeders. While speaking 
 along the lines of advertising I wish to impress upon the mind of 
 the breeder the necessity of his advertisements being permanent or 
 continuous, not spasmodic. What is more assuring to a prospective 
 purchaser than when looking through his various swine and live 
 stock publications to find the name of some advertiser of his favor- 
 ite breed, whose advertisement always appears in each weekly or 
 monthly issue of his paper ? This goes to show that the one who ad- 
 vertises this way is a permanent and constructive breeder, but if 
 you find the advertisement of a breeder of your breed, who comes 
 out with considerable gush once or twice in some publication and 
 then drops put, you are not inclined to send such an advertiser an 
 order, and you may conclude that as he had dropped out his adver- 
 tising, he may also have dropped out of the business. These are 
 
 80 
 
ADVERTISING 81 
 
 matters that I know from absolute experience in many, many years 
 of continuous advertising. We have never carried but one or two 
 advertisements at one time, but for over thirty years our advertise- 
 ments has never failed to appear continuously. While possibly not 
 needing this advertising some times to help dispose of our stock, 
 we believe that as there are many new men entering the arena 
 as breeders, as well as fanners and feeders, it is the profitable 
 thing for us to keep permanently and continuously before the 
 people, and so we continue to advertise even after many, many 
 years. 
 
 We often receive letters from parties, who say: "I have seen 
 your ad. for many years, etc.," which shows they understand we 
 have been in business a long time, from the fact that we are con- 
 tinuously appearing before the readers of good publications. 
 
 Herd Catalogs. Another good advertising plan is occasion- 
 ally mailing out either a herd catalog or a neat folder, giving a 
 little history of the herd and the business done, also listing the 
 names and numbers of the brood sows and herd boars, and a list 
 of the litters farrowed that season. Some breeders also believe in 
 publishing once or twice a year, a circular describing certain ani- 
 mals and their breeding, which they are offering for sale at that 
 time. This is a good plan. 
 
 Another matter that is quite important is the necessity of using 
 a typewriter, and learning to use it properly, and never to fail to 
 answer correspondence promptly and in an intelligent manner. 
 It is not necessary to use all the adjectives that one can scrape to- 
 gether in describing what he has to offer the inquirer; better be a 
 little modest along this line>, simply stating the breeding and a 
 true description of what you have to sell, with the price. 
 
 Stationery. The style and quality of stationery one uses is 
 also one of the things that makes an impression on the inquirer. A 
 neat, plain letterhead, with as little printing on it as possible, and 
 paper of a good quality, speaks well for the breeder and impresses 
 his correspondent with the belief that this man is not making any 
 extra flourishes. A good judge of human nature can quite readily 
 determine something as to the character of a man by his stationery, 
 and still more by the letter he writes. We have never found it 
 necessary in our business to cover very much paper in replying to 
 a letter. However, we often receive letters that contain quite a 
 number of pages, which after reading and trying to digest, it is 
 hard to really know just what the man wants, further than that he 
 seems to want an animal that will score upwards to 100 points, and 
 then wants it for an extremely low price, with all the guarantees 
 he can think of, added. 
 
 There is another matter that is quite important in the way of 
 advertising; always have your home grounds, hog quarters and 
 other parts of the equipment of the hog establishment, as well as 
 
82 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 the hogs themselves, in shipshape for visitors. Do not feel obliged 
 when a man suddenly appears on your farm to inspect your herd, 
 to commence apologizing for the condition of things in general. Al- 
 ways have them so that a good impression may be made on the mind 
 of a visitor, for he is taking all things in as he passes down the line, 
 and you certainly wish to make a good and not a bad impression. 
 
 First impressions are lasting and these should be as favorable 
 as one can offer. 
 
 When writing advertisements one should try and be as concise 
 as possible, and not say too much, but say it in a way that will at- 
 tract the attention of the reader. The writing of advertisements 
 is an art. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 HOME-CURED PORK 
 
 I have often wondered why more farmers who grow pork for 
 the market, do not take up the business of a farm packing plant 
 on a small scale. I am sure pigs and hogs of different weights 
 could be slaughtered on the farm; the products cured in the good 
 old home way, and sold to local stores or markets for better prices 
 and better profits than could be received for live weight. I feel 
 certain that a farmer who would prepare for this work could profit- 
 ably market a high class article of all pork sausage something that 
 cannot be found in a butcher shop. He should take great pains to 
 make this as perfect as possible, just as he would make it for his own 
 family. Put it up in attractive packages of one, two or five pounds 
 each, and furnish one or more of the best groceries in the nearby 
 city. Or the farmer could send out small sample packages to the 
 better class of citizens in the city and he soon would build up a 
 retail trade that would astonish him, and at prices much above 
 anything sold by the butchers. 
 
 Further than this, the hams could be home-cured in a sweet 
 pickle or mild cure and smoked as they should be, slightly, rather 
 than be cured "while you wait" with chemicals, and smoked with 
 creosote dressing. There is no more delicate morsel than a farm- 
 cured ham from a young pig of about 200 pounds. There is a great 
 demand for such hams during the winter season, without any smok- 
 ing whatever. I personally like this kind of curing better than 
 when smoked, but hams cured in this manner would not keep dur- 
 ing the long summer months. The older hog, with the exception of 
 the spare ribs, should be made into sausage. There would be little 
 fat pork in light young hogs, but older ones could be finished for 
 this purpose from which extra fine fat pork could be furnished, as 
 well as a very choice quality of home made lard. Pickled pigs' 
 feet, head-cheese and souse could be easily introduced to the fancy 
 trade. 
 
 The main thing is in starting this business and going at it with 
 the determination to build up a business. I believe a farmer could 
 hardly raise enough hogs and pigs in a year to supply the demand 
 for the fancy pork products that he could put up, as the consump- 
 tion of pork products is constantly increasing from year to year. 
 We must remember that every morning there are over three thous- 
 and new mouths to feed in America, and practically every one of 
 them to eat the product of the American hog and enjoy it. Meat 
 production increases wealth, and the grain products of the farm 
 can all be utilized in the production of high-class pork. We have 
 no animal of greater economic value than the pig; he matures 
 quickly and brings ready returns. If there was no money in pork 
 
 83 
 
84 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OP A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 the farmers of the west would not grow eighty-five million dollars 
 worth each year, to supply foreign nations, besides keeping enough 
 at home to supply the demand of our own people. 
 
 Boneless Pigs' Feet. Cut the feet off with a sharp knife and 
 a little saw, well above the ankle joint; wash in hot water and 
 scrape thoroughly and clean. Lay them in salt water over night to 
 remove all blood. Put on to cook with enough slightly salted cold 
 water to cover, and cook from three to five hours, until the bones 
 loosen. Place the meat in a chopping bowl and chop medium fine. 
 Strain the liquor in the pot in which the feet were boiled and season 
 it with vinegar and pepper to taste. Then add the meat and cover 
 with this juice to which should be added more hot water, as it will 
 bear diluting. When cold turn out of the bowl and cut down in 
 slices half an inch thick. 
 
 Pigs' Feet Souse. Cut off the horny part of the feet and toes; 
 scrape clean and wash thoroughly ; singe off any stray hairs. Place 
 in a kettle with plenty of water, boil and skin. Pour off the water 
 and add fresh, and boil again until the bones will pull out easily, 
 but do not pull them out. Pack in a stone jar with pepper and 
 salt sprinkled between each layer; cover with good cider vinegar. 
 When wanted for the table take out in sufficient quantity and 
 put in a hot skillet ; add more vinegar, salt and pepper if needed ; 
 boil until thoroughl}' heated; stir in a smooth thickening of flour 
 and water, and boil until the flour is cooked. Serve hot for a nice 
 breakfast dish. 
 
 Head Cheese. Having thoroughly cleaned the pig or hog 
 head, split it in two ; take out the eyes and the brains ; thoroughly 
 clean the ears; throw scalding water over the head and ears and 
 then scrape absolutely clean. When perfectly clean put in a 
 kettle, with water to cover, and set over a quick fire, skimming 
 as any scum arises. When boiled so the flesh leaves the bone, 
 take the head from the water with a skimmer, and place in a 
 large wooden bowl or tray; then take out every particle of bone, 
 chop the meat fine, season to taste with salt and pepper a little 
 powdered sage may be added spread a cloth over the colander, 
 put the meat in, fold the cloth closely over it, lay weight on it 
 so that it will press every part of the surface equally. When cold 
 take the weight off; remove from the colander and place in a 
 crock. Some add vinegar in the proportion of one pint to each 
 gallon crock. 
 
 Fried Salt Pork. Cut in rather thin slices, freshen by letting 
 stand an hour or two in cold water or milk and water. Roll in 
 flour and fry until crisp. Drain off most of the grease from fry- 
 ing pan. Stir in, while hot, one or two tablespoons of flour, half 
 a pint new milk, a little pepper and salt, if necessary. Let boil 
 and pour into gravy dish. This makes a nice white gravy when 
 properly made. 
 
HOME-CURED PORK 85 
 
 Baked Ham. Most persons boil ham. It is much better baked, 
 if baked right. Soak the whole ham for an hour in clear water 
 and wipe it dry. Next spread it all over with thin batter, and 
 put into as deep dish with sticks under it to keep it up out of 
 the gravy. When it is fully done take off the skin and batter 
 crusted upon the flesh side and set away to cool. It should bake 
 from six to eight hours. After removing the skin, sprinkle over 
 the ham two tablespoons of sugar, some black pepper and rolled 
 crackers. Put in a pan and return to oven to brown. Then 
 stick cloves to the fat portion and dust with powdered cinnamon. 
 
 Boiled Ham. Pour boiling water over the ham, and let it 
 stand until cool enough to wash. Scrape clean; put in a thor- 
 oughly cleansed boiler with enough could water to cover it; bring 
 this to the boiling point and then place on the back of the stove 
 and let simmer steadily for from six to seven hours or until very 
 tender when pierced with a fork be careful to keep the water 
 at boiling point but do not allow to go much above. Turn the 
 ham once or twice while in the water. When done put in bak- 
 ing dish to skin. Dip the hands in cold water and take the skin 
 between the fingers and peel it as you would an orange. Set in 
 a moderate oven placing the lean part of the ham downward. 
 Sift over it rolled crackers and bake one hour. Or cover with 
 the white of a raw egg and sprinkle sugar and finely pulverized 
 bread crumbs over it. Place in the oven and brown. The baking 
 brings out a quantity of fat leaving the meat much more delicate ; 
 in warm weather it will keep in a dry, cool place for a long 
 time. 
 
 Boneless Boiled Ham. Soak a well cured ham in tepid water 
 over night, boil it until perfectly tender, putting it on in warm 
 water. Take up in a wooden tray and let cool. Remove the 
 bone carefully, press the ham again into shape and return to the 
 boiling liquor. Remove pot from fire and let ham remain until 
 cold. Cut cross wise and serve cold. 
 
 Delicious Fried Ham With Eggs. Slice ham and place in boil- 
 ing water and cook until tender. Put in frying pan and brown; 
 then place on platter. Fry some eggs by dipping gravy over their 
 until done instead of turning them. Take up carefully and lay 
 on slices of ham. 
 
 Ham and Egg Lunch Loaf. Chop remnants of cold boiled 
 ham; add crushed crackers and from three to six eggs, according 
 to the amount of meat. Bake in a round baking powder can 
 and when cold it may be sliced for the table. 
 
 Ham Balls. Take half a cup of bread crumbs and mix with 
 two eggs well beaten. Chop fine some bits of cold boiled ham and 
 mix all together. Make into balls and fry. 
 
 To Cook Pickled Side Meat. Cut in slices to fry; parboil to 
 freshen. Roll in flour and fry until cooked through. 
 
86 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 Home-Made Sausage. It is the writer's job to make the Berk- 
 shire sausage at Love joy Farm and in doing this I take much of 
 the choice meat that might be used for other purposes, often using 
 the entire shoulder of the hog as well as all trimmings from the 
 ham, sides, etc., using about equal proportions of the fat meat and 
 lean, although sometimes making sausage largely all lean meat, 
 yet I do not think this gives as good or as tender, well flavored 
 sausage as where the fat and lean are of about equal proportions. 
 We often use. the tenderloin strips also in the sausage meat yet this 
 is almost too delicious a dish, when fried by itself, to be given 
 up by placing it in the sausage. After all meat is prepared for 
 sausage it is run through a grinding chopper and made very fine. 
 We also pulverize sage through this same meat grinder, then 
 flavor the meat with salt, pepper and sage to taste. Dsuring cold 
 weather it is kept in large crocks and cooked as needed. Where 
 large quantities are made to be kept through the summer, it is 
 cooked and placed in muslin sacks of about twelve inches in length 
 and three or four inches in diameter, which are then dipped in 
 hot lard until the cloth is well filled with the lard, then taken 
 out and placed in a cool, dark cellar to be used as desired. 
 
 Curing Thick White Fat Pork. Where one wishes to put up 
 the very thick fat pork for home use, he may cure this by what 
 is known as dry salting. Take a large earthen jar, large enough to 
 hold all one wishes to pack, put a layer of salt in the bottom 
 of the jar, then pack the square cut pieces of pork snugly together 
 and fill all spaces with salt, and a light covering over the top, 
 then another layer of fat meat as before and continue this until 
 all is packed and thickly covered over the top with 'salt. Set 
 this in a cool place where rats or mice cannot get to it, and let 
 it remain, using from it whenever the real fat pork is needed. 
 
 Home-Made Lard. It is best for the farmer to make his own 
 lard when possible for the simple reason that it is cheaper than 
 to sell his hogs on the market and then purchase lard; besides, 
 when the housewife makes lard for home use she knows what 
 she is using. Lard is almost a pure oil of a permanent composi- 
 tion, and moisture and air have little affect on it. Care should 
 be taken to see that the lard is pure, such as the leaf lard, especially 
 if it is to be kept for any length of time. Stone, jars are the best 
 vessels to keep the lard in after being rendered, and should always 
 be kept in a cool, dry place. 
 
 Besides the lard made from the leaf lard, there is much more 
 of the animal fat that can be used for this purpose. All the 
 trimmings of fat from the hams or shoulders, and all the gut fat 
 may be rendered into a good quality of lard. Many persons who 
 do not care for the fat pork, or at least as much of it as is furnished 
 from the fat hog carcass, can use all that is not needed for fat pork 
 for the manufacture of lard. 
 
 A Recipe for Curing Hams. Many years ago, at a show in 
 New York State, a farmer won a $100 prize for the best home- 
 
HOME-CURED PORK 87 
 
 cured ham. I have used his recipe ever since, and with great satis- 
 faction. 
 
 To 100 pounds of meat use 
 
 8 pounds of clean pulverized rock salt, 
 
 3 pounds of brown sugar, 
 
 2 ounces of pulverized saltpetre, 
 
 2 ounces of bicarbonate of soda (cooking soda), 
 
 4 ounces of red pepper. 
 
 After the hams are thoroughly cooled, rub in the above mixture 
 well and place them in a tub or box and let them remain in this 
 container for one week. 
 
 Make a brine of the above mixture, which should be boiled and 
 strained through a cloth, and left till cold. Then after brushing the 
 dry mixture from the hams, place them in a tub or large earthen 
 jar or any receptacle that is big enough to hold them, and pour 
 brine over them, so that they will be entirely covered. Place 
 a floating cover over the hams, and on this cover a heavy weight so 
 as to hold the hams under the brine, and leave them for one week, 
 after which they can be taken out and smoked, if desired. Should 
 you not wish to smoke these hams, they can be left in this brine and 
 used as needed, until hot weather. 
 
 The bacon and shoulders, back meat and fat meat can all be 
 cured in like manner. 
 
 This method of curing produces a very delicate and choice 
 product and would be termed a "mild cure" for hams and bacons. 
 
 The manner of smoking can be done as preferred, but we use 
 many of our hams without smoking at all, if used before hot 
 weather comes on. 
 
 Such portions of ham and shoulders as are not to be smoked 
 may be left in the brine as mentioned heretofore until such time 
 as insects might appear. If one. wants to keep the smoked hams 
 for any length of time they should be securely covered with canvas 
 and either white washed or packed in bran or oats. The room 
 where cured meats are kept should be as cool and as dark as 
 possible. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 HOG CHOLERA AND SERUM 
 
 During the last few years we have made it a practice to keep 
 the entire herd immune by the simultaneous treatment. In the 
 summer of 1913 we immunized 219 pigs at one time, using the sim- 
 ultaneous treatment, and the loss was about two per cent. This 
 leads me to believe that our government authorities and others who 
 have been instrumental in working out the simultaneous serum 
 treatment, have in it the long-sought-for specific treatment for the 
 prevention of hog cholera. 
 
 I am convinced, however that many have not fully understood 
 this method of hog cholera treatment, and as I had been much 
 attracted to and pleased with an article by J. L. Thatcher, I re- 
 quested Mr. Thatcher to furnish a serum article for this book, and 
 take great pleasure in giving him full credit for the excellent 
 service he has rendered swine breeders by his contribution to hog 
 cholera literature. Mr. Thatcher's article which follows, is com- 
 mended to the thoughtful attention of every reader of this book, 
 with the -hope that the serum treatment will be better understood 
 and more generally followed. I firmly believe that if his sug- 
 gestions were properly carried out in time we could stamp out this 
 dread disease: 
 
 In accepting the invitation of the author of this book to write on hog 
 cholera and its prevention by the serum-simultaneous method of treatment, 
 I did so with the idea that I could talk as one breeder to another, and 
 with the hope that what may be said may lead) to a more active and 
 persistent campaign against a disease that, judging by the results attained 
 at lowana Farms, and elsewhere where the treatment has been given a 
 fair and intelligent trial, can be prevented and ultimately wiped out. 
 
 Apart from the purely elementary scientific statements that are made 
 in order to give a clearer understanding of the nature of hog cholera 
 as a disease, of what is meant by immunity, and of the process followed 
 in obtaining serum, the statements made and the conclusions drawn are 
 based entirely upon our work with registered swine. They show what 
 we have accomplished and the policy we have permanently adopted in 
 preventing the disease. The results have been very gratifying to us, and 
 have enabled us to prevent the enormous loss which almost inevitably 
 follows when a hog cholera epidemic strikes . a herd. If our experience, 
 with the results attained and the conclusions drawn, can be of benefit 
 to the swine breeders of the country, we are glad to make known what 
 we have done, and to do our part towards stamping out a disease that 
 is annually causing the loss of tens of millions of dollars throughout 
 the United States. 
 
 The prevention of hog cholera, and through its prevention the control 
 and ultimate eradication of the disease, is the most urgent and financially 
 vital problem which confronts swine breeders and farmers throughout 
 the entire country today. 
 
 Losses Due to Disease. Now when we consider that fully 90 per cent, 
 of the hogs that die from disease die from hog cholera, we can readily 
 gain some idea of the magnitude of the losses we are annually sustaining 
 through this disease alone, and of the imperative need for a nation-wide 
 
 88 
 
HOG CHOLERA AND SERUM 89 
 
 campaign against this scourge in which not only breeders and farmers, 
 but state and national authorities themselves shall join, fighting continu- 
 ously and persistenly with the end in view that in, say ten years, our 
 entire country may be declared practically cholera free. 
 
 The financial losses sustained through the loss of pork hogs alone ia, 
 however, only one phase of the proposition. 
 
 The progressive, business farmer no longer follows the practice of 
 looking for his annual profits through the sale of grain crops. Bather 
 he looks for his gain through the raising and sale of live stock. He needs 
 the manure to maintain the fertility of his soil, and he is appreciative 
 of the fact that a bushel of corn that sells for fifty cents on the market, 
 will bring him one dollar when disposed of in the form of pork. 
 
 Further this same farmer realizes, or is beginning to realize, the 
 greater returns to be gained from the breeding and raising of pure-bred 
 stock, and he is constantly endeavoring to improve his herds by the 
 introduction of pure-bred, registered animals. 
 
 Yet it matters little how successful one may become as a breeder 
 of improved hogs, or in the building up of his herd, as a feeder if he 
 is to be at the mercy of hog cholera epidemics, and is constantly con- 
 fronted by a condition that may in the space of a few days wipe out 
 his entire herd, destroy utterly the results of years of work and study 
 in selective breeding, and with it all inflict upon him a loss that in many 
 cases reaches into the thousands of dollars. 
 
 Concerted Action. Even a casual consideration of the facts given 
 above will show the absolute necessity of some definite, effective, concerted 
 action which can and will stay the ravages of this disease and work to 
 its final elimination. And particularly is this so when there is no longer 
 any question that the trouble can be controlled. 
 
 Up until within the past few years hog cholera has been one of the 
 stubborn diseases to respond to treatment. Although the whole pharma- 
 copeia has been searched for a specific cure, no such cure has ever been 
 discovered. Many so-called remedies have been boasted and boosted, but 
 not one of them has ever proved efiieacious when an emergency arose. 
 Even proper feeding, proper housing and sanitary surroundings, though 
 essential in maintaining animals in a healthy condition and rendering 
 them more able to fight disease, have not proved a safeguard against 
 cholera infection. And on the contrary, it might be added, that there ia 
 no condition or set of conditions, even improper care and feeding of 
 hogs, that will bring on cholera infection without the presence of the living 
 cholera germ. 
 
 A Contagious Disease. Hog cholera is characteristically a contagious 
 disease and is caused by a living germ that develops and multiplies in 
 the body of the animal and produces a poison fatal to life. Even though 
 scientists have thus far, because of inadequate equipment, been unable to 
 identify the particular bug that causes the havoc, the proof of its ex- 
 istence lies in the fact that if a few drops of blood from a cholera infected 
 hog be injected into the system of one not so infected, the blood of the 
 latter animal will become as thoroughly impregnated with cholera virus 
 as was that of the former. This condition, however, would not and could 
 not obtain if the blood of the original animal did not contain a living, 
 active organism. An inactive or dead foreign substance injected into the 
 blood of the second hog could not multiply or increase in quantity. 
 
 The discovery in this instance, as in the cases of all contagious or 
 infectious diseases, of the origin or cause of the disease marked the 
 first steps toward the prevention and control of hog cholera, and thanks 
 to the investigations and activities of our Department of Agriculture and 
 our Experimental Stations, we have, I am firmly convinced, an absolute 
 method of preventing the disease and of bringing about its complete 
 eradication. In my mind it is no longer a question of how to prevent 
 hog cholera, but rather is it one of how to provide the proper means under 
 efficient supervision and regulation, and then to get the farmers to use 
 them. 
 
90 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 It may have been noticed that no claim has been made that a cure 
 for this disease has been discovered. Our hope for its control lies in 
 its prevention rather than in its cure, and this brings us to the discussion 
 of the serum method of treatment, which is distinctly preventive rather 
 than curative in its nature. Success in fighting hog cholera lies in warding 
 it off rather than in overcoming it after the animals have become diseased. 
 
 Method of Procedure. To understand this method of procedure it is 
 essential that one has in mind a clear idea of what is meant by immunity. 
 
 It is common knowledge that when a person has once recovered from 
 an attack of certain contagious diseases he is thereafter less liable to 
 respond to a second attack of those same diseases, and this holds with other 
 animals as well as with human beings. Such individuals, whether persona 
 or other animals, are said to be immune to those particular infections. 
 
 What this immunity consists in is still under debate, I believe, but 
 whatever its nature it is very clear that those animals possess a resisting 
 power they did not possess previous to the first attack of the disease. 
 
 Scientists tell us that all disease-producing germs or bacteria develop 
 certain toxins or poisons which acting upon the body cells and nerve 
 centers tend to cause death. At the same time that this invasion is 
 going on nature, in her attempt to save life, begins the manufacture of 
 a counter-acting substance, called anti-toxin, the function of which is 
 the destruction of the living, death-producing microbes and thus stay or 
 limit the progress of the disease. There is, therefore, being carried on 
 within the system of the infected animal a life and death struggle between 
 these two opposing forces, the toxin and the anti-toxin, and the ultimate 
 success of the one or the other means either the death or the recovery 
 of the hog. In the large majority of cases, however, the body becomes 
 so thorough impregnated with the poisonous germs that the anti-toxin 
 cannot be developed rapidly enough and hence the animal dies. If, on 
 the other hand, the animal has at the beginning an unusual or sufficient 
 amount of native resisting power, or the infection be not of the more 
 virulent nature, recovery takes place and thereafter the animal is con- 
 sidered, and is in reality, immune. 
 
 It is from the blood of these immune hogs that the serum is secured, 
 which, when injected into the systems of other hogs, renders them like- 
 wise immune to the attacks of hog cholera. 
 
 Ordinarily, however, the blood of these merely immune hogs contains 
 only enough anti-toxin to protect the animals themselves against the 
 disease, and thus the serum from the blood of such animals, in small 
 doses, would not be effective in immunizing other animals. This necessi- 
 tates the production of what is known as a state of hyper-immunization 
 in the hogs from which the serum is to be taken. Hyper-immunization 
 is produced by giving to an already immune hog large doses of cholera 
 virus, thus causing the blood of the animal to become so saturated with 
 anti-toxin that small doses of serum from his blood may be successfully 
 used in immunizing other hogs. 
 
 Preparing Serum. The method of preparing the serum may be briefly 
 stated as follows: 
 
 Either a hog is procured that has recovered from an attack of hog 
 cholera, or more frequently, such an immune hog is artificially produced 
 by injecting him with a small dose of virus obtained from an acute case 
 of the disease, while at the same time -he is injected with a protective 
 dose of serum. Thus an immunity is established. Then one of two methods 
 may be employed. Either several successively increasing doses of virus 
 may be given at intervals of about a week apart, or one extraordinarily 
 large dose may be given at one time. Either of these methods is effective, 
 but that of giving the one large dose has the advantage in the point of 
 time saved. From a week to ten days after the last injection of virus the 
 animal is bled from the tail, about a pint of blood being drawn from a 
 hog weighing one hundred pounds. The blood so drawn is allowed to 
 clot and the clot is then strained under pressure, and the resulting serum 
 
HOG CHOLERA AND SERUM 91 
 
 is given sufficient of a five per cent solution of carbolic acid so that 
 ultimately it contains one-half of one per cent of carbolic acid, this being 
 for the purpose of increasing its keeping qualities. 
 
 This bleeding process is repeated at least twice at intervals a week 
 apart, the whole being then mixed to give a uniformity of product. It 
 should then be tested by practical experiment to determine its potency 
 before being sent out and is then ready for use. If properly prepared, 
 the serum is undoubtedly effective in immunizing against cholera when 
 used in doses of 20 to 25 CC for hogs weighing 100 pounds, with doses of 
 15 CC extra for each successive 100 pounds of live weight of hog. 
 
 In warding off or preventing cholera by use of serum one of two methods 
 may be employed. First, by the injection of serum alone under the skin or 
 into the muscles of the animal. This is known as the simple serum method 
 and gives only temporary immunity, say for about thirty days. The sec- 
 ond method, known as the simultaneous method, consists in the injection 
 of the same amount of serum, but at the same time a small amount of 
 cholera virus, from 1 to 2 CC, according to the age and size of the 
 animal, is also injected into the animal being treated. The second method 
 produces what is known as active immunity, and is permanent in its char- 
 acter, lasting during the period of the animal's life. 
 
 Which ever method is employed certain essentials must be absolutely 
 insisted upon if any degree of success is to follow the work; and 
 particularly in the simultaneous method must this be so if disastrous 
 results are to be avoided. 
 
 Essentials. First, the serum and virus used must be pure and potent; 
 and second, the person treating the hogs must know his business thor- 
 oughly that is, he must be able to k-noio hog cholera when he sees it, 
 he must know which method to employ under the given or existing con- 
 ditions, and he must understand how to do the work. Failure in the 
 observation of these requirements will explain why there are still so 
 many breeders and farmers who doubt or question the efficacy of the 
 serum treatment and hesitate in its use. 
 
 To secure the proper kind of serum and virus it is necessary that 
 all serum and virus should be tested to determine their potency before 
 they are sent out for use, and this by expert supervision under state or 
 federal control. Ample means and equipment for their manufacture should 
 be provided so that when emergencies arise and the demand for serum 
 and virus becomes large and urgent the calls could be met and the product 
 sent out would be pure and potent. This comes within the business of the 
 state. To be sure there are numerous commercial plants manufacturing 
 serum and virus, but these likewise should be brought under state or 
 national supervision to insure the excellence of their product. 
 
 That the work of treating hogs should be done by one thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the disease and competent to give the treatment should go 
 without saying, when one considers the importance of the undertaking and 
 the magnitude of the losses that may result if failure follows. 
 
 Which Method? Which method of treatment should be used must be 
 determined by existing conditions. Where an outbreak has already occurred 
 and it is desired to treat the remaining apparently well animals the simple 
 serum method should be employed, for it is very probable that many, 
 if not all, of the animals so injected have become previously infected and 
 the treatment will result in permanent or active immunity. The use of 
 cholera virus on hogs that have already become infected or are other- 
 wise diseased is simply adding to their troubles and will almost invariably 
 result in the death of the animal. Further, the simple serum method only 
 should be used in treating brood soics in pregnancy, even though the treat- 
 ment may have to be repeated to carry them on through farrowing and 
 until their pigs are old enough to wean, and then both sows and piga 
 should be given the simultaneous treatment. 
 
 The simultaneous method should always be used where permanent 
 immunity is desired, and especially so whenever the animals are to be 
 placed in lots or houses in which cholera outbreaks have previously 
 occurred. 
 
92 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 As to the efficacy of the simultaneous treatment, where the serum and 
 virus are right and are properly given, to produce immunity and thus 
 permanently prevent the ravages of hog cholera there is in my mind 
 absolutely no question. 
 
 That it can be done has been proved time and time again. To be sure 
 there are numerous cases where serum has been used with no apparent 
 effect, and the simultaneous treatment has been given in order to gain 
 permanent immunity, that results have been deadly and almost entire 
 herds have been lost. But careful investigation, and thorough analysis 
 of the serum used have proved, or would have proved, that where the 
 simultaneous method was employed the simple serum treatment only should 
 have been used, and in both cases the serum itself had lost part if not 
 all its potency. 
 
 My Own Experience.: In May, 1911, with 172 head of hogs, young and 
 old, on hand, cholera broke out in our herd. We immediately began the 
 use of serum, injecting not only the hogs already sick with the disease, 
 but also those that had been exposed. The effect of the treatment was 
 to check the progress of the disease, and our losses were confined to those 
 animals that had become badly infected before the serum was used. We 
 came out of the siege with 127 animals, having lost forty-five eight 
 mature hogs and thirty-seven pigs. Compare these results with those of 
 one of our neighbors whose herd was attacked by cholera shortly after 
 our herd became infected. He had 165 animals, young and old, at the 
 beginning, and he came out of his trouble with only five head remaining 
 two sows and three pigs. He did not believe in the serum treatment or 
 in its virtue as a preventive. Note the comparative results and draw your 
 own conclusions. 
 
 This outbreak of cholera in our own herd led us to adopt the policy 
 of permanently immunizing every animal. Those that had recovered from 
 the disease were already immune. Those that had never shown sickness, 
 even though they had previously been given the simple serum, were sub- 
 jected to the simultaneous treatment. This practice we rigidly adhere 
 to. All young pigs from immune parents, before being weaned, and all 
 new stock brought into the herd, unless we are positive it has already 
 been treated, are likewise given the simultaneous treatment. And in 
 giving the treatment we have never lost a single animal as a result of 
 such treatment, and up to the present time we have treated upwards of 
 1,300 animals. In this, however, we have been singularly fortunate. Sta- 
 tistics show that ordinarily a loss of from two to five per cent of the 
 animals treated may be looked for. But even this is insignificant when 
 compared with losses that commonly follow an outbreak where the treat- 
 ment is not employed. 
 
 Applying the Treatment. Our method of procedure in giving the 
 simultaneous treatment may explain in part the reason for our freedom 
 from loss following its application. 
 
 In beginning the work of immunizing our herd we gave each animal a 
 regular dose of simple serum alone. This was given as a preparatory 
 treatment. Fourteen (14) days later we gave each animal thus treated 
 the double or simultaneous treatment, using the virus and the regular 
 amount of serum. The preparatory treatment paved the way for the 
 simultaneous treatment 14 days later, and rendered the animal better 
 able to stand the latter treatment. 
 
 In treating pigs whose parents are immune, we give the simultaneous 
 treatment at once, and without the preparatory dose. We usually treat 
 our pigs about two weeks before we wean them. 
 
 Hogs and pigs being treated should be given a clean, dry place to 
 house in, plenty of cool, clean water, and all heating and heavy feeds 
 should be discontinued for a couple of weeks. 
 
 In case any animal, given the simultaneous treatment, is not doing 
 well as a result of the treatment, give it another, a double dose of simple 
 serum. This will help carry it through the fight. 
 
 While we recognize that the giving of the above so-called preparatory 
 dose of simple serum doubles the cost of immunizing hogs and pigs, yet 
 
HOG CHOLERA AND SERUM 93 
 
 the total absence from loss of animals by such practice fully justifies, in 
 our minds, the added expense thus incurred. And especially is this 
 true where the treatment is being given to pure-bred, registered stock. 
 
 Our observations in treating breeding stock have led us to adopt the 
 following practice: We never give the simultaneous treatment to bred 
 sows, nor do we breed sows within two or three weeks after treating 
 them. Further, boars just treated should not be put into immediate serv- 
 ice. Time should be allowed for the immediate after effects of the 
 treatment to wear off the animals to regain their normal and active 
 condition. 
 
 Results of Treatment. The results of our experience in following out 
 this practice have removed from our minds all fear of cholera epidemics. 
 We do not hesitate to move animals from one house or lot to another 
 even though we know that the latter may have contained hogs that had 
 had cholera and are known to be thoroughly infected with cholera germs. 
 And we have never had an animal become infected by such handling. 
 Further, we do not fear to introduce new hogs into our herd regardless 
 of where they may come from. During the entire show seasons of 1912 and 
 1913 none of our hogs were troubled with the disease, and after the fairs 
 were over we did not hesitate to return our show animals immediately 
 back into the lots with our other hogs. 
 
 Further Tests. We have carried our tests still farther to prove the 
 efficacy of the simultaneous treatment in producing permanent or active 
 immunity. This was done to demonstrate to the breeders and farmers 
 of this locality how cholera epidemics could be prevented. 
 
 In August, 1912, one of our young barrows was placed in a herd of 
 hogs in which an outbreak of cholera had occurred. He remained there 
 fifty-five days without contracting the disease and then was brought back 
 and placed again among our own hogs. 
 
 The second of January, 1913, we sent out three other barrows to be 
 put among hogs that were dying from cholera. These three barrows re- 
 mained among those sick hogs for more than six weeks, eating and 
 sleeping with them, but not one of the three became infected or showed 
 any ill effects from the rigid test under which they had been placed. 
 
 Further, at the International Live Stock Exposition in Chicago in 
 1912 the writer purchased six choice gilts to be shipped us and placed 
 in our breeding herd. Knowing the infected condition of the Union 
 Stock Yards, it was stipulated that those gilts be given the simultaneous 
 treatment before shipment. Through oversight on the part of the man 
 left in charge of the animals they were not given the treatment, and 
 were shipped immediately after the close of the Exposition and were 
 placed at once among the other animals of our herd which numbered at that 
 time something over 240 hogs and pigs. Only a very few days elapsed after 
 their arrival before those gilts showed distinct evidences of cholera infection. 
 Three of the animals had become so badly infected that it was impossible 
 to save them. The others we were fortunate in pulling through by a 
 liberal injection of serum. The important point in connection with this 
 incident is this: Though all of those six gilts had the cholera, and three 
 of them died from the disease, yet not one of the 240 immune animals 
 among which they were placed, and with which they had been eating 
 and sleeping, became infected, or have we seen any evidence or trace of 
 cholera among our animals since, and this was over a year ago. 
 
 Such tests as these are our warrant for the conclusions we have reached 
 that hog cholera can be prevented, and by its prevention be completely 
 eradicated. And the results we have attained are being repeated by 
 numerous other breeders who have adopted the system of simultaneously 
 treating their animals and have given the method fair and intelligent 
 handling. 
 
 Immunizing a "Business Policy. With us the permanent immunizing of 
 our hogs is a business proposition pure and simple. The cost is strictly 
 an investment in the way of the purchase of protection that will insure 
 against losses that might reach into the thousands of dollars if we were not 
 BO protected. 
 
94 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 An important point which should be mentioned is the possibility of 
 carrying, or the transmission of, cholera infection from herds, in which 
 the simultaneous method of treatment is employed, to herds which are 
 not immune. For the past year and a half we have shipped hogs and pigs 
 to every section of the United States, and we have as yet to learn of 
 the first instance where any infection has been carried from our herd to 
 other herds, even though those herds had not been given the simultaneous 
 treatment. And further, we have as yet to hear of the first case where 
 herds in our own locality have become infected because of our practice 
 of employing the simultaneous treatment to immunize our animals. 
 
 It is advisable, however, that care should be taken where hogs are 
 being shipped from herds in which the simultaneous method is used, and 
 especially so when they are being sent into sections where the animals 
 are not immune. Animals just treated should be held several weeks before 
 shipment, and in all cases they should be thoroughly disinfected before 
 being sent out. Upon being received by the purchaser they should be 
 held in quarantine for about thirty days. Observation of the above pre- 
 cautions should remove all possibility of trouble. 
 
 Each Man Must Decide for Self. Whether or not a breeder of hogs 
 should adopt the policy of simultaneously treating his animals, and thus 
 establishing and maintaining a permanent immune herd, is for each breeder 
 himself to determine. Situated as we are, in the center of the great swine 
 producing section of the country, where hog cholera outbreaks are con- 
 stantly occurring, and hog cholera germs are with us practically all of 
 the time, this method of treatment is our only salvation, and affords the 
 only means by which we can check and prevent the disease. For breeders, 
 who live in sections of the country where the disease seldom occurs, and 
 who are not bringing in stock from cholera infested districts, the need 
 for immediate action is not so imperative. But those breeders who do not 
 adopt the practice of permanently immunizing their herds, and follow 
 this up by likewise immunizing their young stock as it comes along each 
 year, should be ever on the alert, and when an out-break of cholera does 
 occur in their locality they should at once get in touch with their state 
 authorities, and active and persistent steps be taken to check the progress 
 of the disease. 
 
 Unfortunately, many of our states have not as yet provided ample 
 facilities for the production of proper serum and virus to meet the demand 
 when hog cholera becomes epidemic. Under these circumstances breeders 
 are forced to depend upon commercial concerns for their supplies. 
 
 It is in helping the breeder to get pure and potent serum and virus 
 that the state and federal authorities can be of greatest assistance. Every 
 plant manufacturing these supplies should be under constant state or 
 federal supervision, and every bottle of serum and virus sent out should 
 bear the stamp of the government inspector. This would in effect place all 
 serum and virus on a recognized standard basis as to their purity and 
 potency, and would insure to the farmer and breeder the quality of the 
 article they were getting. Then steps should be taken by the state author- 
 ities to see that the serum and virus are administered by men who know 
 their business and have license to do the work. 
 
 While the simultaneous method of treatment affords a means of check- 
 ing and eliminating hog cholera, in districts or sections of the country 
 where it has become prevelant, every precaution should be taken to pre- 
 vent its being carried into other sections or states not so infected. 
 
 A law should be passed making it a misdemeanor to sell a bunch of 
 sick hogs. A law should be passed requiring the railroad companies to 
 disinfect each stock car after it has taken a load of hogs to market, and 
 every public stock yard should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at 
 stated intervals. Further, a law is needed, and should be enacted by the 
 federal government, requiring a certificate of health for a hog before he 
 can be shipped from one state to another. 
 
 These are precautionary measures which are needed and which can 
 and will do much towards preventing the spreading of the disease. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 COMMON DISEASES 
 
 Worms. The question of worms in pigs is one of greater 
 importance than many breeders and farmers realize. The presence 
 of worms in the stomach is not only a hindrance to thrift and 
 growth, but if neglected, becomes a very dangerous matter, as the 
 worms multiply very rapidly and are a constant drain on the vital- 
 ity of the pig. Often they become so numerous in good sized 
 shotes that they form almost a solid mass in the intestines, which 
 results in emaciation of the pig and finally death. It is a question 
 in my mind if more pigs do not die from stomach worms during 
 the fall and winter months than from cholera. 
 
 It should be the practice of every farmer and also of every 
 breeder of pure-bred hogs to feed something throughout the life of 
 the pig as a preventive or a destroyer of worms. There are many 
 medicated salts on the market, most of them good, and these pre- 
 parations have proven, with us at least, successful in either prevent- 
 ing worms entirely or keeping the trouble down so much that we 
 have never had any difficulty with worms. Even when feeding 
 something of this kind, however, one will occasionally see the pass- 
 ing of worms from the pigs. Any worm powder that contains the 
 proper amount of Santonin is good, and where the use of medicated 
 salts is not quite sufficient, let the owner at once get a prescription 
 from a veterinarian which will clean them out. Young hogs that 
 are badly infected with stomach worms will have a very unthrifty 
 appearance; the coat will be dry and "staring"; the head rather 
 drooping as in cholera ; the back arched ; the pig coughing more or 
 less, and becoming more emaciated every day, with little appetite. 
 
 Another species of worms that bother young hogs and pigs is 
 what is known as thread worms, which form in bunches or large 
 quantities in the throat and often about the lungs, causing a severe 
 cough and much emaciation. These can usually be readily cleaned 
 out by giving a couple of tablespoons of turpentine to each three 
 hundred pounds of live weight, in the slop every day for three 
 days, then skipping a day or two and using it again for three days. 
 
 It must be remembered that when you are doctoring a pig for 
 worms with medicine of any kind, it should be given on an empty 
 stomach, or in other words, after the pig has been kept from feed 
 about eighteen hours, otherwise the turpentine or worm medicine 
 would have little or no effect. 
 
 These species of worms are the only two with which I have ever 
 had any experience during our many years of breeding pigs, and 
 they never caused me any trouble whatever, as we are always on 
 the alert for worm symptoms. 
 
 95 
 
96 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 The eye of the feeder is one of the great things in the hog busi- 
 ness. The man who feeds the pigs should take interest enough in 
 his work to carefully note the condition of each animal daily, and 
 if there is ever so small a change in the animal, by way of being a 
 little ''off feed," he must at once find out what the trouble is, 
 whether it is an over feed from the day before, or a little indisposi- 
 tion from conditions which, unless promptly attended to, might 
 lead to serious trouble. The old adage that a " Stitch in time 
 saves nine" was never more true than in the care of swine. 
 
 Why Young Pigs Lose Their Tails. One often notices when 
 looking over a number of litters, especially of Spring pigs that were 
 farrowed during the cold months of February and March, that a 
 number of them have lost their tails. This condition is caused 
 wholly by neglecting to provide dry beds for the sow and litter. 
 I do not mean by this that an occasional change of bedding, once 
 every week or two would prevent it, but that the bed of the young 
 nursing litter must be absolutely dry at all times, and to make it 
 such it should be changed at least every other day. Otherwise the 
 bed will become damp and the mother and litter will heat it so that 
 it soon commences to steam, and if you should put your hand on 
 the straw you will find it hot and wet. This will surely cause their 
 little tails to shrivel and in a week or so drop off. 
 
 If you notice a pig among your litter of youngsters that shows 
 a little crease or crack around the tail within an inch or a half inch 
 of the body, while the rest of the tail seems dry and dead, you may 
 make up your mind that it will be a bobbed tail pig in a mighty 
 short time. If the trouble has not gone too far, it may be over- 
 come by cleaning the tail where the crack appears, with peroxide of 
 hydrogen, which disinfects and purifies the sore parts, and if this 
 is applied two or three. times daily, and afterward the place rubbed 
 with carbolated vaseline, if the case is not too bad, the tail may be 
 saved. Of course the matter of bobbed tail pigs "cuts little ice" 
 where the hogs are being raised for the pork market, but the loss of 
 the tail greatly disfigures an otherwise outstanding show animal. 
 While the average judge would not turn down an animal in the 
 show ring for lack of a good tail and nice switch or brush, he 
 would very much prefer that the disfigurement was not there. 
 
 Thumps in Young Pigs. Thumps in very young pigs often 
 occur where litters are farrowed in the colder months of the Spring 
 or Winter. While there is no trouble in saving the litter if proper- 
 ly handled, there is danger of the young litter becoming too fat, 
 particularly through the shoulders and front half of the body. 
 This is caused by their not taking proper exercise, and receiving 
 too great a flow of rich milk from the mother. In this case they 
 always become extremely fat, especially about the heart and vital 
 organs of the body, and so thicken up that it is almost impossible 
 for the little fellows to breathe even while lying quietly in the 
 nest, and when this stage becomes apparent it means almost sure 
 death to the pigs if they are forced to take exercise ; hence it is ex- 
 
COMMON DISEASES 97 
 
 tremely important that if a litter is farrowed when it is cold and 
 they are inclined to stay in the nest all day, they must be made to 
 hustle out and take exercise enough to keep them from getting too 
 fat. 
 
 This condition will be very quickly noticed by an observing man 
 who looks after the sow and litter. 
 
 If the sow is a good milker there is all the more danger. In this 
 case it would be well to feed the sow, for two or three weeks, on a 
 ration that would not produce so much milk. This would be a great 
 help in keeping down the trouble, but the pigs should be made to 
 take plenty of exercise daily before any such condition appears. 
 
 There are several ways of compelling this exercise. One is to 
 take the litter some distance from the sleeping place or nest and 
 put them on the ground and let them work their way back. It 
 makes no difference how far .this distance is, if you are sure they 
 will get back to the nest. If this custom is followed daily you will 
 lose no pigs from so-called thumps. 
 
 Another plan is to take the pigs out of the nest and get after 
 them with a broom and if they will not run away from you, force 
 them to do so, by pushing them along. 
 
 Any system is all right that will compel lots of exercise. 
 
 Pleura-Pneumonia. There is another trouble one often runs 
 up against when he walks out among his pigs in the fall, or in fact 
 at almost any time. He finds a half-grown animal, or even a ma- 
 ture one, breathing short and fast with a perceptible jerk in the 
 flank and back of the heart along the shoulders. This is a pretty 
 sure symptom of serious trouble, and is generally an unfailing 
 sign of what is known as Swine Plague, or what would be called, in 
 the human race, Pneumonia. This is a dangerous disease and is 
 one of the "so-called" varieties of hog cholera and is really more 
 dangerous. There is little that can be done with hogs in this con- 
 dition. They should be given a warm, dry place to sleep, thorough- 
 ly rubbed with some strong heating liniment, that is penetrating, all 
 along the sides ; back of the elbow ; between the fore legs ; all about 
 the vital organs ; then, if in a shivering condition, cover them with 
 blankets or something to keep them warm, and keep them where no 
 draft or cold air can strike them. It would be well, in a severe 
 case, to consult the family physician or a good Veterinarian with a 
 view of giving them some internal treatment. The animals will 
 appear very gaunt and probably refuse to eat. If this is the case 
 there is not much hope. Exercise in this case is always fatal. 
 
 Sore Mouths. Some breeders and farmers often have trouble 
 with sore mouths among their pigs. There are two kinds of sore 
 mouth that we have had experience with neither of which need 
 cause any trouble whatever. The more common cases are caused 
 by the pigs fighting each other while nursing, and with their little 
 sharp tusks (which are usually black), they strike each other on 
 the sides of the face and jowl. This trouble can be stopped at once 
 
98 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 by taking the pig, when it is three or four days old, and nipping 
 off these little tusks with a very small pair of pliers, and washing 
 the sore part of the face with a solution of any good coal tar dip. 
 
 This trouble could be avoided if one was careful to note, while 
 the litter was sucking, whether or not there was any inclination 
 for the little fellows to fight each other. 
 
 Canker Sore Mouth. Canker sore mouth is very dangerous, 
 and unless treated at once, a hard thing to cure ; but what little we 
 have had in our herd has been stopped in a day or two by using a 
 soft cloth, wet in a solution of good dip (made quite strong) and 
 thoroughly washing the mouth of the pig affected. If this is done 
 daily, or even every two or three days, for three or four times, it 
 will absolutely cure canker sore month or at least it has done so 
 in all cases we have had. If treatment is not commenced within a 
 short time after the cankers are formed, the teeth will drop out and 
 gums slough off and the pig die from the trouble. 
 
 Canker sore month, I am informed, results from the contamina- 
 tion with germs often found even in the soil; if there has been no 
 other way of the disease being communicated, the ground should be 
 thoroughly wet with a strong disinfectant. The sow 's udder should 
 also be thoroughly washed with disinfectant and the trough as 
 well, and no further trouble is likely to occur. 
 
 Sore Feet. It is not often that pigs are troubled with sore 
 feet, yet sometimes, where they are kept and fed on frozen ground, 
 the feet become sore and sensitive, which causes the pig to walk in 
 a very peculiar manner. This is more often the case where hogs are 
 very heavy and are obliged to walk on rough, hard or frozen 
 ground. There are occasionally cases where sores break out around 
 the hoof and between the toes. This is what might be called ' * foul 
 in the foot," but is not considered contagious, being only a local 
 trouble which irritates the part between the toes. Sometimes this 
 is caused by being obliged to walk about a yard that is filled with 
 cinders; these get between the toes and cause irritation. If such 
 a yard is being used it would be well to cover the places over with 
 sand and wet it thoroughly with a disinfectant. 
 
 If an animal becomes very lame wash the place two or three 
 times daily with nitrate of potassium saltpetre and this will 
 cool the irritated parts and relieve the trouble. Should proud 
 flesh appear use chloride of zinc, one dram in a pint of water, once 
 or twice daily. Keep the pigs in a dry place and feed them well. 
 Proud flesh may be known by its appearance, which is bluish in 
 color and spongy to the touch. This may be removed by an ap- 
 plication of terchloride of antimony, which may be put on with a 
 feather. This will usually remove proud flesh, after which the 
 above treatment will heal the sores. 
 
 Sterility. Generally speaking, there is not much trouble in the 
 swine breeding business along this line, unless it be among highly 
 fitted show animals, which have been forced by stimulating feed to 
 a condition of flesh that is abnormal. Where this is the case, the 
 
COMMON DISEASES 99 
 
 animal becomes so plethoric from being highly fed, that sometimes 
 the tubes connected with the organs of generation are blocked up. 
 There are also other causes, such as disordered ovaries; a morbid 
 condition of the uterus ; or hardening of the neck of the uterus. In 
 a pig, on account of not being able to make an examination, it is 
 difficult to find the cause and, if found, it would be difficult to re- 
 move. 
 
 If the animal is kept in only good growing condition, avoiding 
 its getting too fat, there will seldom be any trouble. If the sow takes 
 on fat very easily, and will not breed, give her two ounces of Ep- 
 som Salts, dissolved in half a pint of cold water; follow this with 
 ten grains of Iodide of Potassium twice a day, in her feed, for two 
 weeks. By this treatment one may succeed in absorbing the ma- 
 terials which have blocked up some of the tubes connected with the 
 organs of generation. On the other hand, if an animal is very thin 
 and in a weak, run-down condition, and fails to breed, give her 
 good feed all she will eat and with this twenty to forty drops, 
 according to size of animal, of tincture of chloride of iron, twice 
 a day in the feed. 
 
 Rheumatism. Rheumatism is very common among pigs ; more 
 particularly among quite young ones. It is hard to say what causes 
 rheumatism in the pigs, as we often find it under various condi- 
 tions whether the animals are well kept or not. 
 
 Symptoms Lameness in one or more of the legs ; swelling of the 
 hock joints or the fetlock joint. When these muscles are affected 
 it may be a form of inflammatory rheumatism, which may cause 
 some fever and sickness. In this case the animal would be stiff 
 and refuse to eat ; its breath will come quite short and fast ; muz- 
 zle, or nose, will be dry, and if the animal is made to move about it 
 will show signs of pain. Often it will shift from one leg to an- 
 other. 
 
 Treatment The animal should be kept in a warm, comfortable 
 place and if it is in good flesh give it a dose of from one to two 
 ounces Epsom Salts every three or four days, or two to three, drops 
 of Croton oil, which is a useful medicine in rheumatism. 
 
 For pigs, two or three months old, give half the quantity. It is 
 well to rub the swollen joints with an equal mixture of turpentine 
 and sweet oil. 
 
 Inflammation of Udder. "While this is not considered a dis- 
 ease, at times it causes some trouble but not often. 
 
 Causes Usually this is caused by an over accumulation of milk 
 in the udder which is the result of overfeeding the sow on rich 
 feed immediately after farrowing, or caused by the litter being too 
 few in number or too weak to take all the milk that the sow furnish- 
 es, resulting in a feverish condition and soreness of the udder. 
 
 Symptoms Udder becomes swollen and rather hard, and is 
 hot to the touch. The skin will become red and very tender. When 
 this is the case the sow usually shows considerable fever, loss of ap- 
 petite and constipation. 
 
 Treatment. If possible, draw off the milk, although this is a 
 hard matter to do as the inflammation causes the milk to coagulate. 
 
100 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 If the pigs are living allow them to nurse, yet this is bad for the 
 pigs, as that usually starts the ailment in new born pigs known as 
 white scours. Bathe the udder carefully with hot water, then use 
 a half ounce of acetate of lead, with two ounces of tincture of arni- 
 ca in one quart of warm water. This bathing should be done three 
 times a day and the lotion applied after each bath. Give the sow 
 two ounces of Epsom salts, followed with ten grains of nitrate of 
 potassium, in a little water three times a day. If the udder be- 
 comes very hard or caked, rub with one dram of Iodine and one 
 ounce of vaseline. Apply this about twice a week until the udder 
 becomes soft and pliable. 
 
 Sore Teats. Once in a while, while nursing, the teats will 
 become inflamed and swollen and, of course, are very sore. The 
 sow will be inclined to refuse to let the pigs touch her. This only 
 makes matters worse, on account of the accumulation of milk in the 
 udder, and the result is a fever as above mentioned. 
 
 Cause. This trouble is generally caused by the udder and teats 
 dragging through the dirt or mud which irritates the skin, making 
 it crack and become sore. It is also caused by the sow having trav- 
 eled through poisonous weeds in the pasture, while wet with dew 
 or rain. 
 
 Treatment. Bathe three times a day with half an ounce acetate 
 of lead in a quart of warm water. Then bathe with two ounces 
 glycerine and tannic acid twenty grains in four ounces of water 
 well shaken. 
 
 Skin Diseases. About the only skin disease that one is liable 
 to have occasion to treat, is mange. This is caused by a parasite 
 that burrows under the scurf skin and causes great irritation, prac- 
 tically destroying that part of the skin, so that a little scab forms. 
 This, on account of great itching, causes the animal to rub and this 
 disease soon becomes general throughout the herd. The scabs 
 formed are rubbed and soon become a raw sore. The first appear- 
 ance will be found on the thin parts of the skin ; back of the ears ; 
 inside the thighs or upon the back. The parasite may be readily 
 seen with a pocket magnifying glass. 
 
 When first discovered remove all unaffected pigs to buildings 
 or grounds where affected pigs have not been. 
 
 Treatment. First wash the pig all over with soap-suds, and 
 then rub in dry sulphur. The sulphur coming in contact with the 
 sores forms a compound that is poisonous to the parasite. Another 
 sure remedy is to steep two ounces of stavesacre seeds in one and 
 one-half quarts of water. Keep water nearly boiling for an hour, 
 then add enough water to make up the quantity originally placed 
 in the vessel. This solution, rubbed well into the skin, will kill 
 both the parasite and its eggs. This may be repeated if necessary. 
 Animals that are occasionally dipped with any of the coal tar 
 preparations will never have mange. Prevention is better than 
 cure. This is one reason why pigs should be either dipped or 
 thoroughly wet with some of the foregoing dips as a preventive 
 to any skin trouble. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 CASTRATING 
 
 This is a necessary matter that must be looked after, not only 
 by the farmer who breeds for the general market, but by the 
 breeder of pure-bred hogs as well. The best time for this opera- 
 tion is during the early period of the pig's life and at weaning 
 time, for best results, and not left until the pig is six or seven 
 months of age, or older. It is not so apt to be neglected by the 
 farmer or feeder of market hogs, as by the breeder of pure-breds. 
 It is astonishing, however, in either case, to see the great improve- 
 ment after early castration, compared to a pig of the same litter 
 left uncastrated. Some of the greatest barrows ever shown at the 
 International Show in Chicago were selected, not so much for their, 
 superior merit at weaning time, but because they were not quite up 
 to the standard to carry on and sell as breeders ; yet after this op- 
 eration their development so far outstripped the litter mates that 
 there was no comparison. On the other hand, how often we see 
 especially at shows where a large amount of money is put up for 
 prizes a barrow that really is nothing more nor less than a 
 ' ' stag, ' ' and evidently kept by the breeder for a long time, thinking 
 he could be sold for a breeder, but not developing just right, he 
 was finally castrated and fitted for a barrow show. The expert 
 barrow Judge, however, soon discovers this fact and avoids much 
 further attention to him in the ring. 
 
 A Practical Method. Wash the parts clean with pure water to 
 which has been added any good coal tar dip, making it rather 
 strong, and with a sharp knife make an incision over both testicles 
 as small as possible, to remove the testicles, and low down, so as 
 to drain thoroughly. Press the testicles through the openings, 
 drawing the cords well out, and scrape apart rather than cut them 
 off. 
 
 Then, with a soft cloth, cover the parts with full strength coal 
 tar dip, and if the operation has been perfectly clean, the pig will 
 be entirely well in a week or so, without any bad after-effects. 
 
 Spaying 1 . This is an operation on the female and is not often 
 practiced. In fact, I seldom hear of a bunch of sows being spayed. 
 It is an operation that requires much more care and knowledge, 
 than castration of males. 
 
 101 
 
PROF. JOHN M. EWARD 
 
HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 BY JOHN M. EVVARD 
 
 PART II 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 
 
 It is no easy matter to compound a successful ration on paper ; in 
 truth, it is almost impossible to do so without having had consider- 
 able experience with the different feeds and also having at hand a 
 more complete analysis than is ordinarily given us by the chemist. 
 
 To illustrate that one of our greatest feeds, for instance corn, is 
 woefully incomplete in itself, it may be well to mention a recent ex- 
 perimental test by the Animal Husbandry Section of the Iowa Ex- 
 periment Station in which we fed three groups of pigs in dry lots 
 as follows : 
 
 Group A: Shelled corn, self -fed, plus block salt, 
 self-fed. 
 
 Group B : Shelled corn, self -fed, plus bone mate- 
 rial, self-fed, plus block salt, self- 
 fed. 
 
 Group C : Shelled corn, self -fed, plus meat meal 
 tankage (60 per cent protein), self- 
 fed, plus block salt, self -fed. 
 
 The pigs were started out at the nice weanling weight of prac- 
 tically 42 pounds, and were fed 150 days. They were more than 
 71/2 months of age at the close of the test. The pigs receiving corn 
 only in separate feeders made an average daily gain of .1 of a 
 pound, consuming per head daily 1.56 pounds of shelled corn, in 
 addition to a little salt. They weighed at the end of the feeding 
 period, when they were practically 8 months of age, 57.34 pounds. 
 Think of it ! Pigs weighing 57 pounds when 8 months old. What 
 is the trouble ? Is it with corn ? Hardly, because corn is a healthful 
 feed. The big difficulty was that some other things should have 
 been provided in the ration that were not, and these should have 
 been such as would have supplemented the deficiencies of corn. 
 On this corn ration it took 1,446 pounds of corn to produce 100 
 pounds of gain, and, in addition to this, a little more than 2 pounds 
 of salt a total of 1,448 pounds of feed for every 100 pounds of 
 gain put on. 
 
 Now the addition of bonemeal which carries a little protein with 
 it helps some. The pigs gained 50 percent more or .15 of a pound 
 
 103 
 
104 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 daily, and they had little better appetites, eating practically 2 
 pounds of grain per head daily and required 1.297 pounds of 
 corn plus 10 pounds of bone meal plus 1 pound of salt for 100 
 pounds of gain, a total of 1308 pounds of feed approximate- 
 ly. There was still something wrong because eight-months-old pigs 
 at the close should weigh more than these weighed, or, namely, more 
 than 65 pounds. 
 
 The addition of 60 percent protein meatmeal tankage made a 
 vast difference. The pigs gained 12 times as fast as where they re- 
 ceived corn alone, making more gains in one day than the corn-alone 
 pigs made in 12, or 1.21 pounds daily. Also they ate three times as 
 much feed, or 4.40 pounds of corn plus .58 of a pound of tankage 
 plus a little salt a total of almost 5 pounds, or, to be exact, 4.98 
 pounds ; requiring for each 100 pounds of gain 366 pounds of corn, 
 plus 47 pounds of tankage, plus a little more than .1 of a pound of 
 salt, or, practically speaking, 413 pounds of feed for every 100 
 pounds of gain. 
 
 These pigs weighed 226 pounds at the same age as the corn-alone 
 pigs or the corn-and-bonemeal pigs, or 226 as compared to 57 and 
 65 pounds, respectively. Certainly there must be something in 
 meatmeal tankage that supplies the deficiencies of corn ; there must 
 also be something in the corn and salt ration that is inadequate. 
 
 To study this matter more fully, let us consider what we mean 
 by a complete ration, a ration that is adequate, particularly for 
 growing pigs and suckling sows with litters. 
 
 A Complete Ration. A complete ration is relatively complex. 
 It is made up of many factors, many of these are unknown chem- 
 ically, unfortunately, although we know their action. Chemical 
 analyses, therefore, although difficult to make, are, ordinarily 
 speaking, only to be considered as general guides. Why this is so 
 we shall make plain shortly. Feeds vary considerably, particularly 
 pasture feeds. Young bluegrass, for instance, may come out in the 
 early spring running as high as 40 percent protein in the young dry 
 matter ; and later it may contain only 10 percent of protein in the 
 old dry matter; that is, after it becomes dry, hard and woody. 
 This protein in the mature plant is certainly not the same as the 
 protein in the young, tender, luscious green growth. There are 
 proteins and proteins, so many hundreds of thousands of them that 
 it is almost impossible to conceive of their complexity. Actually 
 different combinations are difficult to work out, unless they are ex- 
 perimentally tried out, and it has been our policy at Ames for a 
 number of years to try out various combinations in practice and 
 see what they will do, and then learn from our experiences with 
 them. 
 
 Let us remember before passing to the factors that make up an 
 adequate diet that a ration may be good because of the absence or 
 presence of an undesirable or desirable quality respectively, or bad 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 105 
 
 because of the absence of an essential or because of the presence of a 
 non-essential. It is futile, therefore, to try to look for a material 
 something, specific in the corn ration, that is causing difficulty with 
 pigs, so experience teaches us. We want to look for something that 
 is to be found somewhere else, and add it to the corn ration, and 
 thus overcome the difficulty. 
 
 Balancing a Ration. When we balance rations we must re- 
 member that the demands of animals change. A young, growing 
 pig requires an entirely different ration than the same pig after it 
 has reached maturity and is ready to go to market. The brood sow 
 during gestation requires different feeding than the same sow dur- 
 ing the suckling period, and so on. The weather and external fac- 
 tors are of some importance, for instance, cold weather may have 
 its particular demands for heat-producing feeds. After all, there is 
 a great possibility of combinations that will work, and it is surpris- 
 ing how many good combinations there are when we come to study- 
 ing feeding. 
 
 The making up and feeding of a swine ration may be compared 
 to the building of an automobile. We need building material to 
 make a pig, such as protein which makes up the muscle, part of 
 the bone, some of the hide, the hair, and so on ; calcium phosphate 
 or bone ash, which will help build the bone ; fat, which will act as 
 a bodily reserve, cushion, and perform other functions. These mate- 
 rials are necessary. In the automobile we need steel, iron, wood 
 and other materials. The pig needs fuel or feed to "keep him 
 going.*' It is supplied by corn, milk, alfalfa, rape, and so on, the 
 auto engine taking gasoline. The pig takes water and air to cool 
 himself, and the engine uses for the same purpose the same mate- 
 rial. The pig has nerves in his body to transmit his impulses ; the 
 automobile has electric wires. The pig has lungs to mix the gasses, 
 and take out of them what is necessary, while the engine has its 
 carburetor. The pig has various organs that tend to keep things in 
 tune, rightly timed, such as certain portions of the brain and so 
 on, and the engine has a timer. The pig has nerve-endings in the 
 muscle and in other tissues that really may, in a sense, be consid- 
 ered as a seat of activity, whereas the engine has spark plugs, 
 where the vital spark that sets the whole thing in motion is set off. 
 
 The engine to run right must be in perfect order, all parts com- 
 plete. So a ration to serve the highest function must be almost 
 perfectly compounded all factors must be present and in the prop- 
 er proportion if the pig fed thereon is to gain the fastest and in 
 the least possible time. But what are the essential factors of grow- 
 ing rations for pigs ? 
 
 The Function of Water. First, water water in abundance. 
 Water performs among others these functions: Supplies building 
 material ; regulates the heat through evaporation, ingestion, and ex- 
 cretion ; acts as a solvent, thus facilitating chewing and swallowing. 
 Water furnishes some 68 or more pounds out of pigs and other ani- 
 
106 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 mals 7 blood. It is a cleanser, promoting laxative effects and thus in- 
 directly ridding the body of undesirable products. Animals nearly 
 always void more water in the excreta than they take in the solid 
 food. Water, therefore, is very essential, and should not be 
 neglected. 
 
 Protein Another Essential. Protein of good quality must be 
 present. There are proteins and proteins. Proteins are made out 
 of 18 different building stones called ammo-acids, and these 18 
 basal elements are combined and re-combined in various and diverse 
 ways so as to make a large number of proteins, the number running 
 into hundreds of thousands. By quality we mean that the right pro- 
 portion of these proteins and building stones should be present, one 
 as compared to another, and it is highly important that the protein 
 mixture should be commensurate with the needs of the organism 
 that consumes it. 
 
 Only those amino-acids which are necessary for growth and de- 
 velopment should be present, or else their precursors; that is, the 
 amino-acids which can be rebuilt into the essential ones, although 
 this is probably done only to a limited extent. To give a better 
 idea of this the protein quality, zein, which comprises about half of 
 the proteins of corn, is poor because this particular protein does 
 not have any tryptophane or lysine in its make-up, and these two 
 amino-acids are absolutely essential to growth and development. 
 "When one balances up corn, therefore, he must look to those feeds 
 that contain these two amino-acids particularly. That is why one 
 looks to milk, and meat products, and alfalfa pasture, and rape 
 pasture, and young tender bluegrass to supply these deficiencies. 
 
 The protein quantity must be right. There must be enough of 
 the right " quality mixture/' and this quantity will vary as the 
 feeding period progresses. It will be different when the animal is 
 young compared to when it is old and mature. The amino-acids 
 that are in greatest demand in younger life are not so badly needed 
 in later life, neither from the relatively qualitative nor the quanti- 
 tative standpoint. Every one knows that a quite young growing 
 lard type pig, for instance, will require as much as 20 pounds of 
 tankage with 100 pounds of corn in a drylot, but the same pig when 
 he weighs 300 pounds only takes a pound or two of tankage with 100 
 pounds of corn. Now to reverse this process and give 1 percent 
 tankage when the pigs are young and gradually increase it to 20 
 percent when they are old, would be to turn things topsy turvy, and 
 to promote inefficiency. 
 
 Minerals Must Be Present. Mineral quality is highly import- 
 ant. We must have the right kinds of minerals present in the proper 
 proportion one to the other. It is essential that such minerals' 
 as calcium, a material that forms 40 percent of the dry ash of bone ; 
 and phosphorus, one of the basal elements of bone and essential to 
 bodily development; and sulphur, a constituent of the proteins; 
 and magnesium, for general metabolism ; and sodium, absolutely in- 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 107 
 
 dispensable for correct stimulation of the heart and other tissues; 
 and others that are of great importance be present. Calcium and 
 phosphorus of course can be had in bonemeal; the sodium can be 
 secured in common salt, and so on. Nearly all of these minerals 
 are present in most feeds, but most feeds are always deficient in cer- 
 tain ones, such as corn for instance, or wheat, or rye, or barley; 
 in truth, there are only a few feeds that contain approximately cor- 
 rect mineral quality, and one of these is milk. Others that are good 
 are alfalfa pasture or rape pasture, particularly when these two 
 are combined with corn. That minerals be present in the proper 
 proportion one to the other is essential, but there must be enough 
 of each to supply the demands of the particular pig that is being 
 fed. 
 
 Certain Vitainines Needed. A peculiar chemical unknown 
 vvhich is labeled fat soluble A, must of necessity be present, else the 
 pig will not thrive. This particular material we know the action of. 
 but we do not know its chemical constituents. We know that under 
 certain conditions it is soluble in fat, as it was first discovered in 
 butterfat ; hence the reason for its name. We have also found it in 
 egg yolk and in the lighter fractions of beef fat, but not in lard, 
 nor in olive oil, nor in cottonseed oil. A little is apparently present 
 in corn oil, but not enough. Our best swine feeding sources of this 
 material is alfalfa leaves, rape leaves, clover leaves, and most as- 
 suredly milk ; although in milk this material, remember, is found to 
 a large extent in the butterfat, being only about one-thirtieth as 
 soluble in the liquid of the milk as in the fat portion. It has re- 
 cently been found that carrots contain this material to the extent 
 of about one-third as much as in equal weights of butterfat. It is 
 presumed that other root crops carry this fat soluble A, and if they 
 do here is one reason for adding roots, for instance, to a corn ra- 
 tion, but ordinarily in limited quantity in order to supply this 
 essential nutritional ingredient. This is a necessary factor in the 
 ideally good ration. 
 
 There is another peculiar unknown chemical material or vita- 
 mine known as water soluble B. It receives its name like fat 
 soluble A because of its solubility properties. It was first known to 
 be soluble in water and alcohol, and some refer to it by the double- 
 headed title of water and alcohol soluble B. This particular factor 
 is found in most grains and plants, but is lacking in polished rice, 
 for instance, and because it is lacking in polished rice we find 
 pigeons and other animals fed exclusively thereon developing a 
 nerve disease known as polyneuritis, a disease of many nerves; 
 people also get it. Peculiarly enough, this material is found in the 
 rice bran or rice polishings, but when we use rice for human con- 
 sumption we take the bran off, and then eat only the white or the 
 more fashionable white inner kernel. Wheat embryos are rich in 
 this B material, and inasmuch as wheat embryos are carried in the 
 milling over to the wheat middlings, here is one reason why wheat 
 middlings may be a good feed under certain "deficiency of water 
 
108 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 soluble B" conditions. Prof. McCollum, of Wisconsin, says in re- 
 gard to water soluble B : * ' It is universally present in foodstuffs 
 of vegetable and animal origin." Hence, generally speaking, we 
 need not worry much about its absence from pig rations, although 
 under some certain conditions it may not be present. 
 
 Antiscorbutic Substances Seemingly Necessary. There is an- 
 other class of materials known as Antiscarbutic Substances which 
 are apparently essential in the diet or ration if complete adequacy 
 is to be approached. Oranges, limes, grape fruit, milk, meat meal 
 tankage, alfalfa, clover and other food materials carry these sub- 
 stances. Orange juice is given to babies that are on a boiled and 
 raw milk diet because empirically it has been found of much 
 advantage. Recently Dr. Hess of New York has shown that a prop- 
 erly prepared juice solution of oranges could be injected into the 
 veins of a baby and cure scurvy a constitutional condition which 
 results when these Antiscorbutics are absent. We have seen the 
 disease scurvy in guinea pigs receiving an oats ration. A little 
 milk would not cure it but much would if the disease was not too 
 far advanced. Cabbage was a fine preventive hence presumably 
 rape pasture is splendid inasmuch as it is a near relative of cab- 
 bage. English sailors are sometimes called "Limies" because of 
 lime fruit being given to them in their rations as a preventive 
 of scurvy. When finally these Antiscorbutics are traced down to 
 their real basal makeup we may find a single substance doing the 
 work rather than a number, two or more, of the now designated 
 "Antiscorbutic Substances." 
 
 Energy Builders. Sufficient net-energy materials must be 
 provided. These will furnish the energy materials for growth, for 
 general development, for movement, and yet supply an excess for 
 conversion into fat and other generel tissues. In this respect, of 
 course, it is best to supply feeds that have a a large amount of that 
 energy per pound of feed consumed, because it takes fewer pounds 
 of higher energy feed to do the same business, and inasmuch as the 
 alimentary capacity of pigs (as compared to cattle) is somewhat 
 limited by natural inheritance, the more concentrated the feeds, 
 other things being equal, the more likely they are to grow fast and 
 fatten quickly. Timothy hay, even though properly balanced with 
 milk, is a poor feed for pigs, because it is too coarse and fibrous ; in 
 other words, too woody. It is not concentrated enough ; there is too 
 much fibre relatively in it. On the other hand, corn or wheat are 
 very efficient because they supply many more heat units or energy 
 per pound weight than coarser materials, such as rough bran, 
 corncobs, and other such feeds. Some feeds contain so much fibre 
 and are so bulky, that an animal expends more on the gathering, 
 chewing, swallowing, digesting and assimilating than he gets out of 
 them. For instance, from peanut shells or certain kinds of wood 
 ground up, an animal extracts nourishment by eating these, but it 
 cost so much to get the nourishment out that he is the loser rather 
 than the gainer. Why rob Peter to pay Paul if it's all in the 
 family? 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 109 
 
 All Factors Must Be Combined. A correct relationship, one 
 to another, of all of the factors named is required. This is a prob- 
 lem for the wisest of sages. Here is where the appetite of the pig 
 comes in splendidly; oftentimes because he can select his own ra- 
 tion pretty well. Of course he. makes mistakes, but under proper 
 conditions he usually gets there in excellent shape. 
 
 Grind Hard Grains. Suitable physical preparation is neces- 
 sary. Hard seeds, such as wheat, should be ground or soaked, per- 
 haps both, rye the same, barley the same. Grains that have a hard 
 outer husk, such as oats, should be well ground. Feeds that have an 
 outer coating that is tough and fibrous, such as kafir or grain seeds, 
 would need to be finely comminuted. Ear corn needs very little, if 
 any, preparation for young growing pigs, because they do better 
 when they pick the corn off the cob, and chew it up themselves, 
 than when it is ground for them ; that is, they make more econom- 
 ical returns per day and per pig. Some feeds require to be cooked, 
 like potatoes, to break down the starch granules, and make the feed 
 more palatable. Generally speaking, however, the right kinds of 
 physical preparations depend upon the objects sought, and would 
 need to be given special study. 
 
 Now that we have gone quickly over the essentials of an ade- 
 quate ration, it is well to mention some things that we should avoid 
 in making up a mixture of feeds which we wish to use so as to get 
 the most out of them. 
 
 Avoid Poisonous Substances First. We must avoid poison- 
 ous materials, being careful, for instance, of cottonseed meal for 
 this reason. We want to be careful of rye, because it sometimes 
 contains ergot, which will cause trouble abortion and other disease. 
 We want to be careful of salt brine, which meat comes out of, be- 
 cause it is poisonous to pigs, if drunk in large quantities. 
 
 Second. We want to avoid excessive fibre in a pig's ration. The 
 pig is constituted much like the human being, and can not handle 
 a large amount of fibre, hence timothy hay is a poor feed for pigs. 
 Oat straw makes a fair bedding, but it is almost worthless as a 
 feed. The same is true of rye and wheat straw. Walnut shells and 
 hickory nut shells for the same reason are not used for swine. One 
 of the big reasons why it takes sometimes as much as 50 percent 
 more of standard wheat middlings to produce the same amount of 
 gain as 100 pounds of concentrated corn grain, is because of the 
 greater amount of fibre present. Light-weight oats are poor for 
 pigs, because of the large amount of hull present, with its corres- 
 pondingly high percentage of fibre. 
 
 Third. We want to stay away from inert materials which place 
 a useless burden on the organism. In this respect we might men- 
 tion sand, dirt and similar materials. Of course it may be that 
 certain limited amounts of these so-called inert materials, such as 
 sand and certain kinds of earth, would be beneficial, but generally 
 
110 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 speaking if a feed is mixed with considerable sand and earth, it is 
 relatively undesirable. 
 
 Efficient Use of Cereals. It is well to know something about 
 the proper use of the cereal grains which are largely used in pork 
 production. If you take the grain or seed alone of wheat, or oats, 
 or corn, or barley, or rye, or kafir, or Milo maize, and attempt to 
 make young pigs grow satisfactorily on any one of these, we find 
 that when we feed them alone there is very little growth, and if the 
 pigs are young enough and of a very light weight when we start, 
 many of them may die. If protein alone is added it helps a little, 
 but not enough, and although we get a little growth, perhaps an in- 
 crease in live weight, yet the ration is manifestly very inadequate. 
 Add the Vitamine Fat Soluble A naturally mixed with butterf at, as 
 it actually is, and it helps very little. Add a mineral mixture alone 
 and it helps some, but the ration is inadequate. Add protein and 
 yellow butterf at (which always carries the Fat Soluble A) only, and 
 we still do not get desirable results. Add protein and mineral mix- 
 ture and we get somewhat better results than with protein alone or 
 the mineral mixture alone, but still unsatisfactory. Now if we add 
 a correct mineral mixture and the material found known as fat 
 soluble A (found in butterf at or alfalfa leaves or carrots) and 
 also a satisfactory protein we, generally speaking, get good growth 
 and development because we have supplied the grain's shortcom- 
 ings. In other words, all of these deficient materials must be pres- 
 ent at one and the same time in order to give good results. These 
 materials, of course, which the grains lack in sufficient quantity, 
 must be given with plenty of water, and in the proper proportion 
 if optimum results are* to be secured. 
 
 If we take all of these above mentioned grains and mix them in 
 toto one with another in different and diverse proportions, we 
 still have an inadequate ration. It takes other feeds than these 
 grains to make up the ration, so that it is practical and efficient. 
 Add milk to any one of these, or to a mixture of any two or more, 
 and you get splendid results, generally speaking. Add alfalfa pas- 
 ture and the results are surprising. Add meatmeal tankage and 
 the results are splendid. That is because milk, and alfalfa pasture, 
 and meatmeal tankage contain all of the different deficient mate- 
 rials, and thus in practice the allowance of the deficiencies is sim- 
 plified, because we know that certain feeds are rich in just the nec- 
 essary nutritional materials that go to balance the grains. 
 
 Commonly, the quality and quantity of the proteins of these or- 
 dinary grains are improved greatly by the leaves of plants, such as 
 those mentioned, or the plants of alfalfa, rape, red clover, young 
 tender bluegrass, sweet clover, white clover, Alsike clover, and 
 others. The meat by-products overcome these deficiencies, partic- 
 ularly when allowed in the form of meatmeal tankage ; bloodmeal is 
 also of importance. Fortunately the fat soluble A material can 
 also be secured in milk, and the leaves of plants, and to a con- 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 111 
 
 siderable extent in meatmeal tankage, if properly prepared. The 
 mineral material is also supplied by the leaves of plants, the 
 milks, meatmeal tankage, and also may be furnished directly by the 
 use of ordinary mineral mixtures made up of limestone, bonemeal, 
 sulphur, wood ashes, Glauber's salts, common salt, and so on. 
 
 Prof. McCollum, pioneer in biological nutrition investigations, 
 has recently written : ' ' It is not possible to make up a diet, derived 
 solely from the seeds of plants, which will support normal growth 
 and health. " It is presumed of course that the animals will be fed 
 on a mineral-free water or, as McCollum puts it, ''Provided salt- 
 free or nearly salt-free water, such as rain water, distilled water and 
 some of the pure and natural waters used for drinking." 
 
 Plant Leaves Balance Rations. Prof. McCollum, now with 
 Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, has done a wonderful work 
 to simplify the principles of nutrition. He is a great believer, be- 
 cause of being made so by the results of his invesigations, in the 
 leaves of plants for the balancing of grain feeds. So are good 
 practical swinemen. They have long since learned that the leaves 
 of plants, particularly the leguminous plants, alfalfa, red clover, 
 rape, green tender bluegrass and peanuts, are of great importance 
 in balancing the swine grain ration, and in speaking of this we can 
 not but well again quote from this noted authority : 
 
 "Pigs have in farm practice frequently been stunted and repro- 
 duction has been interfered with as the result of being fed too 
 largely on seeds and by-products of seeds when confined in pens 
 nearly free from vegetation. Under these conditions they get an 
 inorganic supply (mineral) which is not of suitable character, and 
 run short of the unidentified growth stimulant factor, fat soluble A. 
 In many cases they also receive proteins of relatively poor quality. 
 These dietary faults are sufficient to undermine the health of the 
 animal. When, however, the leaf is fed with seed, highly successful 
 nutrition has been secured. Simple mixtures such as 60 per cent of 
 rolled oats with 40 percent of alfalfa flour, prepared by grinding 
 and sifting the dried leaves, were capable of promoting normal 
 growth and well-being when fed throughout life. The reason for 
 this is clear. The leaf portion supplies the fat soluble essential in 
 which the seed is deficient, and also makes good the ' particular 
 mineral elements contained in insufficient amounts in the seed. 
 Similar mixtures of wheat or corn with alfalfa-leaf flour, promote 
 the well-being of animals in a manner which we have never been 
 able to successfully imitate with mixtures of seeds." 
 
 Let us say to Prof. McCollum. in these respects that swinemen 
 have long ago found out that what he says is true gospel in that 
 alfalfa is most thoroughly appreciated, as is red clover, in the great 
 corn-alfalfa regions of the west and eastern sections ; in truth, in 
 all sections where alfalfa and clover are grown and used for swine 
 feeding. 
 
112 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Without making this discussion too technical, it is well to present 
 the representative chemical analyses which will give the swine 
 feeder an idea as to the amount of water, protein (muscle, bone, 
 hide, hair, hoof, and nerve-builders) ; carbohydrates, fibre excluded 
 (a material that furnishes the energy that is converted into work 
 and fat) ; crude fibre (the stuff that is not very valuable for swine 
 feeding, in truth, only a little of it is needed, excepting perhaps in 
 satisfying the appetite or capacity of the brood sow, and it is easy 
 to even overdo with her) ; fat, called sometimes ether extract (a 
 material that is. converted into animal fat In the body or may be 
 used to furnish heat or to furnish energy for work) ; and mineral 
 matter (ash) (the stuff that makes up bone, that furnishes the stim- 
 ulants that keep the heart beating and the blood moving and all of 
 that sort of thing) . Of course in this table no attempt is made to 
 distinguish between the different kinds of proteins, or fats, or to 
 show just how the mineral matter is made up, but in general the 
 analyses as given are those customarily presented in standard works 
 on feeding and are helpful in teaching one to appreciate in general 
 how feeds are made up chemically. 
 
 Carbohydrate Equivalent. In addition to these constituents 
 there is given the carbohydrates or starch equivalent which is se- 
 cured by adding together the carbohydrates, fibre and fat (multi- 
 plying the fat, however, by 2.25). This summation is known as 
 the carbohydrate or starch equivalent. This represents in a way 
 the gross possible fattening materials present, although it gives 
 but little indication as to how much energy is needed to con- 
 vert these into growth and fat. The protein of a feed may be 
 used, when an excess is present, in the making of fat, or for furnish- 
 ing energy, but in practice protein, being quite expensive relatively, 
 had best not be purposely fed in great excess, although plenty 
 for normal use should be present. There is also given the ratio or 
 number of pounds of fattening material present with every pound 
 of protein. This is quite useful in that it shows which feeds are of 
 a narrow ratio, and which may be used in balancing the grain ra- 
 tions that have wide ratio. For instance, corn has a wide ratio of 
 7.9, according to these round figures. Now to balance it for young 
 growing pigs one would need to feed with it such feeds as tankage 
 with a narrow ratio of .53, or skimmilk, with a ratio of 1.3, or 
 buttermilk,' with a ratio of 1.3, or bloodmeal, with a ratio of .04. 
 
 This table can be used as reference, and should be particularly 
 studied from the standpoint of the water content of feeds because 
 the more water a feed has in it, other things being equal, the less its 
 net value. Remember, it is the dry matter that counts. A feed 
 which is marked 7 percent water, such as meatmeal tankage, has 
 93 pounds of dry matter in every 100, whereas skimmilk, which has 
 90 percent water, has only 10 pounds of dry matter in 100. Of 
 course we would not expect 100 pounds of skimmilk to be as valuable 
 with only 10 pounds of dry matter in it as 100 pounds of meatmeal 
 tankage, with 93 pounds of dry matter in the same weight. Man- 
 gels, for instance, contain 91 percent water or only 9 pounds of dry 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 
 
 113 
 
 matter in 100 pounds of roots. Now roots are- good feeds, but they 
 are very bulky because of their high water content. A pound of 
 potatoes ordinarily will go much further than a pound of mangels, 
 because in every 100 pounds there is present 21 pounds of dry mat- 
 ter or over two times as much as the 9 pounds in the same weight 
 of mangels. 
 
 SWINE FEEDS COMPOSITION 
 
 To Be Used as a General Guide 
 
 Most feeds vary enough so that figuring them to the 2nd decimal 
 point is not a reasonable procedure. (All figures given in round 
 numbers of pounds to the hundred.) 
 
 Basal Feeds 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "^o ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 .o.B 
 
 
 
 ggH 
 
 la 
 
 la c ^" 2 
 
 
 
 K* 
 
 g 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 1 
 
 & 
 
 1M 
 
 !* 
 
 
 
 
 & 
 
 
 K 
 
 **'3S 
 
 8-3-g 
 
 '^w's'^ 
 
 
 
 S'S'i 
 
 s . 
 
 * 
 
 w 
 
 h 
 
 ^'"3 to 
 
 s-^1 
 
 60 
 
 
 <U 
 
 .gl 
 
 !!! 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 w 
 
 || 
 
 H! 
 
 fill 
 
 
 
 cd 
 
 o-c c 
 
 'u o "ti 
 
 2 
 
 ^ 
 
 .SoE 
 
 ^ s*s 
 
 ^ _n "TJ c 
 
 
 
 
 
 owS 
 
 u9 
 
 fc 
 
 SB^ 
 
 Owl 
 
 ^.BbjriJ 
 
 Corn (Indian maize), grain 
 Corn and cob meal 
 
 14 
 14 
 
 10 
 8 
 
 68 
 64 
 
 2 
 8 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 79.0 
 81.0 
 
 7.9 
 10.1 
 
 Barley 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 67 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 76 5 
 
 6 4 
 
 Wheat 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 77 5 
 
 6 3 
 
 Rye...: 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 77 5 
 
 7 
 
 Sweet sorghum seed 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 70 
 
 2 
 
 -4 
 
 2 
 
 81 
 
 9 
 
 Kafir corn 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 7O 8 
 
 
 Milo maize 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 79 8 
 
 8 
 
 Feterita 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 72 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 79 6 
 
 7 2 
 
 Hominy feed (fat extracted) 
 Hominy feed, ordinary 
 Emmer or speltz '. 
 
 11 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 10 
 
 I'l 
 
 66 
 63 
 
 61 
 
 6 
 6 
 10 
 
 4 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 4 
 
 81.0 
 89.3 
 75.5 
 
 7.4 
 8.9 
 6.9 
 
 Potatoes . . . 
 
 79 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 180 
 
 9 
 
 Peanut kernels 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 45 
 
 2 
 
 120 3 
 
 4 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
114 
 
 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Supplementary Feeds 
 
 
 
 ?1 
 . > 
 
 || 
 
 
 i 
 
 Js'g'S 
 
 rt 
 
 Sg^l 
 
 
 oj 
 
 Protein (Muscl 
 Hide, Hoot, Ne 
 Bone Builders). 
 
 rt 
 
 In 
 
 r2*^ 
 
 :3-~ 
 
 Fat (Ether Ext 
 
 '+2 
 
 III 
 
 *^&35 c 
 
 O a) Mn, 
 &<% c 
 ||'g| 
 
 is* 2 "* t-, s 
 
 Meatmeal tankage, high-protein 
 Meatmeal tankage, low-protein 
 Whole milk 
 
 7 
 7 
 86 
 90 
 
 60 
 40 
 4 
 4 
 
 5 
 10 
 5 
 5 
 
 2 
 4 
 
 
 
 11 
 11 
 4 
 
 15 
 28 
 1 
 1 
 
 31.8 
 38.8 
 14.0 
 5.0 
 
 0.53 
 0.97 
 3.5 
 1.3 
 
 Buttermilk 
 Linseed oil meal old process ... . 
 
 90 
 10 
 
 4 
 33 
 
 5 
 36 
 
 
 8 
 
 "7" 
 
 1 
 6 
 
 5.0 
 59.8 
 
 1.3 
 1.8 
 
 
 Q 
 
 85 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 04 
 
 Soy beanmeal . . . 
 
 12 
 
 33 
 
 29 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 <; 
 
 71.3 
 
 2.2 
 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 56 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 63 3 
 
 2 5 
 
 Peanut meal (without hulls) 
 Peanut meal with hulls 
 
 8 
 8 
 
 42 
 35 
 
 23 
 22 
 
 8 
 22 
 
 14 
 9 
 
 5 
 4 
 
 62.5 
 64 3 
 
 1.5 
 1 8 
 
 Oats 
 Oatmeal, without hulls 
 
 12 
 9 
 11 
 
 12 
 14 
 18 
 
 55 
 66 
 58 
 
 12 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 2 
 4 
 
 78.3 
 82.5 
 73 3 
 
 6.5 
 5.9 
 4 1 
 
 Middlings, standard, wheat 
 
 11 
 10 
 
 17 
 16 
 
 56 
 
 54 
 
 7 
 10 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 5 
 ' 6 
 
 72.0 
 73 
 
 4.2 
 4 6 
 
 Cottonseed meal, high grade 
 
 8 
 13 
 
 42 
 23 
 
 25 
 52 
 
 10 
 6 
 
 7 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 50.8 
 62 5 
 
 1.2 
 
 2 7 
 
 Gluten feed, corn 
 Gluten meal, corn 
 
 10 
 9 
 
 26 
 36 
 
 51 
 
 48 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 67.0 
 59.0 
 
 2.6 
 l.fc 
 
 Oilcake meal, corn 
 Alfalfa hay, very high grade, leafy .... 
 Alfalfa leaves 
 
 9 
 12 
 10 
 
 22 
 20 
 24 
 
 47 
 37 
 38 
 
 10 
 20 
 1? 
 
 10 
 3 
 
 2 
 9 
 13 
 
 79.5 
 61.5 
 56.8 
 
 3.6 
 3.1 
 
 2.4 
 
 Clover, red, hay, high grade 
 
 12 
 80 
 
 16 
 
 2 
 
 41 
 15 
 
 20 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 2 
 
 70.0 
 16 
 
 4.4 
 8 
 
 Beet sugar 
 
 83 
 89 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 14.0 
 8 
 
 7.0 
 8 
 
 Mangel wurtzel 
 Sweet potato 
 
 91 
 70 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 .... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 7.0 
 
 28.3 
 
 -70' 
 
 14 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Miscellaneous Feeds 
 
 
 
 .1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 21*1? 
 
 J, 
 
 i "g --~ 6 
 
 
 
 HH d 
 
 j*| 
 
 
 <^ 
 
 <j "Ms 
 
 g 
 
 0-3. 2 
 
 
 
 IJU 
 
 "rt 
 
 
 I 
 
 jsjf! 
 
 t-c . 
 
 *^ws ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 Water. 
 
 <3*-T ^ 
 
 2-^1 
 
 Carbohydrat 
 Excluded) 
 Material). 
 
 Crude Fibre 
 (Gives Bulk) 
 
 1 
 
 B 
 
 CO 
 
 Mineral Ma 
 (Bone Buil 
 Stimulating 
 
 fl 
 
 t 2'3-S 
 i|| i,| 
 
 Cobmeal, corn 
 
 1? 
 
 2 
 
 50 
 
 34 
 
 
 2 
 
 84.0 
 
 42.0 
 
 Bran, corn 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 62 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 85.5 
 
 8.6 
 
 Hulls oat 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 50 
 
 30 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 84.5 
 
 21.2 
 
 Apples 
 
 82 
 
 
 16 
 
 1 
 
 1- 
 
 
 19.3 
 
 19.3 
 
 Acorns entire 
 
 30 
 
 3 . 
 
 43 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 71.0 
 
 23.7 
 
 Acorn, kernel . 
 
 V 
 
 4 
 
 47 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 69.5 
 
 17.4 
 
 Hulls, peanut 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 19 
 
 S7 
 
 
 6 
 
 80.5 
 
 11.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Note: Less than one (1) is indicated with a or sign. 
 
 Some very practical points, fundamentally practical, have been 
 covered, but yet when it comes to feed practice it is difficult to re- 
 member all of these various and diverse details, so therefore we 
 will proceed to more, practical feed lot considerations. 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 115 
 
 To Balance a Ration. In balancing the ration we must, after 
 selecting the right feeds feeds that, properly compounded, sup- 
 ply the main essentials of the ration pay attention to the mixing 
 of the feeds, so that they will be rich enough in protein to do what 
 is expected of them. We must take into consideration other essen- 
 tials, such as the quality of protein, the presence of fat soluble A, 
 and water soluble B, and so on, but by using certain feeds we can 
 be fairly certain that we are supplying these main essentials ; hence 
 with the right feeds, if we combine them so as to have the ration 
 rich enough in protein, we shall get along pretty well. It must be 
 remembered, though, that we must " mellow*' our figures with the 
 learned results of experience experience which is one of our most 
 valuable teachers. 
 
 In the table of analyses we give the corn ratio as 7.9, which 
 really means that with every pound of protein present in corn there 
 is mixed with it 7.9 pounds of carbohydrates or their equivalent. 
 The ratio, which in this case is a crude ratio and not nutritive (be- 
 cause it is based upon crude and not digestible nutrients), is se- 
 cured by dividing the number of pounds of protein into the carbo- 
 hydrate equivalent, which carbohydrate equivalent is secured by 
 adding the carbohydrates (68 pounds in 100) to the fibre (2 pounds 
 in 100) and to the fat (4 pounds of fat in 100, times 2.25 equals 
 9 pounds of carbohydrate equivalent, because we find that in 
 practice that a pound of fat is equivalent to about 2 1 / 4 times a 
 pound of starches or other carbohydrates in feeding value). 
 
 Add these figures, 68 plus 2 plus 9, and we have 79 pounds of 
 carbohydrate equivalent in 100 pounds of 14 percent moisture corn. 
 The 79 pounds, which in this case includes very little fibre, will 
 give practically the same results as if all were carbohydrate. Of 
 course we must remember that the fibre for pig feeding is really of 
 practically little value, hence not the equivalent of starches or 
 sugars. Now, take this 79 pounds and divide by 10, the number of 
 pounds of protein, and we have the figure which is the ratio, 7.9. 
 Now this corn ratio is called a "wide" one, being unsuitable for 
 growing pigs or suckling sows or young boars because there is too 
 little protein in proportion to the fat-forming elements, or, stated 
 conversely, too much carbohydrates or their equivalent for the 
 amount of muscle, hide, hoof, nerve, hair and bone builders, or 
 namely, protein, present. 
 
 There is one class of hogs fattening brood sows discarded from 
 the breeding pen which in addition to the real heavy, well-grown, 
 mature stock or store hogs, that can do quite well for a short time 
 on such a wide ratio. This wide ratio is also all right for mainte- 
 nance of mature swine. We find in practice, and this is borne out by 
 experiments, that corn alone for the finishing off period on such 
 heavy, well-grown sows or other fairly mature stock in the swine 
 lots is all right for a limited period. Generally speaking, however, 
 practically for all swine classes, more protein must be added to 
 corn, and incidentally more of the other essentials of a good ration, 
 to get ' ' results that count. ' ' 
 
116 
 
 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 What ratio should we figure on feed for the different classes of 
 swine ? We can only give this approximately because it varies, de- 
 pending largely on the quality of protein, and character of the 
 carbohydrate equivalent, but assuming a rather good quality of 
 protein present, and average carbohydrate equivalents, we find 
 that the approximate practical ratio to allow different classes of 
 swine is, in general, as follows : 
 
 Class of Swine 
 
 Weight, 
 Approximate, 
 Pounds 
 
 Ratio, or Number 
 of Pounds of Carbo- 
 hydrate Equivalent 
 With Every Pound 
 of Protein 
 
 Pounds 60% Meatmeal 
 Tankage Necessary to 
 Feed with 100 Pounds of 
 Corn Grain in Order to 
 Make the Approximate 
 Ratio Named 
 
 Pregnant gilts 
 
 200-350 
 
 4.5-5.0 
 
 10-15 
 
 Pregnant sows, yearlings or 
 
 350-600 
 
 5 5-6 
 
 6-8 
 
 Suckling sows with litters 
 Growing and fattening hogs . . . 
 
 Breeding pigs 
 
 200-600 
 30-100 
 100-150 
 150-200 
 200-250 
 250-300 
 300-350 
 30-100 
 
 3.5-5.0 
 3.5-4.0 
 4.5 
 5.0 
 6.0 
 7.~ 
 8.0 
 3.5-4.0 
 
 11-25 
 18-25 
 15 
 11 
 6 
 1--2 
 0-1 
 18-25 
 
 Boars, young 
 
 100-150 
 150-200 
 200-250 
 250-300 
 300-350 
 300-500 
 500-1000 
 
 4.5 
 5.0 
 5.5 
 6.5 
 7.0 
 5.5-6.5 
 6 0-7 
 
 15 
 11 
 8 
 4 
 2-3 
 4-8 
 2 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 It is to be re-emphasized that these figures are approximate, but 
 nevertheless they can be used as a good general guide. Remember, 
 that this is drylot feeding. On pasture it is well to follow the rec- 
 ommendations given for pasture as to the amount of tankage or 
 its equivalent. It is to be remembered that pigs on pastures get 
 most of the protein from them, particularly if the pasture be al- 
 falfa, rape, red clover, green rye, green wheat, or young tender 
 bluegrass, and it is ordinarily difficult to estimate just how much 
 material pigs get from such pastures; hence we have to approxi- 
 mate the ratios to allow on them, basing our figures largely on our 
 practical experience. 
 
 Ratio for Breeding Pigs. In order to convert the tankage in 
 the above table into skimmilk, multiply by approximately 20. For 
 instance, breeding pigs require ratio of about 3.5 to 4.0, which is 
 secured by allowing 25 to 18 pounds of tankage with every 100 
 pounds of corn. If skimmilk is used, it will take twenty times as 
 much as the 25 to 18 of tankage or 500 to 300 pounds of milk with 
 every 100 pounds of corn, or from about 5 to 3% pounds of milk 
 (skim or butter) with every pound of corn grain. This conver- 
 sion is not absolutely accurate, but it is approximately what we 
 wish, and should give good general results. 
 
 One can now figure for himself on the basis of what has been 
 said any ration that he wishes. Suppose you have pigs weighing 
 75 to 100 pounds to feed. Look on the table and you will find that 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 
 
 117 
 
 this will require a ratio of close to 4. Let us call it 4, for general 
 purposes, and figure out a ration on the basis of this ratio. We 
 have available corn grain, flour middlings, and 60 percent protein 
 meatmeal tankage. The first thing to do after determining the 
 ratio is to look up the analyses for these three feeds, marking down 
 the protein and carbohydrate equivalents in separate columns, 
 thus: 
 
 
 Pounds in 
 
 a Hundred 
 
 
 Protein - 
 
 Equivalent 
 
 
 10 
 
 79 
 
 
 18 
 
 73.3 
 
 
 60 
 
 31.8 
 
 
 
 
 A practical man knows about how these materials should be fed 
 in feeding young pigs. Let us go on the basis of using 100 pounds 
 of corn, mixing with it or feeding along with it whatever we need 
 of the two different feeds wheat-flour middlings and meatmeal 
 tankage to build the whole ration up, or to balance the corn. We 
 will decide off-hand that we want to feed 50 pounds of middlings 
 with 100 pounds of corn ; so that is definite. It will be necessary, 
 then, to feed considerable tankage to bring the ratio right. Let us 
 now figure the ratio of the mixture composed of 100 pounds of corn 
 and 50 pounds of wheat flour middlings. 
 
 Pounds in A Howance 
 
 i ne casai Allowance, rounds 
 
 Protein 
 
 Carbohydrate 
 
 In 100 pounds of corn grain 
 In 50 pounds wheat middlings, 50% or one-half as much as in 
 100 pounds 
 
 10.0 
 9.0 
 
 79.0 
 36.6 
 
 
 
 
 In 150 pounds of the mixture 
 
 19.0 
 
 115.6 
 
 The ratio secured, therefore, is 6.08, got by dividing 115.6 by 
 19. This is not rich enough in protein. It will be necessary to add 
 some high-protein tankage to the mixture. Let us add 10 pounds 
 and see how it figures : 
 
 The New Mixture 
 
 Protein 
 
 Carbohydrate 
 Equivalent 
 
 In 150 pounds of mixture (100 pounds corn plus 50 pounds mid- 
 dlings 
 
 19 
 
 115 6 
 
 In 10 pounds meatmeal tankage 
 
 6.0 
 
 3.2 
 
 
 
 
 Total in 150 pounds of the mixture plus 10 pounds tankage 
 
 25.0 
 
 118.8 
 
 Pounds in Allowance 
 
 This gives a ratio of 4.75, which is secured by dividing 118.8 by 
 25. The mixture is still not rich enough in protein, hence we shall 
 have to add some more tankage. Let us, therefore, add 10 pounds 
 more of tankage to the new mixture, which we have made up, so that 
 instead of having 100 pounds of corn, 50 pounds of middlings and 
 10 pounds" of tankage, we shall have 10 pounds more of tankage 
 added thereto. The figures for this follow:" 
 
118 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 
 Pounds in 
 
 Allowance 
 
 
 Protein 
 
 Carbohydrate 
 Equivalent 
 
 We have already found the mixture composed of 100 pounds 
 corn, 50 pounds middlings and 10 pounds tankage, a total of 
 160 pounds, to be 
 
 25.0 
 
 118 8 
 
 Added in the 10 pounds of meatmeal tankage 
 
 6 
 
 3 2 
 
 
 
 
 Total in final mixture of 170 pounds . . . . 
 
 31 
 
 122 
 
 
 
 
 This ratio equals 3.94, secured by dividing 122 by 31, which 
 ratio is about right, and plenty near enough for our purpose. 
 
 Go ahead with the mixture as determined, feeding with every 
 100 pounds of corn 50 pounds wheat flour middlings and 20 pounds 
 meatmeal tankage. These can be all mixed together, or the wheat 
 middlings and tankage might be mixed together, and fed as a slop, 
 and the corn fed dry separately, or each one may be fed separately, 
 or any other good way as the main point is for the pigs to glean all 
 without waste. 
 
 Why Limit These Feeds? The question might immediately 
 arise, * ' Why not let growing and fattening pigs have free access to 
 all of these feeds? " That does work finely, in truth splendidly, in 
 ordinary times, but if one could buy his wheat flour middlings 
 relatively cheap, he would be at a disadvantage under a system of 
 this sort because the pigs would eat very little of the middlings, or 
 with every 20 pounds of tankage they would probably eat only 
 about 20 pounds of middlings or maybe a little more, depending 
 upon conditions ; so that to utilize the cheaper middlings, mixtures 
 will have to be resorted to. In other words, one gets into difficulty 
 by attempting to feed certain ratios and depending on the allow- 
 ance singly of feeds to do it, because the pigs naturally have ideas 
 of their own in regard to the matter of consumption. 
 
 In closing this dissertation on building the ration we must again 
 emphasize and re-emphasize that we should have one or more of the 
 following named feeds in American rations for growing, pregnant, 
 suckling or breeding swine : 
 
 Basic Ingredients. A. Some kind of milk (skim, butter or 
 whole). The buttermilk powder or semi-solid butermilk will fill 
 the physiological bill as well as ordinary natural milk products ex- 
 cepting, of course, that less will be required. But do not forget to 
 figure the economy of the feed on the assumption that a pound 
 each of dry matter in skimmilk,buttermilk, buttermilk powder and 
 semi-solid butermilk powder is about equally valuable. 
 
 B. The green, tender leafy pastures of alfalfa, red clover, 
 sweet clover, other clovers, rape, bluegrass, rye, wheat, barley, 
 and possibly soy-beans, cowpeas and peanuts for all classes. Al- 
 falfa or clover hay, particularly for the brood sow or maintenance 
 hogs but not particularly so for young growing animals because too 
 
WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 119 
 
 much fibre is contained therein. The leafy portions are all right, 
 however. 
 
 C. Meat and fish products, such as meatmeal tankage, or fish- 
 meal. 
 
 These are the feeds that contain the vitamines, the mineral 
 elements, and the right kind of proteins ordinarily required to 
 balance the grain ration; hence the reason why one or more of 
 these feeds should be included in all of ordinary swine feeding op- 
 erations. They assist greatly in insuring thrift and vigor and 
 greatest of all, they insure larger satisfaction, which insurance is 
 quite essential. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 
 
 Successful and most economical swine husbandry centers to a 
 large extent round the corn and barley crops in America, but it also 
 is determined to a considerable degree by the kind and character of 
 forage crops, and the methods of using them; inasmuch as these 
 forage crops are used to supplement corn, barley and similar 
 grains, being of great assistance in lessening the bill for meatmeal 
 tankage, which costs over $100 a ton, and linseed oilmeal at the war 
 price of around $60 and $65. In other words, the better forage 
 crops, rightly selected, replace these high-priced supplementary 
 concentrates, giving the swinegrower an opportunity to produce 
 the equivalent of these high-priced feeds on his own farm, and in 
 such a manner that they will be harvested by the swine, so that 
 much labor will be saved. 
 
 Why Grow Forage Crops? We grow forage crops because 
 they replace high-priced concentrates. We grow them because 
 they are part of an efficient system of swine production. They 
 afford range which, of course, insures that the growing pigs and the 
 brood sows get considerable exercise, and getting exercise, are 
 healthier. Forage crops are good because they furnish a succulent 
 feed, and thus, because of the succulence, promote digestive tone 
 and well-being. Forage crops permit the hog to drop his manure 
 right on the land, and thus increase fertility. Manure left in the 
 hogyards is often largely wasted; thus indirectly forage crops add 
 to the direct benefits of forage farming. Forage crops, if rightly 
 selected, enrich the land in nitrogen, through alfalfa, clovers, beans, 
 peas and others, which have the power of taking nitrogen from the 
 air. Forage crops insure that at least a part of the ration be self- 
 fed, generally speaking, particularly so if the pigs are allowed free 
 access to these crops. Forage crops help out on the rotation, pro- 
 mote greater industry and resourcefulness in swine raising and di- 
 rectly and indirectly encourage good general farming as well as 
 good swine raising. 
 
 The Rank of Forage Crops. Our greatest forages for the 
 cornbelt rank about in this order: Alfalfa, first; Dwarf Essex 
 rape and medium red clover (and possibly also Mammoth red clover, 
 alsike clover and other clovers, depending on the locality where 
 grown and how grown) second and third; bluegrass (particularly 
 when in the green growing stage and not when dry, hard and 
 brown), fourth; sweet clover ' (particularly of the first year's 
 growth, when it is young, green, tender and rich in its particular 
 constituents, namely, protein, minerals and vitamines that grains 
 lack, and not the second year's growth, after it becomes hard and 
 woody), fifth; and, lastly, there would come these forages: Rye, 
 
 120 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 121 
 
 wheat, soybeans and cowpeas. Generally speaking, then, from the 
 standpoint of the cornbelt, we would place the pastures in the order 
 of their merit, as follows: Alfalfa, rape, red clover, bluegrass, 
 first-year sweet clover, and after that we would depend on the other 
 crops mentioned. 
 
 Selecting Forage Crops. In order to get an adequate idea as 
 to how to select a forage crop, it is essential that we know just what 
 should be the requirements of the ideal pasture and forage crop. 
 
 From the idealistic standpoint, therefore, the forage crop should 
 be first and above all adaptable to the local soil and climate; it 
 should be palatable, highly relished by the swine ; it should give a 
 heavy yield of highly digestible protein of good supplementary 
 quality; it should furnish a considerable quantity of mineral ele- 
 ments of the right sort ; it should furnish considerable of fat soluble 
 A, this being essential to life and well-being ; it should also carry 
 fat soluble B, and the anti-scorbutics or scurvy specifics; it should 
 also be low in crude fibre, because swine cannot handle much crude 
 fibre to advantage ; it should have a narrow nutritive ratio, that is, 
 a large proportion of digestible protein in relation to the starchy 
 or fat-forming materials ; it should be somewhat succulent, although 
 not excessively so ; it should have a long pasturage season, coming 
 early particularly, staying green during the hot, dry summer 
 and remaining green and palatable late in the fall, even after 
 heavy freezes come (better still if it can furnish .green feed 
 during the winter, like does rape sometimes but more particularly 
 like does wheat) ; it should be able to endure trampling and 
 ordinary grazing; it should be permanent, or at least maintain 
 a stand for a reasonable number of years, like bluegrass or_ 
 alfalfa; it should be seeded with relative ease; it should not cost 
 too much to get a stand, nor take too long ; it should be capable of 
 furnishing good pasture at any time from April to December (rape 
 is pretty good, in that it can be used as an emergency crop and is 
 ready for pasturing a couple of months after seeding) ; and it 
 should preferably be of a leguminous character ; that is, it should 
 have the ability of gathering nitrogen from the air and thus help 
 in keeping up the- fertility. 
 
 Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on the viewpoint, we 
 have no single crop that will supply all of these essentials. We have 
 certain crops that supply many of them and all of them are sup- 
 plied in some one of the various crops. There is one crop that 
 stands out above all others, however, in supplying the majority of 
 these, and that crop is alfalfa. 
 
 Alfalfa Pasture. Of all the crops that grow in the northern or 
 in the southern or even in the eastern states of America, alfalfa 
 from the swine-forage standpoint stands out as the peer of them all. 
 Alfalfa is a heavy yielder of the kind of constituents that are 
 needed to balance the ordinary corn ration. It balances the corn of 
 the cornbelt. and the barley of the west, and the rye of the north. 
 
122 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 It is entirely posible to raise pigs from birth to maturity, in truth, 
 to go through the entire cycle of swine husbandry, with corn and al- 
 falfa. Of course, this can be improved somewhat, but these two 
 are the great basal feeds, from the standpoint of economical and 
 physiological efficiency, and the man who wishes to make the most 
 of swine husbandry will see to it that these crops be grown in his lo- 
 cality, if it is possible. Of course, there are certain sections where 
 the corn may be displaced, and also the alfalfa, but, generally 
 speaking, if they grow to advantage, they are the ones to use. 
 
 Of all the. crops that we have used in our experimental work at 
 the Iowa station, we have secured especially economic gains on 
 two: alfalfa and Dwarf Essex rape. Both stand out particularly 
 strong in balancing corn. We do not pass without of course salut- 
 ing red clover. 
 
 Heavy Grazing 111 Advised. Heavy pasturing of alfalfa is 
 detrimental. We usually figure on pasturing the alfalfa only 
 about one-third to one-half of what it will stand, and then take off 
 the regular cuttings of hay therefrom. In other words, on pasture 
 that will yield from 4 to 7 tons per acre, we will run from 10 to 
 20 weanling pigs from late May or early June to the 1st of Novem- 
 ber, and then take our regular hay cuttings off the field, making 
 the cuttings when the young shoots begin to form at the crown of 
 the plants. 
 
 Protein in Alfalfa. Alfalfa runs high in protein. A dry- 
 matter analysis (this refers to the alfalfa plant with all of the water 
 squeezed out) showed that on about April 24 one year the leaves 
 showed in every 100 pounds of this water-free material 38.8 per- 
 cent of protein. This is higher than oilmeal, and more than twice 
 as high as wheat middlings. Of course, the stems will run less 
 than this but, generally speaking, pigs know enough to eat the 
 11 tenderer" portions. Note in passing that the reason why we make 
 our regular cuttings is to stimulate new growth because it is the new 
 growth which runs highest in protein and minerals and lowest in 
 fibre things that are essential. To show just how the more rap- 
 idly-growing parts of alfalfa analyze or namely, higher in protein 
 and lower in fibre, we submit these figures : 
 
 An analysis of the top half of alfalfa on May 26 showed protein 
 31 percent and fibre 14 percent in the dry matter. The lower half 
 of the same plants showed a little more than half as much protein, 
 or 18 percent, and more than twice as much fibre, or 29 percent, 
 and the pigs know somehow that the top half of the alfalfa is the 
 best. In truth, if one watches pigs in the alfalfa field he will see 
 them very often simply bite off the upper portion, because it is 
 tenderest and most palatable, and because it supplies their nutri- 
 tional needs to the greatest advantage. It would be flattering to 
 the horse to say that these pigs exhibit "horse-sense," whereas 
 they really show normal "hog-sense." 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 
 
 123 
 
 How much grain will an acre of alfalfa save 1 
 
 In 1916 we fed six groups of pigs, 5 on alfalfa and 1 in drylot, 
 as per the following tabulated presentation : 
 
 The Self -Fed "Free-Choice" Pigs on Alfalfa Pasture* 
 
 Animal Husbandry Section Results Iowa Experiment Station Growing and Fattening 
 
 2 % Months Old Pigs. 
 
 Initial weight 55 pounds final weight 225 pounds feeding period began July 6th 
 all limited groups hand-fed twice daily. 
 
 Lot 
 No. 
 
 t Ration Fed 
 
 Days 
 Required 
 to Reach 
 225 Pounds 
 Live Weight 
 
 Feed per 100 Pounds Gain 
 
 Pasture, 
 Acres 
 
 Shelled" 
 Corn, 
 Pounds 
 
 Tankage, 
 Pounds 
 
 Total, 
 Pounds 
 
 I 
 II 
 III 
 IV 
 
 V 
 VI 
 
 Alfalfa. Shelled corn 2% plus 
 meatmeal tankage hand-fed 
 twice, July 6 P. M., to Dec. 27 
 AM. 
 
 174.5 
 147.5 
 131.5 
 
 130 
 121 
 130 
 
 362.6 
 353.4 
 368.4 
 
 355.4 
 342.7 
 354.2 
 
 40.4 
 35.4 
 33.4 
 
 33.1 
 31.7 
 50.6 
 
 403.0 
 388.8 
 401.8 
 
 388.5 
 374.4 
 404.8 
 
 .027 
 .026 
 .022 
 
 .023 
 .018 
 
 None 
 
 Alfalfa. Shelled corn 3% plus 
 meatmeal tankage hand-fed 
 twice; July 6 P. M. to Nov. 30 
 P. M 
 
 Alfalfa. Shelled corn to limit of 
 appetite plus meatmeal tankage 
 hand-fed twice; July 6 P. M. to 
 Nov 14 P. M . 
 
 Alfalfa. Shelled corn to limit of 
 appetite plus meatmeal tankage 
 hand-fed thrice; July 6 P. M. 
 to Nov 13 A M 
 
 Alfalfa. Shelled corn self-fed plus 
 meatmeal tankage self -fed; 
 July 6 P. M. to Nov. 4 A. M . . 
 
 Dry lot. Shelled corn self-fed 
 plus meatmeal tankage self -fed; 
 July 6 P. M. to Nov. 13 A. M. 
 
 *Work done by Eward and Dunn. 
 
 Note particularly that alfalfa saved considerable tankage or, 
 instead of taking 50.6 pounds, as it did in drylot for each 100 
 pounds of gain, it took only 31.65 pounds where alfalfa was used; 
 thus saving practically 19 pounds of tankage on each 100 pounds 
 of gain made, by simply allowing the pigs access to alfalfa, as 
 compared to keeping them in a drylot, this being where ample corn 
 and meatmeal tankage are self -fed in separate feeders, ' ' free-choice ' ' 
 style. Note also that less corn was required, practically 12 pounds 
 less on each 100 pounds of gain. 
 
 Feed Saved By Using Alfalfa. In figuring this on the basis of 
 pasturage used, which amounted to .018 acres or 18/1000 or 
 9/500 of an acre for each 100 pounds of gain (the acreage charge 
 was determined by dividing the area by the number of 100 pounds 
 of gain that they put on), we find that the acre of alfalfa saved, in 
 round numbers, 639 pounds of corn plus 1050 pounds of meatmeal 
 tankage. Crediting the corn at $1.50 a bushel and the tankage at 
 $100.00 a ton, the alfalfa replaced $69.63 worth of these high-priced 
 feeds. This is a splendid showing, and demonstrates what alfalfa 
 
124 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 will do under good conditions. This also means that where you 
 self -feed pigs according to the free-choice style with shelled corn 
 and meatmeal tankage on alfalfa pasture, with pasture such as this 
 used (which yielded better than five tons) there would be enough 
 pasture to produce 5,555 pounds of hog gain. Do not misunder- 
 stand this. The acre of pasture plus whatever corn is neces- 
 sary, and also tankage, will produce this amount of gain not the 
 pasture alone. In addition to pasture, there must be fed, according 
 to these results, 342.7 pounds of corn and 31.7 pounds of meatmeal 
 tankage for each 100 pounds of gain, in taking the pig from wean- 
 ing time up to 225 pounds. 
 
 Note still further that pasture was not saved by limiting the 
 corn ration. Note also that it was lost by limiting the ration. The 
 pigs went to market earlier and had better markets when they were 
 pushed hard from spring to fall. Stick to alfalfa if you can grow 
 it. It is a great forage crop. 
 
 Rape. How about rape pasture ? Rape is a good second to 
 alfalfa. It is a wonderfully good crop. We find in our work that 
 we can carry on rape pasture anywhere from 15 to 30 pigs to the 
 acre, depending on how they are handled. This is on land that 
 yields a little more than 50 bushels of corn, on the average. Dwarf 
 Essex rape of either the European or Japanese varieties is splen- 
 did. It can be drilled, broadcasted, or put in rows. We prefer 
 drilling. It can be put in early in April (central Iowa conditions) 
 and be ready for pasture about July 1 or sooner. It does well in 
 certain sections of the south, and is a superior crop in Canada. 
 In the south it is used as a winter crop. It is what one might 
 call a cool-weather plant. 
 
 One could get along in the summer without any supplementary 
 feed, if he had corn or barley, with rape pasture. It is ordinarily 
 advisable to feed some tankage or milk or similar feeds in addition, 
 also salt, but the point is that rape balances corn and barley to 
 pretty good advantage. 
 
 Analysis of Rape. A recent analysis at the Iowa station 
 shows in the leaves of rape dry matter 29 percent protein and 8 
 percent fibre. This compares favorably with alfalfa; in truth, it 
 runs higher than alfalfa on the average. The leaf stems analyzed 
 14 percent protein and 19 percent fibre. This shows a little less of 
 protein but more of fibre than the leaves. The main stems analyzed 
 12 percent protein and 41 percent fibre. This shows them un- 
 desirable and explains the reason why pigs 'do not eat the stems; 
 it also shows why they prefer the leaves, which run higher in 
 proteins and much less in fibre. The leaves often run as high as 
 three times as much in protein as the stems, and yet contain only 
 one-fifth as much fibre. The roots run 7 percent protein and 52 
 percent fibre; hence it is seldom that pigs root up the roots of 
 rape because there is little feeding value to be found therein. 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 
 
 125 
 
 An analysis of rape on May 3, edible portion (and this was 
 when the rape was nice and young and tender, suitable for very 
 young suckling pigs that are allowed to slip through the fence 
 into the pasture away from their mothers) showed protein in 
 the dry matter 36.9 percent. Again we see that rape is an 
 excellent supplement to corn on the basis of its analysis. Years 
 ago folks used to look on rape as a carbohydrate feed, but the pigs 
 did not. We watched the pigs, and saw that their analysis 
 did not agree with chemists ' analyses. In other words, the pigs did 
 better on rape than one would expect, judging from the published 
 analyses of this plant. We therefore made some analyses, and 
 found that the pigs were right, and that the chemists had misled 
 us. Not that the chemists had made a mistake, but that the litera- 
 ture did not show definitely what their samples represented, and 
 we were led to believe that the low-protein analysis shown for rape 
 represented that which animals eat. But to make sure, our samples 
 were taken of just those portions which the pigs ate. We watched 
 the pigs as they ate rape and sampled accordingly and lo and 
 behold! the pigs were right. 
 
 How much corn shall we feed on rape pasture and how shall 
 we feed it? Shall we limit the corn or give them considerable 
 of it? Some results follow: 
 
 Animal Husbandry Results Iowa Experiment Station.* Growing and fattening 
 2% months old pigs, having an initial weight of 55 pounds and carrying them to a 
 final weight of 225 pounds. Feeding period began July 6th, and carried on pasture 
 November 13th, close of green season, after which all groups not yet reaching 225 
 pounds average weight were self-fed free-choice style or shelled corn plus tankage. 
 Tankage allowance was identical per pig in all groups to the close of the forage sea- 
 son, hence only difference was in corn allowed. 
 
 Lot 
 No. 
 
 Ration Fed 
 
 Days 
 Required 
 to Reach 
 225 Pounds 
 Live Weight 
 
 Feed pe 
 
 Shelled 
 Corn, 
 Pounds 
 
 r 100 Pou 
 
 Tankage, 
 Pounds 
 
 nds Gain 
 Total 
 Feed 
 Corn 
 Tankage 
 
 Acres, 
 Rape 
 
 I 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 Rape. Shelled corn 2% or one- 
 half full ration plus meatmeal 
 tankage hand-fed twice daily . . 
 
 Rape. Shelled corn 3% or two- 
 thirds full ration plus meatmeal 
 tankage hand-fed twice daily. . 
 
 Rape. Shelled corn to limit of 
 appetite plus meatmeal tankage 
 hand-fed twice daily 
 
 172 
 145 
 134 
 
 363.5 
 
 335.2 
 374 7 
 
 30.3 
 25.8 
 24 2 
 
 393.8 
 361.0 
 398 9 
 
 .038 
 .035 
 .032 
 
 IV 
 
 Rape. Shelled corn self-fed plus 
 meatmeal tankage self-fed 
 "F ee-Choice" style 
 
 122 
 
 342 5 
 
 22 4 
 
 364 9 
 
 032 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *Work done by Evvard and Dunn. 
 
 In the above test the self-fed group and all the hand-fed 
 groups were fed as much tankage as the self-fed lot IV required, 
 so that the meatmeal tankage allowance was identical per pig in all 
 groups to the close of the forage season, hence the only difference 
 was in corn allowed. On the basis of the above figures, it is found 
 that the self -feeding of corn and tankage on rape saved time, saved 
 high priced tankage feed, generally speaking, and saved pasture. 
 The grain saved by the acre of rape pasture equals, if contrasted 
 
126 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 with drylot fed pigs, self-fed corn and tankage alongside, 366 
 pounds of corn plus 881 pounds of tankage, which, valued at $1.50 
 a bushel and $100 a ton, is equivalent to a saving of $53.86 worth 
 of high-priced feed saved by an acre of rape. 
 
 Try rape and you will like it. To grow it once means to keep on 
 growing it, because it does well, saves high-priced feed and stays 
 green during the entire growing season furnishing succulent feed 
 for the swine herd, particularly in July and August, when other 
 pasture crops are inclined to dry up. 
 
 Medium Red Clover. It is hardly necessary to go into detail 
 in regard to the practicability of medium red clover as a forage 
 crop for swine, because it is so widely known and so favorably re- 
 ceived wherever grown to advantage that most men understand its 
 efficiency. Medium red clover, unless quite young and tender, does 
 not, however, analyze so well as alfalfa or rape, but it does contain 
 a large proportion of those ordinary constituents which go to bal- 
 ance the ordinary grain ration such as protein, mineral elements 
 and vitamines. It is possible to get along fairly well on good clover 
 pasture without any high-priced supplement, but it is not so easy to 
 do this as on rape or alfalfa. 
 
 Red clover fits into the ration finely, and will continue to be 
 used. It is difficult in some localities to get a stand, although in 
 certain sections, as central Indiana, it seems to be easy to catch a 
 seeding. It does not withstand drouth so well as alfalfa or rape 
 or even sweet clover, and, as a result, in July and August, and par- 
 ticularly in the latter part of August, it becomes dry and hard. 
 Rains are necessary about this time in order to stimulate second 
 growth, and if rains do not come we have hard, brown clover which 
 is unpalatable, and is not eaten by the pigs, and hence, of course, 
 they lose its balancing effects. When clover blooms nicely pigs are 
 particularly fond of the blossoms, inasmuch as they have a sweet 
 taste that apparently is relished. 
 
 One of the Best Swine Pastures. One can make no mistake in 
 depending on red clover in the regular rotation, inasmuch as it is 
 one of our three best swine pastures. In its place we can depend on 
 alsike clover which, if it yields about the same, will give similar 
 results. Mammoth clover is excellent, and will do about the same as 
 medium red clover. White clover is fine, but in the great middle 
 west sections it really is a supplementary crop supplementary to 
 bluegrass, and helps make bluegrass more efficient in the early 
 season. When one grows pasture crops, such as red clover or al- 
 falfa, he can always cut them for hay, in case the pigs do not mate- 
 rialize just right or in case they are switched over to some other 
 crop. With rape, however, it is essential that it be pastured, be- 
 cause it cannot be cured in the ordinary hay-making way to ad- 
 vantage. 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 127 
 
 Swinemen everywhere may lay emphasis on red clover and de- 
 pend on it as the mainstay in their forage crop regime, more 
 especially where it does well, and where stands can be easily se- 
 cured, and where the rotation adopted is such as to devolp it to its 
 full extent as a necessary factor in the managerial plan of the farm. 
 
 Bluegrass. Bluegrass is the standard pasture grass of a con- 
 siderable portion of the United States. It has been abused, how- 
 ever, on many an occasion, and some novices have thought it al- 
 most worthless as a swine pasture. While it is true that bluegrass 
 is a most disappointing pasture in July and August, when it browns 
 up and becomes dry and hard, yet it more than makes up for this 
 deficiency in the early spring, when it comes shooting forth in all 
 its tenderness and greenness ; any time in April and May it is a fine 
 pasture grass. Then again in the fall, following late rains in Aug- 
 ust and September, it comes forth, sending up new shoots, which 
 pigs take advantage of, and which the chemists' analysis and the 
 pigs' inclinations show to be we'll adapted to the balancing of the 
 corn ration. 
 
 Analysis of Bluegrass. To emphasize the value of young, 
 tender bluegrass that comes early in April, a sample gathered on the 
 12th of that month with the young tender shoots, showed in the 
 dry matter 41.29 percent protein, with a crude fibre content of 
 13.22 percent. This is a good showing for young, tender bluegrass. 
 We have found that with such bluegrass pigs do approximately 
 as well as they do on alfalfa, but, unfortunately, this kind of 
 bluegrass lasts only a few weeks, and then it begins to get 
 worse and worse, running high in fibre, and low in protein, low in 
 fat, and also low in calcium and phosphorus, the two elements that 
 go to make up the bone. 
 
 Contrast this excellent April analysis of 41 percent protein and 
 13 percent fibre in the dry matter with an analysis of the same 
 bluegrass a little later in the season, namely on June 24. At that 
 time we found that the protein content was about one-fifth of what 
 it was formerly, or 8.7 percent, and the fibre had more than doubled, 
 analyzing 30.04 percent, and the calcium had dropped down so 
 that about one-fifth as much was present as earlier in the season 
 or instead of y 2 of a pound in 100 pounds of dry matter it ran to 
 less than 1/10. Let us not forget that calcium forms some 40 per- 
 cent of the dry ash of bone, and is of the utmost importance in bal- 
 ancing the grain ration, because the grains are low in this bone- 
 building and stimulating material. Phosphorus also shows a big 
 decrease, being about 1/30 as much in June as in April per 100 
 pounds of dry matter of bluegrass. 
 
 But as a fine, compact sod bluegrass deserves special credit, and 
 it is a fine place to carry young litters, putting the sows out so that 
 they can get sunshine and green feed. Coming early as it does, it 
 ranks alongside of winter rye, winter wheat and sweet clover (the 
 earliest of spring pastures) and, being a compact sod, it can be pas- 
 
128 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 tared the earliest because it stands trampling especially well. Let 
 us take advantage of bluegrass while it is green and tender, getting 
 out on it early and staying late but depending during late May, 
 June, July, August and part of September for the major part on 
 other forages, such as alfalfa, rape, red clover and others. Much 
 depends on the season, however, as to just how bluegrass does. 
 Generally speaking, when it becomes hard and woody, have other 
 pastures ready, or else see to it that the pigs' corn or barley or 
 other grain ration is in large measure made up of skimmilk or 
 tankage or similar good feeds. 
 
 Sweet Clover. The first year's growth of sweet clover makes 
 a fairly acceptable hog pasture, and some tests at the Iowa station 
 have shown it to be as valuable as red clover. The first year's 
 growth of sweet clover has a big advantage, in that it stays green 
 throughout the season, but it has the decided disadvantage that it 
 is difficult to procure a stand acceptable for pasturing the first 
 year of its growth. Seeded with a nurse crop, it is available after 
 the crop is removed, which will be along in July. Seeded alone, it 
 is difficult to get a stand, although it is possible, and we have done 
 it. This means that most of the sweet clover pasturing is done late 
 in the first year's growth, or during the second year, in which 
 year, the last of its growth, it tends to blossom early, and there- 
 after quickly becomes woody and worthless as a pasture ordinarily 
 before the middle of the summer has come. Of course, the second 
 year's growth can be much improved by frequent clippings, but 
 these must be made high, 6 to 10 inches, else one will kill out the 
 sweet clover. But bear in mind that sweet clover can be used as a 
 hog pasture to advantage; hogs will eat it; and, being a legume, 
 it adds fertility to the land. Sweet clover in rapid stages of early 
 growth runs high in protein and mineral elements and vitamines, 
 all of, which are good for pigs. 
 
 Sweet clover has a bitter principle called cumarin, which gives 
 it its bitter taste, but in spite of this pigs will eat it, as will cattle 
 and horses. It is well to give sweet clover the credit it deserves, 
 but to use it only when one cannot secure good stands of alfalfa, 
 rape, medium red clover. After all, 16cal competition on the home 
 farm will determine its place. 
 
 Our advice is that you put your faith in alfalfa, red clover, 
 rape and bluegrass ; these crops supplemented with winter rye and 
 winter wheat as early and late pastures and doing that you can- 
 not go far wrong in the cornbelt. 
 
 Miscellaneous Pastures. There are other pastures besides 
 those mentioned which may be used, such as green rye, for in- 
 stance, which, seeded in the fall, makes good late pasture and is 
 ready for early pasturing in the spring. It runs very high in pro- 
 tein. Young, tender plants showing as much as 25 pounds of this 
 material in 100 pounds of the dry matter are a valuable supple- 
 ment to corn, barley, wheat or rye. One must remember, however, 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 129 
 
 to take pigs out when they begin " spitting out the cud," which is 
 about the time the rye begins to joint. To stay in longer is to de- 
 crease the grain yield, and to depend on a pasture that is getting 
 steadily poorer and poorer in its farm grain-balancing character- 
 istics. Keep your eye out for the cuds of rougl cellulose, "asbes- 
 tos-like" material and then when found transfei the pigs to other 
 pastures. 
 
 Effects of Green Rye. In some years green rye pasture is 
 quite a laxative. If much trouble is experienced in this respect, 
 some bloodmeal at the rate of 1/10 to 1/5 of a pound per pig daily 
 may help some, but if that does not remedy it, then transfer them 
 to other pastures for a time, or else alternate other pastures with 
 the rye. 
 
 Winter wheat is a splendid pasture when young and tender in 
 the late fall and early spring. We have thought it a better pas- 
 ture, so far as pigs are concerned, than rye. It will not carry so 
 many pigs as rye pasture, but they will do better on it, and make a 
 little more rapid gains with a little less feed outlay. We are in- 
 clined in certain seasons, under certain conditions, to favor wheat 
 over rye. It cannot stand the pasturing, however, and must be 
 handled more delicately. 
 
 i 
 
 Common field oats can be pastured when quite young, but oats 
 pasture is not nearly so good as rye or wheat. Sorghum is de- 
 pended on by some, but it is a poor pasture for swine. It does not 
 contain the constituents that are necessary. It is too rough and 
 fibrous and unpalatable. It makes a better shade and wind-break 
 than a pasture. 
 
 Soybeans are sometimes promoted and pushed as a banner 
 swine forage crop in the great middle west. They are dependable 
 in the southland and in the southern sections % of the cornbelt, but 
 when one tries to grow soybeans in the northern portions of Illi- 
 nois, Iowa and sections of similar latitude, he finds trouble in 
 getting beans that will mature. At Ames we have not been partic- 
 ularly successful with soybean pasture, for swine. In fact, we have 
 been relatively unsuccessful. We have tried them out on quite a 
 large scale but years ago found difficulty in maturing them. We 
 are continuing our investigations, however, and trust that the fu- 
 ture will show them up more favorably. We have varieties devel- 
 oped now that ripen nicely in safe season. 
 
 In our past experience rape, alfalfa, young, tender bluegrass 
 and green, growing sweet and red clover have all greatly excelled 
 soybeans, the pigs doing better on these crops, gaining faster, and 
 requiring less feed for 100 pounds of gain. We believe, however, 
 that soybeans can be used in the cornfield to good advantage but 
 even in the northern sections of the cornbelt if rape can bo used, 
 so much the better. 
 
130 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Cowpeas are similar to soybeans but they are adapted to an 
 even more southerly climate than soybeans; therefore, in Iowa, 
 soybeans clearly excel them. In the south they come into their 
 own and can be used to advantage in some sections. 
 
 Certain mixtures are sometimes used, like oats, Canadian peas, 
 and rape. This is all right, but commonly the biggest portion of 
 the pasture is furnished by the rape. Further north than Ames 
 field peas can be used to better advantage; where they will yield 
 20 or 25 bushels to the acre, as they do in Wisconsin, for instance ; 
 field peas make an excellent forage crop, particularly for hogging- 
 down after the grain has practically matured. In certain sections 
 of Colorado they can also be used to especially good advantage. 
 
 We have tried a mixture of oats, hairy vetch and rape, but the 
 pigs did not like the vetch. They would go under it and over 
 it; they used it as a bed and as a cover, but they fought quite 
 shy of using it as a feed. Our advice, therefore, in regard to 
 vetch is to steer clear of it as a pig pasture. Of course, this does 
 not mean that it should not be used for its soil-renovating qualities. 
 
 Bear in mind continuously the great advantages of pastures in 
 the saving of high-priced supplements. Grow them, placing spe- 
 cial emphasis on their replacement of meatmeal, tankage, milk, and 
 oilmeal and similar feeds. They will also save some corn, barley 
 and corresponding grain feeds. While they will save some of these 
 basal concentrates, yet their chief function is in balancing these 
 feeds. Remember that the pig is an animal so constituted by his 
 anatomy and inheritance that he is adapted to the conversion of 
 concentrates into meat. Primarily he is not a roughage-eating ani- 
 mal and, generally speaking, when we limit the corn ration" on 
 good pastures, poor ones more particularly, we do not save grain 
 (corn plus tankage) because it will take the pigs more days to 
 reach a certain weight and, as a result, therefore, the feed required 
 for 100 pounds of gain usually is greater than if the pigs were 
 pushed hard from start to finish. Old sows or maintenance hogs of 
 any sort can be turned out on good grass to good advantage, but 
 even then a little grain added to the pasture is a splendid help. 
 
 In closing this dissertation on pastures it is well to emphasize 
 the amount of protein supplement necessary foy different classes 
 of swine. The following scheme for feeding corn and tankage on 
 high and low-protein pastures is adapted from Circular 26, writ- 
 ten by Eward and Pew of the Iowa Experiment Station : 
 
 On High-Protein Pastures 
 
 Alfalfa; rape., Dwarf Essex; red, mammoth, alsike, and white 
 clover; young, tender, sweet clover; entire first year's growth and 
 earliest stages of second year; quite early, tender, new coming 
 timothy, rye, or wheat; and short, " shooting, " tender, green, 
 succulent bluegrass. 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 131 
 
 7. FATTENING AND GROWING HOGS FOR MARKET. 
 1. Suckling Pigs 5 to 40 pounds Creep. 
 
 (A) Corn, self -fed, tankage, self -fed, salt. 
 
 It pays to give the suckling pigs a good start. How- 
 ever, on good alfalfa, or clover pasture they will eat 
 much less tankage than on drylot. 
 
 2: Weanling Pigs 30 to 100 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn, 10 to 5 parts, tankage, 10 to 5 parts, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn, self -fed, tankage, self -fed, salt. 
 
 When pigs are self -fed on luscious, young alfalfa they 
 eat about 94 to 96 corn and 6 to 4 tankage in going 
 from weaning to 100 pounds weight. 
 
 3. Shotes 100 to 175 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn, self or hand-fed, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn, self -fed, tankage, self -fed, salt. 
 
 On good, high-protein alfalfa such pigs will eat about 
 96 to 98 corn and 4 to 2 tankage. 
 
 4. Hogs 175 to' 250 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn, hand or self -fed, salt. 
 
 5. Fat Hogs 250 to 300 pounds. 
 (A) Corn, hand or self -fed, salt. 
 
 //. FATTENING SOWS FOR MARKET. 
 1. Sows, Fattening off All Ages. 
 
 (A) Corn, hand or self -fed, salt. 
 
 If in poor condition and not doing well, feed same 
 tankage or skimmilk or buttermilk until they get 
 nicely started; the gilts will need somewhat more 
 than older sows. 
 
 III. STAGS, FATTENING FOR MARKET. 
 
 (A) Corn, hand or self -fed, salt. 
 
 IV. CARRYING SOWS, BREEDING (PREGNANT). 
 
 1. At Breeding Time and During Gestation. 
 
 (A) Corn with an addition of 5 to 10 per cent tankage 
 until the sows are bred. Then put the sows on corn 
 until about a month before farrowing time comes, 
 when a limited amount of tankage or separated milk 
 may be fed to them so as to encourage milk secre- 
 tion. This method of feeding will also insure that 
 there will be good strong, lusty, active, new-born pigs. 
 
132 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 V. CARRYING SOWS, SUMMERING TO BE BRED IN THE 
 FALL. 
 
 1. Fall Gilts and Yearling Sows. * 
 
 (A) Corn, limited ration, regulate according to gains and 
 conditions desired. Change ration to corn and tank- 
 age ten days before breeding the sows to encourage 
 liberation and fertilization of many ova, in order to 
 increase the number in the litter at farrowing time. 
 
 On Low-Protein Pastures 
 
 Dry, hard, fibrous bluegrass ; sorghum ; f eterita ; millet ; timothy 
 when .over 4 inches high; rye or wheat over 8 inches; or oats and 
 barley over 5 inches, or beginning a couple of weeks before start- 
 ing to joint; and sweet clover of second year's growth after ten 
 inches high. One must feed practically the same as in drylot. These 
 pastures will, of course, save some grain feed, but they are not 
 high enough or well balanced enough in the substances, sucj. as 
 protein, minerals, and essential feed accessories that balance the 
 corn to permit the lessening of the proportion of supplement used 
 as compared to drylot. Our drylot recommendations follow: 
 
 Successful Rations for Economical Dry-Lot Feeding 
 
 I. FATTENING AND GROWING HOGS FOR MARKET. 
 
 1. Suckling Pigs 5 to 40 pounds (fed in creep). 
 
 (A) Corn 80 parts, tankage 20 parts, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn self -fed, tankage self -fed, salt. 
 
 2. Weanling Pigs 30 to 100 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn 80 to 85, tankage 20 to 15, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn self -fed, tankage self-fed, salt. 
 
 3. Shotes 100 to 175 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn 85 to 90, tankage 15 to 10, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn self -fed, tankage self -fed, salt. 
 
 4-, Hogs 175 to 250 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn 92 to 96, tankage 8 to 4, salt. 
 
 (B) Corn self-fed, tankage self-fed, salt. 
 
 5. Fat Hogs 175 to 250 pounds. 
 
 (A) Corn 95 to 99, tankage 5 to 1. 
 
 (B) Corn self -fed, tankage self-fed, salt and charcoal. 
 
FORAGE CROPS THAT MAKE GOOD 133 
 
 //. FATTENING SOWS FOR MARKET. 
 
 I. Yearling Sows (Gilts) After Weaning, "Fattening off." 
 
 (A) In Poor Condition, and "Run Down." 
 
 1. Corn 90, tankage 10, salt and charcoal. 
 
 2. Corn self-fed, tankage self-fed, salt and charcoal. 
 Omit tankage last two or three weeks. 
 
 (B) In Good Condition Thrifty. 
 
 1. Corn 92 to 95, tankage 8 to 5, salt and charcoal. 
 
 2. Corn self-fed, tankage self-fed, salt. 
 Omit tankage last two or three weeks. 
 
 2. Two-year Old or Older Sows After Weaning, "Fattening 
 
 off." 
 
 (A) In Poor Condition, and "Run Down." 
 
 1. Corn 95, tankage 5, salt. 
 
 2. Corn self -fed, tankage self-fed, salt. 
 Omit tankage last few weeks. 
 
 (B) In Good Condition Thrifty. 
 
 1. Corn all will eat, preferably self -fed, salt. 
 
 ///. FATTENING STAGS FOR MARKET. 
 
 Stags may be fed about same as sows. 
 IV. BREEDING SOWS, CARRYING (PREGNANT). 
 
 1. At Breeding Time Flushing to Increase the Number in 
 
 Litter. 
 Start 10 days before breeding. 
 
 (A) Gilts. 
 
 1. Corn self -fed, tankage self -fed, salt. 
 (For a few weeks until bred.) 
 
 2. Corn 88, tankage 12, salt. 
 
 (B) Older Sows. 
 
 1. Corn self-fed, tankage self-fed, salt. 
 (For a few weeks until bred.) 
 
 2. Corn 90, tankage 10, salt. 
 
 2. During Gestation or Pregnancy. 
 
 (A) Gilts: Should gain about .6 to 1 pound daily. 
 
 (B) Sows Yearling Sows or Older: Should gain .5 to 1 
 pound daily. 
 
 1. Practically same as for gilts, excepting slightly 
 more corn may be fed, and somewhat less supple- 
 ment. 
 
 V. SUCKLING SOWS. 
 
 1. Gilts and Older Sows. 
 
 (A) Corn self -fed and tankage self -fed, salt. 
 
 (B) Co'rn dry or soaked as sows and pigs wish in addition 
 
 to from 15 to 25 pounds of meatmeal tankage with 
 every 100 pounds of corn, salt. 
 
134 HOW TO PEED YOUE HOGS 
 
 Notes 
 
 1. To substitute the tankage allowance (as given) with oilmeal, 
 use about 2 to 2y 2 times as much, as, for instance, instead of using 
 corn 90, tankage 10, use corn 90, linseed oilmeal 20 to 25. How- 
 ever, oilmeal as the lone supplement to corn is not advisable unless 
 the pigs be on good pasture, and even here milk, middlings or 
 tankage are in order. If skim or buttermilk is substituted for the 
 tankage use 20 times as much, or with middlings, 17 times as much 
 with equivalent or equal corn amounts. 
 
 2. Barley, rye, wheat, speltz, Kafir corn, Milo-maize, sorghum 
 seed (all to be ground) and comparable feeds are quite similar to 
 corn, and may be substituted for part or all of the corn in the 
 rations given, provided they are abundant and cheap enough. Eye 
 is sometimes likely to cause digestive troubles if fed in large quan- 
 tities but that is dependent on the local conditions. Barley is a 
 most efficient substitute for corn and when properly supplemented 
 produces a most excellent quality of pork, but its great drawback 
 in the corn country is its relative high price. None of these feeds 
 mentioned are the economic equal of corn when it comes to pro- 
 ducing pork for profit in the cornbelt. 
 
 3. Common salt should always be fed to hogs, allowing it free- 
 will after they are accustomed to it. Our experimental findings 
 are indicating the truth of this suggestion. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIE USE 
 
 To obtain a fairly adequate idea as to the merits and uses of 
 different feeds employed in the practical production of pork, it is 
 well to take up each feed separately, and discuss it from many 
 feed angles angles that determine the feed's field of usefulness 
 in swine husbandry. The points to cover are practical economy 
 in the feeds used; particular outstanding qualities; shortcomings 
 and how remedied; palatability ; adaptability; effect on health; 
 influence on production of pork products; methods of preparation 
 necessary; relative value as compared to other feeds; general dis- 
 tribution and appreciation accorded; and general as well as spe- 
 cific information as to how to use the feed to the best advantage in 
 rations. With these points in mind, we shall begin with the first 
 feed corn or Indian maize grain. 
 
 Corn or Indian Maize Grain. Our most efficient basal swine 
 feed is corn. Corn grain is widely and extensively used in suc- 
 cessful practice. Corn is highly relished, being a great favorite 
 among feeds when pigs are given a chance to eat to suit them- 
 selves, being preferred to barley, oats, rye, wheat and similar feeds 
 so far as quantity consumed is a measure of that favoritism. Corn 
 is highly concentrated, hence often abused in its use. Why? 
 Because of its low content of fibre and the high value of the feed- 
 ing materials present, 'other than fibre, it is a great fattening feed, 
 and as a result breeding stock may often become too fat on it; 
 further, because hogs like it so well that swinemen are apt to use 
 it to the limit, and in many cases the trouble is too much corn as 
 well as too little of some of the essential feeds necessary to balance 
 corn. There is nothing the matter with corn in these cases, ex- 
 cepting that it is not handled right. One can abuse almost any 
 kind of feed by using it wrongly. Even such a good feed as milk 
 can be made to appear relatively inefficient if it is not used judi- 
 ciously and carefully. 
 
 Corn a Healthful Feed. Corn is a very healthful feed and so 
 far as we know does not contain any toxic products as does cotton- 
 seed meal, or linseed oilmeal sometimes, or the embryos, germs of 
 wheat (found largely in wheat middlings and wheat bran). Corn 
 produces a good product, pork made from it being sweet and quite 
 firm and of good character, presenting a good appearance. Lard 
 from corn-fed hogs is especially good, because of its whiteness, 
 firmness and general appearance. But corn has its shortcomings. 
 "Corn-alone" feeding is a bad procedure. What is the matter 
 with corn? Corn lacks in quantity and quality of protein for 
 practically all classes of swine excepting, possibly, for the short 
 finishing of hogs that have attained most of their growth and are 
 
 135 
 
136 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 in a good, healthy condition at the beginning of the finishing 
 period such hogs, for instance, as brood sows that have weaned 
 their last litters, or heavy, fairly mature 200- to 300-pound ani- 
 mals that are ready for a one- to two-month finishing period, or 
 old boars that have been castrated, and are ready for fattening, 
 to be marketed as fat stags. Young animals require to have corn 
 balanced, and these feeds are most acceptable: Milk of whatever 
 kind (whole, skim or butter), meatmeal tankage, alfalfa and red 
 clover pastures, rape forage and many others. 
 
 Corn and Alfalfa. Corn and alfalfa pasture is our greatest 
 summer combination, both economically and physiologically speak- 
 ing. It is the real basis on which 'to build for greater swine profits 
 throughout practically all the United States, but more especially 
 in those localities where hogs are fed directly on the products of 
 the soil. Of course corn and alfalfa can often be improved some- 
 what by the addition of a little milk or tankage or corn oil cake- 
 meal or similar feeds. These two feeds, however, form the burWark 
 and foundation of the ration, the corn furnishing the fattening 
 and energy materials in general, which materials constitute in 
 reality the bulk of the ration, and the alfalfa making up its 
 (corn's) deficiencies in protein, mineral elements and vitamines. 
 Corn and rape is another good combination. Corn and red clover 
 is still another. In sections where rape and red clover do well, 
 they both run a close second to alfalfa as a general corn-balancing 
 swine pasture. 
 
 Corn lacks not only in quantity and quality of protein but also 
 in mineral elements; the method of procedure is to supply these 
 proteins and minerals of the right sort. Generally speaking, in our 
 present stage of knowledge the remedy is to supply these good 
 quality proteins and minerals through the use of feeds that con- 
 tain them in the largest quantity, such high-protein feeds, for in- 
 stance, as alfalfa pasture or alfalfa hay (for broodsows particu- 
 larly), red clover pasture, rape forage, meatmeal tankage and 
 most acceptably of all any of the milks. These are rich indeed in 
 needed mineral elements, and ^are splendid because of this. In 
 addition, however, it is well to supply certain standard minerals, 
 letting pigs have them free-choice style, putting each of them in 
 separate containers, so that pigs can run thereto whenever they 
 will. These minerals may be mentioned and emphasized. 
 \ 
 
 Limestone. This should preferably be finely ground. The 
 ordinary chalk found in the Dover cliffs of England is really a 
 pure limestone, being, chemically speaking, practically entirely a 
 calcium carbonate. Generally, we prefer a. calcium rather than a 
 magnesium limestone, although we are a little inclined to believe 
 that a good calcium limestone with a small content of magnesium 
 is satisfactory. Limestone furnishes particularly the calcium 
 which makes up some 40 percent of the dry ash of bone. A grow- 
 ing pig cannot eat enough corn to supply the lime or calcium con- 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 13? 
 
 tent necessary for his own bones' normal development; hence it 
 must be supplied, and by feeding limestone in a separate feeder 
 this need is taken care of. If limestone, which, by the way, is the 
 cheapest form we know of, cannot be secured, then dependence 
 can be placed on air-slacked lime, which is practically the same 
 thing, only in a finer stage of division. This can be secured at 
 almost any lumber yard. Pigs sometimes eat the cement from the 
 foundations of buildings in order to get the necessary lime for their 
 development. We well remember having a bunch of pigs that did 
 this. They ate large holes into the foundation wall of a certain 
 building next to which they were quartered. 
 
 In practice many prefer finely ground b<5ne meal as the cal- 
 cium source in furnishing both calcium and phosphorus. The 
 
 author is inclined to the same preference. 
 
 * > 
 
 Rock Phosphate. This should preferably be finely-ground, 
 really powdered. Rock phosphate is supposed by some to be the 
 remains of animals, and hence we find large quantities of calcium 
 and phosphorus present, as in bone. These two chemical elements 
 comprise the basal elements of bone, so much so, in fact, that when 
 we speak of tri-calcium phosphate we instinctively think of bone. 
 Rock phosphate will supply both the calcium and phosphorus, and 
 there is not so much need for limestone when the rock phosphate 
 is available. Remember, however, that limestone does not furnish 
 phosphorus ; hence even with limestone in the ration, phosphate is 
 advisable. Bonemeal from the packing house is rich also in cal- 
 cium and phosphorus and carries some protein and fat and may 
 take the place of the rock phosphate, being more acceptable but 
 somewhat more expensive relatively. It only takes a small per- 
 centage of the total feed as bone meal, usually not over 1, more 
 likely less, hence a little greater expense in such a small item 
 is hardly noticeable. 
 
 Wood Ashes. Wood ashes contain three elements that are 
 particularly advantageous calcium, phosphorus and potassium. 
 All are essential in the make-up of the animal body. About one- 
 half of the wood ashes is calcium carbonate or a pure limestone. 
 Wood ashes have been widely used for years and years by success- 
 ful hogmen, and the practice of using them is good and sound. 
 
 Common Salt. By all means supply common salt freely. Some 
 folk have the idea that it should not be allowed, but nevertheless 
 it should. . Some experimental tests at Ames clearly have shown 
 that common salt allowed at free-will is a valuable addition to the 
 ration. It costs little, but it may yield a high return. To get an 
 idea as to the results we have had in the feeding of salt, we present 
 the results on some well-grown young swine of approximately 150 
 pounds average weight. These pigs received a basal ration of corn, 
 linseed oilmeal, in the ratio of 6.1 pounds of corn to each pound 
 of linseed oilmeal. Eight pigs were in a group, there being 
 five groups in all. These groups were fed as follows : 
 
138 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Group 1. Corn plus linseed oilmeal, basal ration. Group 2. 
 Same as Group 1, excepting the pigs got a little more than 3/5 of 
 an even ounce of salt daily per group, or about 1/13 of an ounce per 
 pig daily. This was mixed with the feed. Group 3. Same as Lot 
 2, excepting twice as much salt, practically 2/13 of an ounce daily 
 per pig. Group 4. Same as Group -2, excepting four times as much 
 salt, practically 4/13 of an ounce daily per pig. This is a little 
 over !/3 ounce. Group 5. Same as Group 1, excepting that salt 
 was allowed ad libitum, or free-choice style, being placed in a 
 separate trough. This group of pigs consumed on the average 
 practically an ounce of salt daily, or one-eighth of an ounce per 
 head daily. 
 
 This experiment was run for a check period of 90 days before 
 salt was fed, and during this 90-day period all groups were fed 
 the same proportion of corn and linseed oilmeal; then after these 
 90 days were passed the groups were fed as stated with their dif- 
 ferent allowances of salt. As soon as salt was allowed we find that 
 for 71 days following the first period, or for the 71 days during 
 which they were on salt, for every 84.24 pounds gain made by Group 
 1, receiving no salt, Group 2 gained practically 10 pounds more or 
 94.02 pounds. This shows the advantage of a little salt. Group 
 3 gained more than 12 pounds more or 96.97 pounds, showing a 
 still greater advantage from feeding salt in just a little greater 
 quantity. Group 4 gained 94.13 pounds, which was not quite 10 
 pounds more, indicating that too much salt can be fed where it is 
 mixed with the feeds. The most interesting development was that 
 Group 5, receiving salt ad libitum, gained practically 13 pounds 
 more on the same basis, or 97.23 pounds, showing quite clearly, so 
 far as this test is concerned, that ad libitum or free-choice feed- 
 ing is the best, so far as the gain is concerned. 
 
 It is easy to allow salt free-choice style. We do it by giving 
 pigs free access to salt, using the rock salt preferably to prevent 
 waste. We think there is no question that if pigs really need salt 
 very badly they will be able to get it from the rock variety. We 
 like very much the block salt, which is on the market, and prefer 
 it to the rock, because it is not so hard and because pigs can get 
 more of it in less time, and yet it is hard enough to prevent waste 
 when it is under cover. 
 
 Let us now look to the feed requirement for 100 pounds of gain 
 during the salt-feeding period of 71 days. For every 101.88 pounds 
 of feed required to produce a unit gain, Lot 2 required 94.29 
 pounds; Lot 3, 91.56 pounds; Lot 4, 89.92 pounds and Lot 5, the 
 best of all, only 89.36 pounds. Hence we see that all groups that 
 received salt required less feed for 100 pounds of gain on this 
 interpretation than did the no-salt group, and also that where the 
 salt was allowed free-choice style the most creditable showing was 
 made. 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 139 
 
 Let us bear in mind that too much common salt fed sud- 
 denly may cause trouble. Accustom pigs to it slowly, and do not 
 throw in the troughs any brine in which salt pork has been, be- 
 cause in this case pigs, particularly if they have not been getting 
 meatmeal tankage or similar feeds, will be so anxious because of 
 the meat flavor of the salt brine to consume it that they may con- 
 sume an extraordinary amount, and the salt in it may kill them. 
 Primarily, we think, in these cases, because of the favorable meat 
 flavor of the salt brine, they over-consume. But then, too, salt 
 thrown out to the pigs even in its original form is apt to cause 
 trouble, if they have been starved from it for a long time. 
 
 Sulphur. This may be allowed. We are not sure of the 
 efficiency of sulphur, but believe that powdered sulphur or Glau- 
 ber's salts, which is really a sodium sulphate, can be allowed to 
 pigs to good advantage. Perhaps both can be allowed but we are 
 inclined to favor the Glauber's salts. We hope to have something 
 more definite to offer on this later. These sulphur compounds are 
 supposedly valuable because they furnish sulphur, which is an 
 essential constituent of bodily protoplasm and which must be pres- 
 ent in the ration somewhere, or else an animal cannot grow 
 properly. 
 
 Charcoal or Slack Coal. Just why charcoal, slack coal or 
 partially burned cobs are fed they all being of about the same 
 character is not exactly known. It is usually said that charcoal 
 is fine because it absorbs alimentary gases, but no one has yet dem- 
 onstrated that the gases should necessarily be absorbed in this 
 manner. Anyhow, apparently, they offer some advantages. We 
 believe that if these materials are supplied to pigs, and they eat 
 of them, the chances are that they may do some good. We have 
 found that pigs receiving corn alone are more likely to eat large 
 quantities of charcoal or slack coal than those that have a prop- 
 erly balanced ration, made up of corn and meatmeal tankage, or 
 corn and milk, and we have found that pigs that have been furn- 
 ished with corn and meatmeal tankage free-choice style during the 
 entire period of their lives in drylot eat very little charcoal in their 
 earlier stages of development, when they are on a heavy tankage 
 ration, consuming up to say % to % of a pound daily. But when 
 pigs reach 300 pounds or thereabouts, and are living practically 
 entirely on corn (maybe 1 percent would be meatmeal tankage), 
 then they begin to eat charcoal, eating more in one day than in 
 their whole previous lives, and not only one lot that we have ex- 
 perimented with but many have done this, thus indicating that 
 there is a newly-developed need, after hogs come down to prac- 
 tically entirely corn. 
 
 
 
 Some day we may know more about mineral mixtures, but to- 
 day we are in a transition state of knowledge concerning these 
 mixtures, and so long as things are uncertain in regard to them we 
 prefer not to give mixtures, but would emphasize the free-choice 
 
140 HOW TO E*EED YOUR HOGS 
 
 style in the feeding of the materials mentioned. We believe, how- 
 ever, that some mixtures are quite acceptable, mixtures, for in- 
 stance, such as bone meal 100 parts with common salt 50 parts, or 
 wood asLes and salt, and some others. 
 
 Corn Lacks in Fat Soluble A. This is secured in alfalfa, rape, 
 red clover, meatmeal tankage, milk and so on. Green feeds help 
 out wonderfully. Roots, such as carrots, are advantageous, because 
 a pound of carrots contains as much as % of a pound of this vita- 
 mine material of unknown chemical composition. In the main the 
 shortcomings mentioned are the only ones that may be charged up 
 against corn, but these are borne to a large degree also by barley, 
 wheat, rye, sorghum grains, emmer and potat f es ; hence when we 
 learn to balance corn we learn to balance these other feeds, which 
 are tho main feeds of pork production. Practically all of these 
 feeds mentioned as basal concentrates in pork production barley, 
 wheat, rye and so on may therefore be balance^, with the same 
 supplements that balance corn. These supplements are milk, tank- 
 age, alfalfa, clover, rape and so on. Corn is splendid for pregnant 
 sows, sucking pigs, boars, dry sows, maintenance hogs and others. 
 With the brood sows, of course, one must be careful, because they 
 are inclined to overfeed and that may interfere with the breeding 
 regime, more especially of extreme lard-type hogs. However, a mod- 
 erate amount of corn may always be fed with much psychological 
 profit, particularly economical profit, in the heart of the cornbelt. 
 
 Preparing Corn for Hogs. The question of the preparation of 
 corn needs a little discussion. Of all of our basal grains, however, 
 corn requires the least general all-around preparation. To get a 
 comprehensive idea as to the necessity of soaking shelled corn, or 
 grinding it into meal, or both grinding and soaking the grain, it is 
 well to give a little experimental evidence to bring home to the 
 swineman the fact that corn, generally speaking, does not need 
 much preparation. At the outset, however, we emphasize that ear 
 corn is the best all-around preparation, and that shelled corn runs 
 it a close second. We speak of ear corn as being a preparation- 
 because the husks are removed. Some young pigs weighing 50 
 pounds at the beginning and 140 pounds at the finish of a 140-day 
 feeding test had been run from weaning time in early summer to 
 late in November on grass, being fed four different preparations 
 dry ear corn, soaked shelled corn, dry ground corn and soaked 
 ground corn and they gave results as follows : 
 
 Preparation 
 
 Daily Grain 
 Eaten per Pig 
 
 Average 
 Daily Gain 
 
 Grain per 100 
 Pounds Gain 
 
 Dry ear 
 
 3 37 
 
 .74 
 
 456 
 
 Soaked shelled 
 Dry ground corn 
 
 3.24 
 3 60 
 
 .63 
 .61 
 
 513 
 595 
 
 Soaked ground corn 
 
 3.98 
 
 .72 
 
 555 
 
 Peculiarly enough, for these young, rapidly-growing weaning 
 pigs, dry ear corn was the best preparation, and not onlyNfrom the 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 
 
 141 
 
 standpoint of average daily gains made but also from the stand- 
 point of least grain required for 100 pounds of gain. If the corn 
 must be prepared rather than grind or grind it and soak it, it is 
 better simply to shell it and soak it. 
 
 What will happen with pigs of a little larger weight? Some 
 100-pound shotes were fed 140 days from early spring to the 
 middle of the summer. They had a final weight of about 290 
 pounds. Their ration was 92 percent corn grain and 8 percent 
 meatmeal tankage, this being allowed in drylot. The following 
 table shows that as igs grow older they get greater relative benefit 
 from the more elaborate preparations: 
 
 Preparation 
 
 Diily Grain 
 Eaten per Pig 
 
 Average 
 Daily Gain 
 
 Grain per 100 
 Pounds Gain 
 
 Dry ear 
 Soaked shelled 
 
 6.15 
 5 74 
 
 1.32 
 1 30 
 
 465 
 442 
 
 Dry ground corn * 
 
 5.60 
 
 1.21 
 
 463 
 
 Soaked ground corn 
 
 6.75 
 
 1.52 
 
 445 
 
 But here again we notice that if the corn is to be prepared soak- 
 ing is a fine way to prepare the shelled corn, although the results 
 are close in all instances. One can study these figures and suit him- 
 self as to best methods of procedure. 
 
 Let us figure out what happens to still larger hogs hogs 
 weighing about 200 pounds at the start and fed 84 days to a 
 final weight of about 360 pounds. The ration was corn grain 
 91 percent and meatmeal tankage 9 percent, fed in spring and 
 summer dry yards. The table showing the results of four different 
 corn preparations the same preparations fed to younger swine 
 above follows : 
 
 Preparation 
 
 Daily Grain 
 Eaten per Head 
 
 Average 
 Daily Gain 
 
 Grain per 100 
 Pounds Gain 
 
 Dry ear 
 
 8 14 
 
 1 74 
 
 468 
 
 Soaked shelled 
 Dry ground corn 
 
 8.65 
 8.99 
 
 1.92 
 1 99 
 
 449 
 452 
 
 Soaked ground corn 
 
 9.22 
 
 2.00 
 
 461 
 
 Now we notice that as swine get older, and heavier, and more 
 mature, the dry ear corn can be shelled and soaked to advantage, 
 and, further, that soaking and shelling are as advantageous, gen- 
 erally speaking, as was the grinding or grinding and soaking. 
 
 What happens to still more mature hogs, such as old sows weigh- 
 ing about 200 pounds and fed to a final weight of 335 pounds, on 
 the ratio of corn grain 93.3 percent and meatmeal tankage 6.7 per- 
 cent in fall dry yards for 59 days ? The answer follows : 
 
142 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Preparation 
 
 Daily Grain 
 Eaten per Head 
 
 Average 
 Daily Gain 
 
 Grain per 100 
 Pounds Gain 
 
 Dry ear 
 
 8 73 
 
 2 04 
 
 427 
 
 Soaked shelled 
 
 9 89 
 
 2 49 
 
 398 
 
 Dry ground coin. ... 
 
 9 65 
 
 2 40 
 
 401 
 
 Soaked ground corn 
 
 9 87 
 
 2 44 
 
 405 
 
 
 
 
 
 Again the figures show that preparation for older hogs is in 
 order, but that soaking shelled corn is equally if not more advan- 
 tageous than grinding, or grinding and soaking. 
 
 From the results given, therefore, we may rightfully conclude 
 that young pigs make relatively faster and more economical gains 
 on dry ear corn than they do on soaked shelled corn, or dry ground 
 corn, or soaked ground corn, and, furthermore, that as pigs grow 
 older, and heavier, the corn that is prepared makes a little more 
 rapid gains and requires a little less feed for 100 pounds of gain, 
 but in any case, drawing broad conclusions, soaketj shelled corn is 
 to be generally preferred to dry ground corn or soaked ground corn. 
 
 Indiana Results. A word as regards the results of Prof. F. G. 
 King of Indiana along the same line. He fed swine of different 
 weights and ages on three different corn preparations ear corn, 
 dry shelled corn and ground corn (just wet enough so it would not 
 be thrown out of the troughs by the pigs while eating). In all 
 instances the corn was balanced with a little wheat middlings or 
 wheat middlings and tankage. As we study the figures we conclude 
 without presenting them for consideration that shelled corn as com- 
 pared to ear corn for young pigs is about equally good, not only 
 as regards the gains made but the feed required for 100 pounds of 
 gain. There is little difference in these two. The older swine above 
 100 pounds show that ear corn is apparently a little better feed, 
 although the differences are relatively slight and within the limits 
 of experimental error. Ground corn, as compared to ear corn, is 
 just a little less efficient for real young pigs, although^ only slightly 
 so ; whereas for older swine ground corn comes into its own, becom- 
 ing more and more efficient as the hogs get older and heavier, in 
 that the gains are a little more rapid and the feed required for 100 
 pounds of gain is a little less. The results show a saving of some 
 17 pounds of feed for 100 pounds of gain where ground corn is 
 fed as compared to ear corn for pigs weighing 140 to 220 pounds 
 at the beginning of the feeding test. Roughly speaking, this would 
 mean a saving of about 4 percent in feed, which is hardly sufficient 
 to cover the cost of shelling, grinding and wetting when corn is low 
 in price. When corn is high in price it may do so. But the point 
 is that soaked shelled corn is as efficient as ground corn; hence 
 why grind? Why waste time? Why wear out a feed grinder for 
 this purpose? 
 
 Of course, if one has show stock, it is a case of doing anything 
 reasonable to stimulate the appetite, and a little ground corn is 
 useful in such a situation. We prefer usually to wet or soak the 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 143 
 
 feed that is ground in such cases. For sucking pigs we think a 
 little soaked shelled corn effectual in getting them started, this 
 being fed along with the dry. We also think that for suckling 
 sows the soaking of some of the shelled or ground corn is ad- 
 vantageous. 
 
 Corn and Cobmeal. Corn and cobmeal is a poor swine feed; 
 for young growing pigs it is a delusion and a disappointment, 
 being too fibrous and coarse. It actually requires more corn grain 
 to produce 100 pounds of gain on young, growing pigs when such 
 feed is fed than where dry ear corn as allowed or soaked shelled 
 corn or any other ordinary preparation. Soaking the corn and 
 cobmeal helps some, but even then it is unprofitable. About the 
 only place the swine show that corn cobmeal can be used with any 
 degree of satisfaction is with the brood sow that is being carried 
 through the winter, but even in that case corn and cobmeal has 
 little to recommend it as compared to ear corn or shelled corn. 
 To illustrate the point, experimental evidence is submitted. We 
 had four groups of yearling sows on four preparations. Lot 1 
 was fed ear corn ; Lot 2, corn and cobmeal ; Lot 3, shelled corn ; and 
 Lot 4, ground corn. They received in addition to 4 pounds of corn 
 grain per head daily (the cob was thrown in extra, over and above 
 grain in Lot 2) % of a pound each of meatmeal tankage, linseed 
 oilmeal and wheat middlings, together with as much salt as they 
 wished at free-will. The results tell an interesting story. Inas- 
 much as the feed was kept the same in all groups, so far as the 
 grain was concerned, the average daily gain per sow, compara- 
 tively speaking, tells a true tale. Lot 1 gained .65 pounds daily; 
 Lot 2, .66 ; Lot 3, .67 ; and Lot 4, .61, showing clearly that ear corn 
 was as good as the corn and cobmeal, or the shelled corn, but that 
 ground corn was the poorest of all. We don't know just how to 
 explain this, and hope to repeat the test, so far as the ground corn 
 is concerned, but feel certain that the corn and cobmeal will not 
 show up to any better advantage. 
 
 The salt consumption is interesting. More than four times as 
 much salt was eaten where corn and cobmeal was allowed as where 
 ground corn was fed, showing that the cob introduced into the 
 ration encouraged salt consumption, possibly because of the high 
 potassium content, but inasmuch as salt is cheap this makes little 
 difference. That all of these rations were splendid, and that any 
 of the preparations did not adversely affect the new-born pig to 
 any degree is shown by the average weight and vigor of the differ- 
 ent groups. The little pigs from the ear corn fed sows weighed 
 2.51 pounds each on an average; corn and cobmeal pigs, 2.48; 
 shelled corn pigs, 2.42; and ground corn pigs, 2.47. This is a 
 "toss-up," and we should consider all groups as having done 
 equally well. The average vigor was close to 90 percent perfect 
 in all cases. This goes to show that with a large amount of corn 
 in the ration, properly balanced, for brood sows, good, strong, husky 
 pigs can be produced, and we have found that when milk is used to 
 
144 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 i : 
 
 balance the corn ration, or meatmeal tankage, or alfalfa hay, either 
 ground or fed in a rack, or good green pastures of alfalfa, or red 
 clover, or rape, good, strong pigs can be produced, even though the 
 major portion of the ration is corn; and we have further found 
 that, as a general rule, we have not only got better, bigger, stronger, 
 more thickly-coated and more nicely-boned pigs where we have 
 properly supplemented the corn, but the pigs have cost less money 
 at farrowing time, particularly where we used meatmeal tankage, 
 or alfalfa hay, or milk, or any of the good pastures mentioned. 
 
 Corn and Other Feeds. Corn, as compared to other feeds is 
 more valuable per pound than barley or rye. Good, dry corn has 
 about the same value as ordinary feeding wheat, although any corn 
 in the fall that runs 30 per cent moisture does not compare favor- 
 ably with wheat, because it is low in the particular material that 
 does the real business in producing hog gains, namely, dry matter. 
 On the dry matter basis, good hard old corn running 10 per cent 
 water, which is considerably below the average, contains in every 
 100 pounds of corn, 90 pounds of dry matter. In the fall when new 
 corn comes on, particularly in a year when frosts come a little early, 
 30 percent corn is not at all unusual. Such corn contains 70 pounds 
 of dry matter in 100 pounds, or 20 pounds less than good, hard 
 corn. The comparative value is, therefore, primarily dependent 
 upon the comparative amount of dry matter present in each 100 
 pounds of these respective corns, or a comparison of 70. with 90. 
 In other words, it will take as many 100 pounds of this softer corn 
 to equal 100 pounds of good hard corn as 70 is contained into 90 or 
 128.57 pounds, or, comparing it on the other basis, 100 pounds of 
 30 percent moisture corn is equivalent in feeding value to 77.7 of 
 good hard corn. Of course, this comparison is on a dry matter 
 basis. We believe that in actual practice new corn dry matter is a 
 little more valuable, pound for pound, than old corn dry matter, 
 when both are fed in the natural state ; but if one will take the trou- 
 ble to soak the old corn, then there should be little difference. At 
 any rate, this difference on account of degree of hardness of the 
 grain is relatively small as compared to the big difference in values 
 for each 100 pounds based on the dry matter content. We give this 
 at some length to emphasize that when comparing other feeds with 
 corn it is quite essential to know what kind of corn one is talking 
 about. There is more difference between different corns of varying 
 moisture percentages. than there is for instance between good corn 
 and good wheat. It is similar to the old, old story of there being 
 more differences within certain breeds than there is between the 
 average of one particular breed and the average of some other breed. 
 
 Soft Corn. Soft corn varies much, depending on its moisture 
 content, and in determining its value it is well to take a sample to 
 a nearby elevator and have the moisture determined, and then com- 
 pare the different corns examined upon the basis of dry matter fur- 
 nished by 100 pounds of each, the dry matter being determined by 
 simply subtracting the moisture percentage from 100. For instance, 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 145 
 
 if corn runs 30 percent moisture, according to the elevator deter- 
 mination (which, by the way, is an oil method devised by the Gov- 
 ernment), the dry matter content will be 70 pounds in each 100 
 pounds (or 100 minus 30 which equals 70). Soft corn is especially 
 good for pigs. They relish it and do well on it, and it is surprising 
 how well hogs will handle soft corn, even though it is quite moldy 
 and of poor appearance. We must remember, however, that with 
 soft corn more tankage should be fed than with hard corn, possibly 
 because the germs are cut short in development. Our advice would 
 be that when soft corn is fed along with tankage it would be well 
 to secure some corn oil cake meal, which is really the corn germs, 
 with the oil mostly pressed out, and feed it in conjunction. In this 
 way tankage will be saved, and the pigs should make more rapid 
 gains. 
 
 Corn and Pork Prices. The great importance of corn has been 
 emphasized by the Food Administration. It realized that swine 
 production in America centers to a large extent around corn, in 
 truth to such an extent that a definite ratio exists between the price 
 of a bushel of No. 2 corn in Chicago compared with 100 pounds of 
 average hogs. This ratio for the ten years ending in 1916 was 11.67 
 or, more plainly speaking, as an average for those ten years, an 
 average 100 pounds of live hog, Chicago, would buy at the same 
 point 11.67 bushels of No. 2 corn. The commission appointed by 
 Herbert C. Hoover composed of seven members (the author was 
 chairman), determined that on the average it takes, under present 
 (1917) conditions, approximately the equivalent of 12 bushels of 
 No. 2 corn to produce 100 pounds of marketable swine on the aver- 
 age farm. This is not all corn, of course, but it is expressed in corn 
 equivalent; in other words, it might take 9 bushels of corn to do 
 the actual feeding, then the money secured for the other 3 bushels 
 would pay for the risk, interest, supplementary concentrates and 
 other feeds, pastures, depreciation, buildings and marketing. In 
 practice the man who secures 100 pounds of gain from 500 pounds 
 of grain, corn furnishing the major part or upwards of 80 percent, 
 is doing well. This figure includes the feed fed all hogs on the 
 farm, but it takes into consideration no losses except of pigs before 
 weaning time. It is possible to produce pigs from weaning time on 
 to 225 or 250 pounds with an outlay not to exceed 400 pounds of 
 feed for 100 pounds of gain, but this is one of the most efficient 
 periods in swine husbandry, because when we start at weaning time 
 we start with a pig that has a considerable number of charges 
 against him such as sow feed, boar feed, labor and so on, and 
 that is why weanling pigs sell for much more than the market price. 
 Hence it is unwise for anyone to show how profitable swine hus- 
 bandry is by using a feeding record which covers a period from 
 weaning time to marketable weight. Such a method is misleading 
 to the novice. 
 
 Barley. This is a fine feed for swine. It is especially used to 
 advantage in the western part of the country, and in some sections 
 
146 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS' 
 
 it is the main basal feed. Barley together with alfalfa makes an 
 especially good combination, although not so good as corn and 
 alfalfa. Barley ranks next to corn as an all-around basal feed. 
 Corn in the cornbelt outyields it, and that is an important consider- 
 ation. Barley is quite palatable and good for all classes of swine, 
 but it is a little too fibrous for taking hogs to a heavy finish. Swine 
 can be pretty well finished on barley, but not so well as on corn, and, 
 furthermore, it takes longer to finish them, hence the tendency in 
 the barley-producing countries is to produce hogs of relatively 
 lighter weights than in the cornbelt, and in some barley sections the 
 bacon type of swine is particularly favorable because of the fact 
 that necessarily good bacon hogs should go to market at around 175 
 to 200 pounds, and thus barley does not reach the period of its 
 handicap, the high finishing period from 200 up to 300 pounds. 
 Barley has practically the same deficiencies as corn, and the same 
 supplements may be used for it as have been recommended for corn. 
 Barley is healthful, relatively speaking, and produces an excellent 
 quality of pork. The fat is hard and white, and the quality of 
 bacon made from barley, particularly when it is combined with 
 milk, very good. The preparation of barley is more complex than 
 that of corn, because it must be ground or rolled, if best results are 
 to be secured ; in truth, it is not profitable to feed barley whole to 
 swine. In practically all cases it should be ground, and preferably 
 wet or better still soaked for 24 hours before feeding. The labor 
 and time spent in correct preparation of barley yield big returns. 
 In the matter of preparation corn grain has a big advantage over 
 barley, because labor and time are saved, inasmuch as the corn does 
 not have to be prepared, while barley does. 
 
 Barley is about 85 to 90 percent as valuable, pound for pound, 
 as good dry corn or wheat, though dry barley is more valuable than 
 30 percent moisture corn. Keep in mind in these comparisons that 
 we refer to a good No. 2 corn, containing not more than 14 percent 
 moisture. One pound of barley dry matter is hardly so good as 
 a pound of corn dry matter. 
 
 Wheat. Because of the great value of wheat for human con- 
 sumption in ordinary times it cannot be used to a large extent for 
 swine feeding purposes, except in a minor way. Of course there is 
 a great tendency even in war times to feed considerable wheat to 
 swine, but this is because wheat in many sections is really worth 
 less cents per 100 pounds than corn, and, hence is used when such 
 conditions prevail. Being used for human consumption, the price 
 of wheat usually puts it out of the reach of swine. The fact that 
 wheat is used in poultry feeding to good advantage also means that 
 swine have a stiff competitor. 
 
 People and poultry can outbid swine for products that are equal- 
 ly well-adapted to all three. As a result, wheat feeding with swine is 
 largely confined to the feeding of its by-products. Wheat is quite 
 palatable, praticularly when ground and soaked. It produces a 
 good quality of pork, the fat being firm and of good color. The 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 147 
 
 germs of wheat contain a toxic property and, other things being 
 equal, it militates against the use of wheat from a physiological 
 standpoint, but only to a minor degree, because there is so little 
 germ present in proportion to the total amount of wheat. Thorough 
 preparation should be given wheat. It should be ground and prob- 
 ably wet or better still soaked before feeding. In some grinding 
 experiments as much as 50 to 100 pounds of wheat has been saved 
 on each 100 pounds of gain by the grinding and wetting (or soak- 
 ing) process. Wheat is suitable for fattening, and will put on a 
 high finish. It is better than barley, although not so good as corn. 
 Wheat is adapted to all classes of swine. So far as supplements 
 are concerned, wheat has about the same deficiencies as corn or 
 barley, hence the same supplement may be used. If a little wheat 
 or barley or preferably both be mixed with corn, less meatmeal 
 tankage is required to balance the ration, although this difference 
 is not large. In other words, less tankage is required with a mixture 
 of corn, barley and wheat than with any one of them alone in order 
 to secure the best results. 
 
 In a senatorial inquiry (March, 1918,) carried on by the Com- 
 mittee on Agriculture and Forestry, of which Senator Gore of 
 Oklahoma is chairman, the statement was made, that 12 pounds of 
 wheat is equal to 20 pounds of corn grain. This is misleading, 
 and not in accord with the facts. Of course 12 pounds of good 
 kiln-dried wheat is equal in feeding 1 value to 20 pounds of real 
 soft corn that runs over 45 percent moisture, but average wheat 
 if compared to good No. 2 corn has no such high relative value as 
 the testimony indicates. Good average wheat is about equal in 
 feding value to good dry corn, pound for pound, but when it is 
 taken into consideration that the wheat must be prepared a part of 
 this relatively high comparative value of wheat is sacrificed. 
 
 Eye. Rye is a particularly good economic feed where the land 
 is poor, and it can be used to good general advantage in pork pro- 
 duction. It is ordinarily considered alongside of corn, wheat and 
 barley as a basal feed, but it is the poorest all-around feed of the 
 four. It is considered that rye must be ground and soaked in order 
 to be used to advantage, because of its hard, flinty kernels. If rye 
 is fed whole many of the kernels pass undigested, as in the case 
 of wheat or barley, hence the reduction and softening process is in 
 order. Rye is generally used as a partial ration to better advan- 
 tage than as the entire basal ration. In this case it may be used as 
 a partial basal concentrate. Rye sometimes contains ergot, which 
 is detrimental to swine, causing them to abort. Because of this 
 rye has received much really undeserved criticism, which criticism 
 should be charged up to the ergot, but unfortunately rye harbors 
 the ergot growth, and hence must take the consequences of the 
 ergot's unfavorable influence. Good clean rye, however, is fed to 
 advantage. It is generally presumed that large quantities of rye 
 are troublesome, tending to cause digestive disorders, but the evi- 
 dences of this are conflicting. The same supplements may be used 
 
148 
 
 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 with rye as with corn, wheat or barley. Rye is worth about 90 to 
 100 percent as much as corn, depending on relative methods of 
 feeding. The 100 percent figure is high, but figured as a partial 
 feed in the ration it does have a replacement value, pound for 
 pound, with corn. Eye products have not received the endorse- 
 ment in swine feeding that wheat products have ; rye middlings, for 
 instance, being much less popular than wheat middlings, and appar- 
 ently this is the right distinction to draw between the two. 
 
 Sorghums. These grains are especially good for swine pro- 
 duction, although not the equals of corn, barley, or wheat. In the 
 drier sections, as in western Kansas and Nebraska, some portions 
 of California and other locations not favored with abundant rain- 
 fall, these dry-land crops are of special economic value, in that they 
 furnish more feed per acre than corn or other grains, which, in 
 turn, means that a larger pork production per acre can be carried 
 on in those sections with these grains than without them. Hogmen 
 living in these localities can tie to these crops, knowing full well 
 that they have a value approximating that of corn. In truth, these 
 dry-land sorghum grains are similar to corn and are used in prac- 
 tically the same way. Alfalfa is especially a great balancer for 
 them in Kansas and Nebraska. Milk and tankage and similar feeds 
 that balance corn grain are used to great advantage in these sec- 
 tions. The dry-land feeds are not so palatable as corn, but on the 
 other hand they produce a good quality of pork. Preparation is 
 necessary. They should be ground and probably w r et or, better still, 
 soaked, in addition, in order to make them more palatable, and in 
 order to make every pound of feed more efficient. The returns from 
 grinding are sufficient to justify the statement that it should prac- 
 tically always be done, excepting in rare situations. 
 
 Prof. W. A. Cochel.and his co-workers at the Kansas station 
 have done considerable work on the dry-land and sorghum grains, 
 and recently there has been reported by Cunningham and Kenny 
 some of the work that Cochel and his co-workers have done. A 
 Kansas station test, which comprised five lots of ten pigs each, the 
 pigs being fed basal feeds as mentioned, shows up favorably for 
 corn, of course. In all cases the grains fed were supplemented with 
 2.3 pounds of wheat middlings and .4 of a pound of meatmeal tank- 
 age per pig daily. The basal feed, daily feed per pig, average daily 
 gain per pig and feed required for a 100 pounds of gain are given 
 in the subjoined table : 
 
 Basal Feed 
 
 Daily Feed 
 per Pig 
 
 Average 
 Daily Gain 
 per Pig 
 
 Feed Required 
 for 100 Pounds 
 Gain 
 
 Lot 1 Ground kafir 
 Lot 2 Ground milo 
 Lot 3 Ground feterita 
 
 4.9 
 4.9 
 4.9 
 
 .40 
 .43 
 1.36 
 
 534 
 523 
 549 
 
 Lot 4 Ground kaoliang 
 Lot 5 Ground coin 
 
 4.9 
 4 9 
 
 1.31 
 46 
 
 572 
 514 
 
 
 
 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 149 
 
 Note particularly that while corn is superior, in that it produces 
 greater daily gains and requires the least feed for 100 pounds of 
 gain, both ground kafir corn and ground milo maize and even f eter- 
 ita rank up closely. Some other tests in Kansas indicate that 
 ground kafir corn and milo show up favorably in comparison with 
 corn, but that sweet sorghum feed is, to quote the authors, "decid- 
 edly inferior to the other grains. " "The other grains," of course, 
 refers to ground corn, kafir corn and milo maize. In concluding 
 the dry-land grain topic, it is well to bear in. mind that the dry- 
 land sorghums are a god-send to the dry-land farming country in 
 our central western states, and that they are particularly valuable 
 as an adjunct feed in the alfalfa sections situated within or close to 
 the dry-land sorghum country. 
 
 Hominy Feed. Hominy is a by-product of corn grain manu- 
 facture. It is a residue remaining after the cornmeal or hominy 
 grits have been removed from the corn kernel. The mere fact that 
 hominy feed must be manufactured means getting a product that 
 runs relatively low in water, around 10 to 13 and once in a while 
 to 14 percent. Being a by-product of corn manufactured entirely 
 by a mechanical process, there being no solution made or chemical 
 changes inaugurated, it is an excellent substitute for corn grain. 
 There are two kinds of hominy feed one from which the fat has 
 been partially extracted, and the other in which it is left with the 
 germs. Hominy feed itself really comprises the bran, the germ and 
 the floury white starchy portions, the hard flinty parts of the ker- 
 nel being used for hominy grits or cornmeal. If the germs are fat 
 extracted, this means that when the germs are replaced there is 
 much less fat added to the hominy feed as it comes to the farm than 
 where the fat is not extracted, there being a difference of some 5 
 percent. In the circumstances then we should naturally believe 
 that the fat-extracted hominy feed is not so valuable as that in 
 which the fat remains, and we should make a difference of about 6 
 percent in relative values, basing our statement on the facts that 
 a pound of corn fat is worth about two and one-fourth times as 
 much as a pound of ordinary corn starches. But it is good general 
 American policy to extract the fat, inasmuch as it can be used for 
 human consumption, and the extraction of the oil from the germs 
 of corn should be encouraged. While it is true that the feed will 
 probably not be so good for swine, yet we swinemen who believe in 
 the swine business must have the patriotic viewpoint, and put Amer- 
 ica and its inhabitants first. 
 
 A Substitute for Corn. Hominy is a good substitute for corn, 
 and requires practically the same supplements, but we find in prac- 
 tice that it takes about 20 percent less tankage to balance 100 
 pounds of hominy feed than it does to balance the same amount of 
 corn. This is presumably due to the large concentration of the 
 germs in the hominy feed, the germs furnishing some of the spe- 
 cific nutritional supplements that are present in tankage. Twenty 
 pounds of hominy feed contains practically- the same amount of 
 
150 
 
 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 corn germs or embryos as 56 pounds of the original shelled corn. 
 The man who has been accustomed to corn feeding can feed hominy 
 feed to advantage, because he can go ahead and use it exactly as 
 he does corn, with the exception that less supplement is required. 
 We must not expect quite so rapid a gain, presumably, because of 
 the higher fibre content. As this book goes to press there appears 
 a Purdue Bulletin showing that recent Corn and Hominy feed 
 tests give results showing corn superior. 
 
 Experimental Results. Skinner and King of the Indiana sta- 
 tion and Eastwood of Ohio have found that their kind of hominy 
 feeds apparently are worth more than corn, pound for pound, but 
 in our Ames tests we have found continuously that good, dry corn 
 is more valuable, pound for pound, than hominy feed. Inasmuch 
 as the moisture contents are not given for the corn in the Ohio and 
 Indiana tests by monthly periods, it is hard to say just what quality 
 of corn the hominy feed was compared with. Our comparisons are 
 all made on the basis of 14 percent moisture corn grain. Ames 
 results secured by the author in conjunction with Dunn, pigs being 
 run from weaning time to the time when they weighed 245 pounds, 
 may be of interest. Two lots were fed. Lot 1 was given shelled 
 corn and 60 percent meatmeal tankage and salt in separate feeders ; 
 whereas Lot 2 was fed exactly the same except that instead of 
 shelled corn being allowed in one feeder, hominy feed replaced it. 
 The following table shows the results of carrying the pigs from 49 
 to 225 pounds weight, approximately : 
 
 I ot No. 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 Days 
 
 143 00 
 
 154 00 
 
 Average initial weight 
 
 48.78 
 
 48 72 
 
 Average final weight .... 
 
 224 82 
 
 224 27 
 
 Average daily gain 
 
 1 23 
 
 1 14 
 
 Average daily feed eaten: 
 Shelled corn 
 
 4 34 
 
 
 Hominy 
 
 
 4 53 
 
 Tankage 
 
 57 
 
 39 
 
 Total 
 
 4 91 
 
 4 92 
 
 Feed required for 100 pounds gain: 
 Shelled corn 
 
 352 81 
 
 
 Hominy . . . 
 
 
 397 27 
 
 Tankage 
 
 46 00 
 
 34 50 
 
 Salt 
 
 003 
 
 000 
 
 Total 
 
 398 81 
 
 431 77 
 
 Pasture acres 
 
 .0178 
 
 .0190 
 
 The results on this bluegrass pasture show clearly that more 
 rapid gains are made on shelled corn than on hominy feed, being 
 more than 8 percent more rapid. The total of feed eaten daily is 
 about the same, but the feed required for 100 pounds of gain shows 
 considerable difference, or approximately 11 percent more feed is 
 required with hominy feed than with corn. With hominy feed it 
 took eleven days longer to reach the same weight, the pigs gained 
 more than 8 percent less rapidly and required more than 11 per- 
 cent more feed for 100 pounds of gain than corn, but let us remem- 
 ber that the hominy feed saved tankage some 25 percent on each 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 151 
 
 100 pounds of gain made. Figuring the meatmeal tankage as equiv- 
 alent in economic value to 2 pounds of corn, and making an equa- 
 tion of it, 100 pounds of corn equals 105.71 pounds of hominy feed. 
 Note particularly that at the end of the feeding period the hominy 
 feed began to lose out in gains, showing that a little more fibre 
 content apparently tended to retard the gains, hominy feed having 
 the same objections in this respect as barley, only to a lesser degree. 
 
 A Test at Ames, Iowa. On rape pasture we fed pigs shelled 
 corn self -fed plus meatmeal tankage self -fed, plus salt self-fed dur- 
 ing the entire time from weaning time. about 45 pounds to 225 
 pounds in weight. Lot 2 received the same treatment except hominy 
 feed was given in place of corn to the end of the forage season, 
 and then the last week or two, just before the pigs reached 225 
 pounds, they were changed over to corn. On the corn and rape the 
 pigs took 132 days to get the desired weight, but on the hominy 
 feed 149 days. Here, again, we have a saving in time on corn. For 
 100 pounds of gain Lot 1 required of shelled corn 344.4 and meat- 
 meal tankage 37.2, a total of 381.6 pounds; whereas the hominy 
 feed-fed Lot 2 required 340.8 of hominy feed, 72.1 of shelled corn 
 and 32.9 of meatmeal tankage, a total of 445.8 pounds of feed. 
 Where hominy feed was fed it was not the equal of corn. It took 
 practically 12 percent more feed for 100 pounds of gain with hom- 
 iny feed than with corn, although less tankage was required than 
 usual in this case practically 12 percent less. By making an equa- 
 tion of these figures it is found that 100 pounds of hominy feed is 
 equal to 82.7 pounds of corn, this on the basis that 1 pound of tank- 
 age is considered equivalent to 2 pounds of corn; or, figuring it 
 differently, it took practically 121 pounds of hominy feed to equal 
 100 pounds of corn. Generally speaking, considering the experi- 
 ments in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa, one can feel that if he buys hom- 
 iny feed at a price less than that for corn, pound for pound, he is 
 not faring badly; but if he can buy hominy feed for 10 percent 
 less than corn he is doing well, and if he can buy it at 15 percent 
 less than corn it is a good buy. We must not forget that hominy 
 feed has some advantages, such as its being dry, and can be easily 
 stored. It also does not need to be ground. We are inclined to 
 think, however, that if hominy feed is wet or soaked it will give 
 somewhat better results than when fed dry but we do not have any 
 experimental evidence to back up this statement of belief. 
 
 Emmer or Speltz. This crop is not much used. It is grown 
 some in the Dakotas and in the northern sections of -the cornbelt. 
 Emmer is not so valuable as corn or barley. The varieties of emmer 
 that have the least hull are the most desirable. Emmer, in order to 
 give the best results, should be ground, and preferably wet, and 
 better still soaked. Presumably the same supplements may be used 
 for emmer or barley as with the ordinary basal grains. 
 
 Potatoes. Cull potatoes may sometimes be used to advan- 
 tage in swine production. Potatoes may be used as a substitute for 
 
152 HOW TO PEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 corn, but they need supplements. Meat and potatoes for humans 
 is comparable to meatmeal and potatoes for pigs. Both are good 
 combinations. The same supplements may be used as with corn. 
 Milk* works well with potatoes. Potatoes are a healthful feed, and 
 make a good quality of pork. Potatoes should be thoroughly cooked. 
 Raw potatoes are not relished, and are not digested as they should 
 be. Thorough cooking is necessary to break down the starch gran- 
 ules and the cell covering so as to make the starch more easily 
 accessible and thoroughly digestible. Cooked potatoes may be 
 considered a succulent feed for pigs, and used as such. The 
 cooking process increases their palatability. It takes from 375 
 to 450 pounds of potatoes when cooked to equal 100 pounds of 
 grain, like corn. To give the best results potatoes should be fed 
 with other feeds of a more highly concentrated character, particu- 
 larly those that contain less water, for best results, and cooked 
 potatoes, being a bulky feed from the standpoint of the water con- 
 tained, "should be fed liberally, probably three times a day or else 
 kept before the pigs almost continually, so that they can get enough 
 to satisfy. Potatoes are the most valuable, pound for pound, of any 
 of the roots from the standpoint of their ability to save grain. They 
 replace corn and similar grains in the pig's ration just as they re- 
 place bread in the human diet. 
 
 Peanuts. Whole peanuts are especially fine for pigs. In the 
 southern states they are used extensively. Peanuts are rich in fat 
 up to 45 and even 50 percent, and hence, though highly palatable 
 and much relished by pigs, produce a soft, oily pork, which is 
 docked 'from 50 cents to $2 per cwt., on the live market. The market- 
 able pigs that come from peanut sections are discriminated against 
 by packers, and such discrimination of course has a basis in fact. 
 Soft, oily pork in the packing houses is objectionable. The unfor- 
 tunate part about the whole situation is that even when pigs are fed 
 corn and milk in the peanut districts, when they go to market they 
 are discriminated against, because buyers have no way of telling 
 whether the pigs as judged on foot have been fed peanuts or not, 
 and, as a result, just because the pigs come from peanut sections 
 they are discredited along with their peanut-fed brothers and sis- 
 ters. Peanut meal, which remains as residue after the oil has been 
 extracted, when fed in the cornbelt alongside of corn, produces a 
 satisfactory pork product. The Iowa station has done some work 
 on this, and found that corn and peanut meal from which the fat 
 had been extracted, when fed with bluegrass, made, satisfactory 
 pork, not quite so satisfactory as corn and meatmeal tankage but 
 nevertheless salable and satisfactory. The oil is too valuable for 
 human consumption to feed to pigs as such. With harvested pea- 
 nuts it should be extracted, but where hogs do the harvesting then 
 economic considerations, as regards labor saved, enter into the situ- 
 ation, and make it profitable for the whole peanuts to be fed to hogs 
 as the hogs do their own gathering and harvesting. Hence in cer- 
 tain sections of the south the unharvested whole peanut kernels are 
 fed in the shell to pigs. 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 
 
 153 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDS 
 
 Skimmilk. Of all the supplementary feeds the milks rank 
 supreme. Whole milk is better than others, but in common practice 
 we can hardly afford to feed whole milk worth $3 per cwt. with but- 
 terfat in it worth 50 cents a pound. Better separate the butterfat 
 and sell it as such, and purchase feeds that will take the place of it. 
 Hence the reason why we depend on skimmilk and buttermilk when 
 we talk about milk products. Milk is primarily produced for 
 young growing animals. It is splendH for them. It carries all 
 of the essentials of nutrition and is particularly valuable in supple- 
 menting corn. We have done considerable experimental work with 
 milk, and often find that a little milk works wonders in the ration. 
 To illustrate : In one test we self -fed for 100 days two bunches of 
 pigs of an initial weight of about 42 pounds. One bunch received 
 buttermilk (which is the equivalent in feeding value of skimmilk) 
 at the rate of 1 quart per head daily, while the other group was fed 
 identically except that no buttermilk was allowed. The following 
 table shows the results secured : 
 
 BUTTERMILK HAS HIGH VALUE WHEN FED IN LIMITED QUANTITIES. FIVE 
 WEANLING PIGS IN A LOT FED 100 DAYS IN DRY LOT.** 
 
 Ration 
 
 Shelled Corn. S. F. 
 Wheat Middlings, 
 S. F. 
 Meatmeal Tankage, 
 S. F. 
 
 Shelled Corn, S. F. 
 Wheat Middlings, 
 S. F. 
 Meatmeal Tankage, 
 S. F. 
 Buttermilk, not 
 quite a quart per 
 pig once daily. 
 
 Initial weight per pig . 
 
 42 
 
 42 
 
 Final weight per pig 
 
 155 
 
 160 
 
 Average dailv gain 
 
 1.13 
 
 1.18 
 
 Average daily feed eaten: 
 Shelled corn . 
 
 3.40 
 
 3.54 
 
 Wheat middlings 
 
 61 
 
 .44 
 
 Tankage, meatmeal 
 
 Buttermilk 
 
 .62 
 
 None 
 
 .43 
 1.84 
 
 Feed required for 100 pounds gain: 
 Shelled corn ... .... 
 
 299.9 
 
 299.70 
 
 
 53 5 
 
 37 
 
 Tankage, meatmeal 
 
 54.6 
 
 36.0 
 
 Buttermilk 
 
 None 
 
 155.80 
 
 
 
 
 *With the collaboration of Dunn, Scott and others. 
 
 *Pigs had access to bone ash, charcoal and rock salt, but ate very little; hence are not charged 
 in this computation. 
 
 The addition of a quart of buttermilk per head daily increased 
 the gains, and decreased the grains, and decreased the meatmeal 
 tankage and dry feed consumption because it supplied the elements 
 which are added to the ration by these two feeds. The buttermilk 
 also resulted in producing 100 pounds of grain with less dry mat- 
 ter. Briefly stated, 155.8 pounds of buttermilk required for 100 
 pounds of grain as compared to the buttermilk group saved 18.6 
 pounds of meatmeal tankage, plus 16.5 pounds of wheat middlings 
 plus .2 of a pound of corn or 100 pounds of buttermilk saved 11.9 
 pounds of meatmeal tankage plus 10.6 pounds of wheat middlings 
 plus .1 of a pound of corn. Valuing meatmeal tankage at 5 cents a 
 pound or $100 a ton, which is reasonable under present conditions, 
 
154 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 the wheat middlings at 3 cents a pound and the corn at 3 cents a 
 pound, the value of 100 pounds of buttermilk is equivalent to 91.7 
 cents when fed in this limited quantity. - 
 
 Skimmilk or buttermilk is particularly fine for suckling sows 
 and more especially for young pigs that are following. Next in 
 order it is good for the pigs at weaning time. The younger the pig 
 and the more rapidly growing the more valuable, realtively, are the 
 milk products. They are all-around supplements, and may be used 
 to advantage in producing animals for show purposes or for the 
 feeding of pregnant sows or breeding boars. The milk products are 
 excellent in convalescence of pigs and have helped in saving many 
 a pig. 
 
 We have found in most of our tests that 100 pounds of skimmilk 
 or buttermilk is equal in value to 6 pounds of corn plus 6 pounds 
 of meatmeal tankage, when fed in quantities of from 2 to 10 pounds 
 per head daily. This was determined in this way: One group of 
 pigs was self -fed corn and tankage, free-choice style ; another group 
 was fed the same with the exception that from 2 to 10 pounds of 
 buttermilk was fed daily per head. Receiving the buttermilk, they 
 held up on the tankage ration, and also saved some on corn for every 
 100 pounds of gain ; so that when we figured the value of the butter- 
 milk we found that 100 pounds of buttermilk or of skimmilk, which- 
 ever it might be, saved 6 pounds of corn, in addition to 6 pounds 
 of tankage. With suckling sows and their pigs following, we have 
 found that it has a higher replacement value than this, running up 
 to 10 pounds of each ; and in the case of heavier and more mature 
 swine, not so badly in need of milk as the young growing pig or 
 the suckling sow, the value has been somewhat less than 6, running 
 down to say 5 of each. On the basis of per pound of dry matter 
 no feed is so valuable as is milk, particularly whole milk. 
 
 Buttermilk. Buttermilk may be considered as the practical 
 equal of skimmilk, analyzing about the same. Buttermilk may be 
 fed exactly the same as skimmilk. We believe, however, that both 
 should come from tested cows (cows that do not have tuberculosis) 
 or from creameries that pasturize milk, or else it should be thor- 
 oughly heated before feeding in order to prevent disease being 
 transmitted to the swine herd. All of our milk products should be 
 carefully handled, so far as disease is concerned. We have done 
 some work wherein we fed grain with buttermilk versus no butter- 
 milk, in which case the buttermilk was fed in very large quantities, 
 practically all the pigs would eat. The pigs were started at about 
 56 pounds in weight. Group 1 received shelled corn self -fed plus 60 
 percent protein meatmeal tankage self-fed, plus wheat middlings 
 self-fed, plus rock salt self -fed, all feeds being allowed free-choice 
 style ; Group 2 exactly the same, excepting that buttermilk, in addi- 
 tion to the other feeds, was kept continually before them. The 
 following table shows approximately the number of days and the 
 feed required to reach approximately 300 pounds in weight : 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 
 BUTTERMILK VERSUS NO BUTTERMILK 
 
 155 
 
 Record Heading 
 
 Group I 
 
 Group II 
 
 Final weight 
 
 296 
 
 299 
 
 Number of days . 
 
 218 
 
 156 
 
 Average daily feed eaten: 
 Shelled corn 
 
 4.871bs. 
 
 2.27Ibo. 
 
 Mtatmeal tankage 
 
 .37 
 34 
 
 .14 
 22 
 
 Buttermilk . . . . 
 
 
 32.16 
 
 Rock salt 
 
 00 + 
 
 00 + 
 
 Average daily gain per pig 
 
 1.10 
 
 1.54 
 
 Feed reouired for 100 pounds of gain: 
 Shelled corn 
 Meatmeal tankage 
 Wheat middlings 
 Buttermilk 
 Rock Salt 
 
 441 
 33 
 31 
 
 '".4 
 
 148 
 9 
 14 
 2091 
 .1 
 
 The buttermilk pigs made the most rapid gains, and 100 pounds 
 of it saved 14.09 pounds of corn, 1.17 pounds of meatmeal tankage, 
 .81 pounds of wheat middlings and .01 of a pound of salt, a total 
 of 16.07 pounds of concentrates, saved by approximately 9 to 10 
 pounds of dry matter in 100 pounds of buttermilk. This re-empha- 
 sizes the high value of milk dry matter. Tie to the milks, remem- 
 bering always that they are splendid feeds, and that in case of doubt 
 as to which supplement to use, if you can possibly secure milk then 
 you should do so providing of course that it can be obtained 
 economically. Physiologically it is 0. K. 
 
 There are some milk products now on the market for swine feed- 
 ing. One is semi-solid buttermilk. It can be compared to ordinary 
 skimmilk on the basis of its dry matter content. If it runs 50 
 pounds of dry matter to the 100 then it is about five times as valu- 
 able as ordinary skimmilk or even a little better than that, because 
 ordinary skimmilk runs around 9% pounds of dry matter to the 
 100, the same with buttermilk. Buttermilk powder will run 90 per- 
 cent dry matter, hence it is nine or ten times as valuable on that 
 basis. We must, however, remember that it has a value because it 
 is dry, and it can be stored and used when needed which, in many 
 situations, makes it more acceptable. The use of buttermilk pow- 
 ders or semi-solid buttermilk for "going round the show circuit" is 
 to be commended as a natural milk substitute. 
 
 We should beware, however, of certain milk products that are 
 foisted on the public by the wonderfully extravagant claims made 
 for them. There is one milk product, for instance, advertised to be 
 mechanically reinforced to the extent that if one gallon of it is 
 mixed with 50 gallons of water you have a product that is equal in 
 feeding value*to ordinary skimmilk. Wonder of wonders! Here 
 is a new panacea for the skimmilk scarcity. It sounds like the 
 promising story of the Garden of Eden, and I take it that those who 
 believe it will gain as much sorrow from their belief as did Adam 
 and Eve from their " forbidden fruit." On the face of this claim, 
 assuming that the chemically reinforced and highly-advertised milk 
 product is entirely dry matter, which is impossible, when you mix 
 
156 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 50 gallons of water with a gallon of it there cannot possibly be more 
 than 2 or 3 pounds dry matter in every 100 pounds of the mixture. 
 On this basis the final mixture would be worth about, let us say, 
 not more than one-fourth to a third as much as good skimmilk. 
 
 Meatmeal Tankage. A splendid feed this that has made good 
 in practice. It has been recently developed in our great pig indus- 
 try and won its way into the swine pens of America because of its 
 high merit. There are many grades of meatmeal tankage, but, 
 roughly speaking, they may be divided into 60 percent protein 
 grade and the 40 percent protein grade. Of all the available sup- 
 plements to corn meatmeal tankage (sometimes called meatmeal, 
 sometimes called tankage) ranks alongside of skimmilk, buttermilk, 
 dried milk powders and alfalfa pasture, which are physiologically 
 efficient. Swine relish tankage very much; it is highly palatable. 
 Tankage, in some packing houses, is a by-product of the lard and 
 other grease tanks, the basal tankage in these vats being removed 
 and dried and mixed with evaporated liquid residues from all parts 
 of the plant, which residues are somewhat similar to meat extracts. 
 Sometimes blood is added, so that in the end you have a high- 
 quality 60 percent protein meatmeal tankage, running as much as 
 15 percent mineral elements, a large proportion of which is bone 
 phosphate. The high heating that the tankage is subjected to pre- 
 cludes the possibility of its being contaminated with disease-pro- 
 ducing germs, as it comes from the vats ; hence there is little danger 
 of tankage carrying cholera or other diseases when made by high- 
 class concerns. 
 
 Tankage is especially valuable because it contains very little 
 carbohydrates, for carbohydrates should be supplied by our natural 
 farm grains. This is an indirect reason for its goodness. True, 
 it is splendid because it runs high in protein of good quality, and 
 let us put emphasis on the quality. Pound for pound there is no 
 other supplement that balances corn to better advantage, and al- 
 though bloodmeal runs high in protein, yet pound for pound when 
 fed as the lone supplement to corn it is not so valuable as tank- 
 age; dried buttermilk is not so valuable, nor is dried skimmilk 
 powder, pound for pound, because it does not run high enough 
 in protein. We are speaking now on the dry matter basis. 
 Everything considered, of course, dried buttermilk powder plus 
 corn would produce gains with less outlay of dry matter than 
 would corn and tankage, but the point is that a pound of meatmeal 
 tankage containing 60 percent protein will go further, in that it 
 would balance a greater quantity of corn than will a pound of 
 buttermilk powder. 
 
 Tankage is splendid because it promotes a healthy laxative condi- 
 tion, particularly when fed with corn. It is fine because it contains 
 vitamines, particularly fat soluble, necessary for growth and devel- 
 opment, although we have a suspicion that it does not contain as 
 much of this vital element as it should. Tankage is much 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 157 
 
 relished by pigs of all ages and classes. We feed it at our experiment 
 station with good results to pregnant sows, little pigs, suckling 
 sows and fattening hogs. We feed it from the time of impregnation 
 to the time of marketing, going through the entire gamut of swine 
 production. The fact that meatmeal tankage has gone up in war 
 times to $110 and $115 a ton is evidence of the high favor in which 
 it is held by the feeding fraternity. 
 
 Fishmeal. This is a product which is coming more and more 
 into use, and it will give good results in swine husbandry. Being 
 a fish product it is similar of course in nutrition 'to meatmeal tank- 
 age, although it has the objection of having a peculiar flavor. 
 Swinemen can make use of it, feeding it about the same as meat- 
 meal tankage. The better grades of fishmeal should meet an en- 
 couraging market in the grain-producing sections. 
 
 Linseed Oilmeal. This is a standard swine feed, and used as a 
 partial ration is all right. It produces a creamy slop, and helps 
 out considerably in producing good coats on pigs. It even affects 
 the new-born pig through the pregnant sow, as some of our exper- 
 iments show. Linseed oilmeal should not be used as a lone sup- 
 plement to corn in a drylot, nor to barley, nor wheat, nor rye. It 
 works very well on pasture, however, as alfalfa, rape or clover, 
 when fed in conjunction with corn. Mixed with meatmeal tankage 
 or with milk, it makes a splendid all around supplement. Linseed 
 oilmeal mixed with middlings is not very satisfactory, and in some 
 cases we have had abortions from such a mixture, due presumably 
 to nutritional deficiencies. Add tankage to the mixture and the 
 evil is apparently offset. Oilmeal has for years been accused of caus- 
 ing abortion in swine. There is no question in my mind but that it 
 does, if fed injudiciously as a lone supplement to corn, for instance, 
 or possibly to any other grain. Where it is fed in conjunction with 
 alfalfa, rape, red clover pasture, alfalfa hay, or meatmeal tankage 
 or milk, we believe that the abortion troubles would be limited to 
 a minimum, and thus oilmeal would tend to come into its own 
 more effectively. Avoid a heavy, sudden feed of oilmeal, partic- 
 ularly with pregnant sows. Oilmeal added to corn and other grain 
 rations is instrumental in producing a good quality bf quite firm 
 fat. In limited quantities it is relished by swine, particularly when 
 mixed with other feeds, but when fed alone it is not very palatable. 
 When allowed in a self-feeder alongside of tankage, for instance, 
 pigs will eat about a pound or two of oilmeal along with 3, 4 
 or 5 pounds of tankage. Ordinarily they eat from one-third to 
 one-fifth as much oilmeal as of meatmeal tankage, both being 
 allowed when corn is used as the basal feed. It is not fair in 
 feeding tests to compare oilmeal and corn to tankage and corn. 
 This shows oilmeal up to a serious disadvantage, because the oil- 
 meal and corn ration has certain deficiencies which milk, tankage 
 and pasture overcome. It is much fairer to show what oilmeal 
 will do when added to a corn and tankage ration or to a corn 
 and alfalfa ration, especially when the corn and oilmeal and 
 
158 ~ HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 alfalfa are checked against corn and tankage and alfalfa. At 
 ordinary prices, oilmeal is a very good "buy," providing of course 
 that it is used wisely in combination with such supplements as 
 milk, tankage, the good leguminous pastures, and similar feeds. 
 
 Bloodmeal. This is a packing house dry product, being the 
 dry blood from mixed animal sources, mostly ox. It runs 85 percent 
 in protein higher in protein than any of our supplements, but 
 it is too low in mineral matter. The addition of steamed bonemeal 
 to a bloodmeal ration when fed with corn or similar basal feeds 
 helps, as some of our tests show. We believe that bloodmeal fed 
 on alfalfa or rape pasture in conjunction with milk will give very 
 good results, and we would encourage its partial use in these 
 respects, particularly when the prices of tankage and bloodmeal 
 are so close together, as for instance when tankage sells at $100 
 a ton and bloodmeal at $125. As a lone supplement to corn or 
 similar feeds, bloodmeal does not work nearly as well as meatmeal 
 tankage, but fed in conjunction with meatmeal tankage it works 
 splendidly. Packers are therefore putting out tankages containing 
 considerable blood in their make-up. Some day we are going to 
 know how to use. bloodmeal to a better advantage than we do now. 
 The addition of bloodmeal to tankage in the packing houses is to be 
 encouraged, so long as they keep the mixture on an efficient basis, 
 inasmuch as it will produce a larger output for the general swine 
 feeding industry. So far the supply of meatmeal tankage has been 
 too low for the best interests of all concerned. Bloodmeal is good 
 for scours. 
 
 The more meat and milk products we can add to the swine 
 ration within reasonable limits, and at certain prices, the better off 
 will our industry be, particularly when it is on the present corn and 
 other similar grain "balance basis" and where the natural grain 
 feeds of the farm are fed in large quantities. 
 
 Soy Bean Meal. This is similar to oil meal. It should not be 
 used as a lone supplement to feed to hogs which are quite immature. 
 Bean proteins do not balance corn proteins satisfactorily, unless they 
 are helped out apparently with such feeds as a little milk or a little 
 alfalfa pasture or a little tankage or some similar feed. Rape is fine. 
 More and more soy beans are going to be grown in the future 
 because they are a profitable crop, particularly where they grow 
 well and yield 25 or more bushels to the acre. They make a good 
 concentrated swine feed as they do a good cattle feed. In cattle 
 feeding they have been found to be equal to about the value of cot- 
 ton seed meal. Our advice to those men who can grow soy beans 
 so they yield upwards of 25 bushels to the acre is to study the plant, 
 and figure on introducing it into their farm systems. But we 
 cannot pass to the next feed without re-emphasizing that the soy 
 bean has many serious limitations as does oilmeal, but that fed 
 in its right place it is a valuable adjunct as a supplement in swine 
 feeding. 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 159 
 
 Peanut Meal. Generally speaking, peanut meal is a splendid 
 feed and we would emphasize that for swine production it be as low 
 in fibre as possible ; in other words, that peanut meals that contain a 
 minimum of hull be used. We prefer the peanut meal that runs 
 upwards of 38 percent protein and less than 15 percent fibre; in 
 truth, we would like to have it with much less fibre than that if we 
 could get it. Good peanut meal is described as containing not less 
 than 48 percent protein, nor more than 9 percent crude fibre. It is 
 merely a question of the difference in the amount of hulls and vines 
 present. Peanut shells have practically no feeding value because 
 it takes as much energy to digest and absorb them as is present in 
 their make-up. A test with a peanutmeal that ran a little less than 
 40 percent protein at the Iowa station recently showed that, as 
 compared to corn and tankage, peanut meal in this case being fed 
 with corn, all feeds being fed free-choice style, the daily gains were 
 slightly less or 1.33 as compared to 1.41 pounds. These rations 
 were fed on bluegrass pasture. Figuring the peanutmeal against 
 the corn and tankage we find that 100 pounds of it saved 48 
 pounds of corn and 45 pounds of tankage, a total of 93 pounds of 
 feed. If the corn is worth 3 cents a pound or $1.68 a bushel and 
 the tankage 5 cents a pound in this test, the peanut meal had a 
 value of $3.69 per 100 pounds, which is a rather high value and 
 perhaps more thai! it is worth. It does show, however, that it can 
 be used to advantage in swine husbandry. We have before indi- 
 cated that peanut meal which has the oil pressed out produces a 
 satisfactory fat pork, and this is of great moment. However, the 
 raw peanuts with their high percentage (as high as 40 percent 
 sometimes) of fat or oil produce a very oily and undesirable fat 
 pork known as "oily or soft" pork. Peanut meal clearly excels 
 linseed oilmeal when used as a lone supplement to corn on blue- 
 grass pasture, but then in this case if a little tankage had been 
 added to both the rations, the one containing linseed oilmeal and 
 the one containing peanut meal along with corn, or even a little 
 milk, we think much better actual as well as more favorable com- 
 parative results would have been secured. Generally speaking, we 
 find that with every 100 pounds of corn pigs eat from two and one- 
 half to three times as much peanut meal in proportion as they do 
 of meatmeal tankage. A happy mixture of the two should work 
 well in practice. 
 
 Oats. Oats are too fibrous to be used to marked advantage. 
 There is a big difference in the amount of hull present in oats of the 
 different varities and grown under different conditions. Northern 
 oats are best because they are more plump, and weigh heavier to 
 the bushel. One should always prefer the heaviest oats for swine 
 production. Hull-less oatmeal or hull-less oats are much more 
 valuable, pound for pound, than whole oats. For very young, 
 growing pigs some prefer to take the hulls from the oats, and 
 this is good practice. Oats are not very palatable for pigs 
 when fed in large quantities. Oats must be ground and pref- 
 
160 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 erably soaked in order to get the most good out of them, and then 
 when they are soaked and the hulks come to the top they can be 
 skimmed off and fed to dry cows or horses. Grinding pays big 
 returns if oats are to be fed. As a fattening ration oats are a dis- 
 appointment. They are not so valuable as corn, being for fatten- 
 ing from 60 to 80 percent as good; hence it can readily be seen 
 that oats can seldom be used as a finishing substitute for corn. 
 Oats are much better for horses and calves than for pigs. In lim- 
 ited quantity they can be fed to brood sows particularly. They can 
 be scattered about so as to induce exercise, but if allowed at the 
 rate of more than 1 pound daily the practice of feeding ordinary 
 oats is somewhat wasteful, particularly when corn can be bought, 
 .pound for pound, at the same price or even at a 10 percent greater 
 price. With our broodsows we have found that oats only added to 
 a corn ration caused the litters to come weak, as when corn alone 
 is fed, and the sows did not do well. When fed along with a little 
 tankage and the major portion of the ration made up of corn it 
 was a splendid feed. It must be fed in limited quantities and pre- 
 sumably ground, although in practice whole oats are splendid 
 when scattered about in the feedlots to induce exercise. It has an 
 indirect advantage in this respect. Oats and tankage fed without 
 any other feeds excepting salt have been disappointing to us for 
 brood sows. This ration has not produced good, strong litters. 
 
 Hull-less Oatmeal. This is a good feed. It is surprising what 
 a difference it makes to take the hulls off oats and leave a by-pro- 
 duct such as this. We compared hull-less oatmeal and tankage 
 with corn and tankage and found that about 110 pounds of oat- 
 meal were required to equal 100 pounds of corn on bluegrass pas- 
 ture. The gains were a little slower, but the pigs did well. We 
 think it best, however, fed as a partial feed in conjunction with 
 corn and tankage or. corn and milk. On rape pasture where we 
 made the same comparisons we found that hull-less oatmeal had 
 a value a little higher than corn, pound for pound. Thus it made 
 a splendid showing, and rape made the difference. It is surpris- 
 ing to know just what a big difference the addition of one feed to 
 a ration will make. It emphasizes how little we really know about 
 the actions and reactions of specific feeds. At present oatmeal 
 cannot be bought from the cereal manufacturers because it is be- 
 ing converted into human food. 
 
 Wheat Middlings. This is a very good feed. It is hardly 
 worth while to discuss it because its value is known by practically 
 everyone. Used as a part of the ration it is splendid. We prefer 
 the floury sorts of middlings to those that have considerable bran 
 in them. In truth, the more bran there is in them the less palatable 
 they are, and the less efficient, pound for pound. As a substitute 
 for corn wheat middlings are a disappointment. We have found 
 in some of our tests where we compared, for instance, wheat mid- 
 dlings and tankage with corn and tankage on bluegrass pasture, 
 that it took 159 pounds of standard wheat middlings to equal 100 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 161 
 
 pounds of corn, and in carrying the pigs from weaning time to 
 225 pounds in weight it took 225 days on wheat middlings ; whereas 
 on corn it took 143 days where tankage was fed in addition. The 
 wheat middlings group did very well in the early part of the feed- 
 ing period, but when the pigs reached a weight of about 160 pounds 
 they began to do poorly, from the fattening standpoint, presum- 
 ably because of the fibrous content of the middlings. They simply 
 could not keep up with the corn and tankage-fed pigs. Middlings 
 are palatable to all classes of swine and are particularly good for 
 the boar and brood sow when fed in conjunction with meat prod- 
 ucts, milk products, or good pastures. 
 
 Wheat Bran. This is a bulky, fibrous feed, more adaptable 
 to the dairy cow than to swine in general, although the brood sow 
 can use some to advantage sometimes. Wheat bran is good in 
 overcoming constipation, and, generally speaking, is a better medi- 
 cine than feed for swine. There are so many feeds that are better 
 for young, growing pigs than bran that we would discourage the 
 use of the wheat bran, excepting as a medicine. 
 
 Cottonseed Meal. This swine feed is used to considerable 
 advantage in the south, but not very much in the northern sec- 
 tions. If it comprises much of the ration for any considerable 
 time, pigs are liable to be lost from its use. So far it has not been 
 demonstrated with swine that the poisonous effects of cottonseed- 
 meal can be obviated in any major quantity for any considerable 
 period of time, soaking, cooking and other remedies having been 
 tried. Iron sulphate mixed with cottonseedmeal is said to be of 
 value, but some cast a question on its efficacy. Anyhow, cotton- 
 seedmeal has not made much of an inroad into the corn-balancing 
 competition with our substantial supplementary feeds for swine 
 production, although it is used largely in the feeding of cattle. We 
 recommend to those who would use cottonseed meal that they alter- 
 nate it in the ration, feeding it for say two weeks and then discon- 
 tinuing it for say two weeks, alternating with meatmeal tankage or 
 milk or linseed oilmeal. 
 
 Cull Beans. Beans are good for pork production, but had best 
 be cooked. They should also be fed as a partial ration. In prac- 
 tice considerable baking soda mixed with beans in cooking is said 
 to be of much advantage. Ordinarily culled beans can be bought 
 in the northeastern section of America to good advantage, but in 
 the cornbelt it is seldom that we see them. 
 
 Gluten Feed. This feed has been disappointing in its results 
 with swine. It is a much better cattle and sheep feed. Swine 
 do not relish it when fed alone, although when mixed with milk they 
 take to it. As a lone supplement to corn it is inefficient and should 
 not be used in drylot in that manner. It is quite fibrous; in fact, 
 almost too much so for ideal fattening purposes. Our best results 
 have been secured with gluten feed when it has been mixed with 
 tankage, half and half, and allowed on rape pasture. In this case 
 
162 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 it was worth the money (1917) when fed in conjunction with corn 
 We tried it as a complete substitute for corn on rape, but the 
 results were unsatisfactory. In drylot we fed gluten feed mixed 
 with tankage, half and half, in conjunction with corn, both being 
 allowed free-choice style. On corn and tankage it took 136 days 
 to take fall pigs from 52 to 250 pounds, requiring 360 pounds of 
 com plus 35 pounds of tankage, a total of 396 pounds of feed. 
 Where the tankage was mixed with gluten feed, half and half, it 
 took 150 days or two weeks longer, and the feed requirement was 
 350 pounds of corn plus 40 pounds of gluten feed plus 40 pounds 
 of meatmeal tankage a total of 430 pounds. In this instance the 
 40 pounds of gluten feed saved 10 pounds of corn, but lost 4 pounds 
 of tankage, in addition to its taking more time in feeding. This is 
 interesting testimony, but we hope to show some day just how glu- 
 ten feed can be used to better advantage than we have been able 
 to demonstrate so far. With cattle and sheep we have found that 
 it works well in certain situations. Feeders have not been slow to 
 appreciate that corn gluten feed is all right when put in its right 
 place. 
 
 Corn Oil Cakemeal. Corn oil cakemeal is a much different 
 feed from corn gluten feed because it comprises the germs of the 
 corn with the oil pressed out. Gluten feed, on the other hand, is 
 really the bran plus the flinty portions of the kernel plus the so- 
 called corn solubles, these being secured from the big tanks in 
 which the corn is previously soaked to soften it. The solution taken 
 from the tanks is really a sulphurous acid solution, the sulphur 
 having been burned and the resultant fumes therefrom run into the 
 water solution in order to make the sulphurous acid, which acid 
 prevents fermentation, and thus allows the corn to soften without 
 spoiling. It is then ready for the manufacturing process, degerm- 
 inating and crushing. This preliminary soaking solution is evap- 
 orated down, and then added to the bran and flinty portions of the 
 corn kernel to make the gluten feed. Strictly speaking, corn gluten 
 feed does not contain any of the germs, although some concerns 
 are said to include them. This germ inclusion should be helpful. 
 Corn oil cake meal has nutritious properties differing from gluten 
 feed, and we have found that it is especially valuable in saving 
 meatmeal tankage when added to a corn and meatmeal tankage 
 ration. A number of our Iowa station tests show clearly that 100 
 pounds of corn oilcakemeal added to a corn and meatmeal tankage 
 ration on timothy pasture has been instrumental in saving 80 
 pounds of corn and 40 pounds of tankage, a total of 120 pounds 
 of feed. The following figures gathered by the author, in conjunc- 
 tion with Dunn, covering this point are of interest: 
 
 Corn Oil Cake as a Partial Tankage Substitute 
 
 Six 50-Pound Weanling Pigs to Each Group 110 Days June 15 
 
 to Oct. 3, 1917 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 
 
 163 
 
 
 
 Feed Required for a Hundred Pounds Gain: 
 
 Th<* 
 
 Average 
 Group 
 
 Average 
 Final Weight 
 Per Pig 
 
 Daily 
 Gain 
 
 Shelled 
 Corn 
 
 Meatmeal 
 Tankage 
 
 Corn Oil 
 Cake Meal 
 
 Total 
 
 I 
 
 170 
 
 1.11 
 
 347 
 
 45 
 
 None 
 
 392 
 
 II 
 
 183 
 
 1.22 
 
 303 
 
 19 
 
 58 
 
 380 
 
 III 
 
 201 
 
 1.38 
 
 325 
 
 42 
 
 6 
 
 373 
 
 One can use corn oilcakemeal in limited quantities mixed with 
 tankage. We have found it also works well with milk, when we 
 are depending on supplements to corn. Corn oilcakemeal alone, 
 however, is disappointing. It and tankage do not work well to- 
 gether, but corn, corn oilcakemeal and tankage make a splendid 
 combination when properly compounded. 
 
 Alfalfa Hay. Alfalfa hay has a wide field of usefulness in 
 the ration of the brood sow. This is true in the western as well 
 as the eastern and central states. It can be placed in a rack, and 
 ordinarily brood sows will eat enough of it to balance the corn or 
 other grain ration which they receive. We want to be sure, how- 
 ever, that the sows receiving the basal grains such as corn, barley, 
 wheat, without other supplements, eat at least 1 pound of alfalfa 
 hay per head daily; if they do not, difficulties at farrowing time 
 may be experienced, as evidenced by small and weak pigs. We 
 have ground alfalfa and mixed it with the corn ration and secured 
 excellent results. Some figures on the use of alfalfa as a brood 
 sow ration are interesting. They follow: 
 
 Use Alfalfa When Feeding the Brood Sow 
 
 Results Animal Husbandry Section of the Iowa Experiment 
 
 Station 
 
 Ration Fed 
 
 Average 
 Daily 
 Gain 
 
 Average Feed 
 Eaten Daily 
 
 Size of 
 New- 
 Born 
 Pigs 
 Weight 
 Average 
 
 Strength of Pigs 
 
 Feed 
 Cost of 
 New 
 Born 
 Pig 
 Cents 
 
 Corn 
 (Shelled 
 Basis) 
 
 Supple- 
 ment 
 
 Strong 
 
 Medium 
 
 Weak 
 or 
 Dead 
 
 Ear corn only 
 Ear corn plus 13 
 per cent tankage . 
 Ear corn plus al- 
 falfa in a rack. . . . 
 
 .35 
 .63 
 .63 
 
 3.65 
 
 2.75 
 3.74 
 
 None 
 .43 
 1.11 
 
 1.74 
 2.23 
 2.29 
 
 Per 
 Cent 
 68 
 
 93 
 89 
 
 Per 
 Cent 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 2 
 3 
 
 41 
 22 
 26 
 
 A little tankage fed along with the basal grain feed and alfalfa 
 helps out as does a little milk. Alfalfa hay is not well adapted to 
 fattening hogs, although it has been used in Nebraska with fairly 
 good results. We must emphasize the point, however, that swine 
 must not be made to eat it too closely. The leaves are much bet- 
 ter than the stem portions, which are too fibrous. 
 
164 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Roots. Roots are splendid for swine production where they 
 can be grown to advantage. They have nutritional values entirely 
 out of proportion to their dry matter content when viewed in a 
 practical sense. The Danish people have done considerable work 
 with roots. They find that 1 pound of grain was replaced by 4 
 pounds of sugar beets or 5 pounds of fodder beets or 6% to 7% 
 pounds of mangel beets. It will be seen from this that roots really 
 are instrumental in saving grain. In some situations like in the 
 northern sections of the country, where roots grow to good advan- 
 tage, as in Canada, they have a profitable field of usefulness, par- 
 ticularly for brood sows and maintenance stock. 
 
 Miscellaneous Feeds. Oat hulls are a poor swine feed, really 
 practically worthless. Acorns are splendid where they can be 
 found in abundance, particularly when the hogs gather them them- 
 selves. They produce a soft, oily pork, however, and need to be 
 balanced with good supplements, as corn. In acorn feeding, the 
 pigs should be hardened with good hardening feeds, such as corn, 
 barley or similar feeds. Peanut hulls are not adapted for swine 
 feeding. They are too coarse, rough and fibrous. 
 
 Corn silage, is too bulky and fibrous for hogs. Its greatest field 
 of usefulness is with brood sows. When corn silage is offered to 
 hogs they . usually prefer to eat the corn first and then maybe 
 a little of the leaves. If they are kept real hungry, they will of 
 course eat considerably more, but this is not a profitable procedure. 
 
 Garbage. Garbage is a splendid swine feed. It can be utilized 
 with swine to good advantage. It takes from 5 to 8 pounds of 
 garbage to equal 1 pound of mixed grain. To feed garbage suc- 
 cessfully it should be fed in large quantities, and kept before pigs 
 practically all of the time. Fattening hogs should not be made 
 to clean it up too closely. Better let the brood sows and the stock 
 hogs clean it up after the fattening hogs have eaten the best. Gar- 
 bage-hogs should be immunized, because there is more danger from 
 cholera in garbage feeding than from ordinary grain feeding. Gar- 
 bage hogs shrink on going to market, and do not dress out so high 
 as grain-fed hogs, but ordinary kitchen garbage produces a good 
 quality of pork. If garbage, however, were made up of acorns and 
 peanuts and other soft pork-producing feeds, one could hardly 
 say that it would be good in its effects on the pork. Inasmuch as 
 there are garbages and garbages it is difficult to say much about 
 the quality of pork it will produce unless one knows the kind of 
 garbage. 
 
 Condimental Feeds. Condimental stock feeds usually are to 
 be discouraged in swine production, because they are commonly 
 bought on faith. They are a mixture of many ingredients and 
 hence have the disadvantages of mixtures. They consist of ingredi- 
 ents that oftentimes have not been demonstrated to be necessary. 
 They may be " guess " mixtures. They are sold by experienced 
 salesmen, usually, and that means that the buyer must * ' look out. ' ' 
 
PRINCIPAL SWINE FEEDS AND THEIR USE 165 
 
 They are relatively expensive, and generally are a poor gamble. 
 This does not mean, however, that a condiment cannot be made that 
 will be useful, particularly when it is made up of those feeds that 
 we know are good in practice, such as salt, wood ashes, charcoal and 
 other feeds, but, generally speaking, one " jumps in the dark" 
 when buying these feeds. It is surprising how little we know about 
 feeds and feeding. We must still place much dependence on the 
 appetite of the pig for different feeds, and learn to depend on those 
 feeds in a large measure that have given success in our practical 
 experience, but ever and anon keeping our periscope polished up 
 and in use, looking for a better way, realizing always, however, that 
 there is danger in showing too much interest in any feeds that are 
 made to sell for a profit rather than to get economic and physio- 
 logical returns. The standard feeds are the ones' to bank on in 
 major swine feeding operations. There are good commercial by- 
 products that are made into fine feeds, however, such as meatmeal 
 tankage, hominy feed, hull-less oatmeal, bloodmeal, buttermilk pow- 
 der, bonemeal, fishmeal and many others, and these should receive 
 our patronage where conditions warrant their use. But bank on 
 home-grown feeds as a rule. For the major portion of the basal 
 as well as the main supply of the supplementary feeds depend on 
 corn, barley, alfalfa, clover, rape and similar feeds, and buy the 
 best you can find to round out your ration, keeping in mind not 
 the idea of the "price per ton" but the "return for dollars in- 
 vested." To emphasize this bear in mind that meatmeal tankage 
 that costs $110 a ton in war as well as in normal times is better 
 than peanut hulls, even though they be given to you, if you use 
 both as pig feeds to balance ordinary grains. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 THE FREE-CHOICE SYSTEM 
 
 Let us fix in our minds at the outset what we mean by the free- 
 choice system of feeding. This system, experimentally demonstrated 
 and developed by the Animal Husbandry Section of the Iowa Ex- 
 periment Station, is one wherein the animals fed are allowed to 
 have the feeds placed before them in separate containers, so that 
 they may choose or partake of whichever they will. These feeds 
 may be continuously kept before them or they may be allowed peri- 
 odically. In the former case the system then would be free-choice 
 self -fed, but in the latter free-choice hand-fed. In the former case 
 self-feeders with different feeds within will be placed before the 
 animals, and in the latter open troughs would naturally be used, 
 each containing a separate feed, these to be placed before the ani- 
 mals, which will eat what they will, and after a certain limited time, 
 say an hour or two, or at such times that the animals are satisfied, 
 the troughs may be removed, to be replaced again at a later period. 
 Self -feeding may be practiced with a mixture of feeds; in other 
 words, corn 90 parts and tankage 10 parts, both ground and mixed 
 together, may be fed in an open container. On the other hand, 
 these feeds might be fed free-choice style, both in separate troughs. 
 Let us not, therefore, confuse self -feeding with free-choice feeding : 
 they are two separate and distinct plans. 
 
 Does Self-Feeding Pay? It does, particularly when one 
 wishes to fatten animals. One can even self-feed brood sows, and 
 this is consistently done on pasture, the pasture in this case being 
 self -fed, or sows may be self-fed on alfalfa hay allowed in a rack, 
 or ground alfalfa mixed with the grain ration, and so on. But in 
 these cases the character of the feeds is such that when self -fed they 
 do not unduly fatten. When we wish to self-feed fattening animals 
 we instinctively use the most highly concentrated feeds, such as 
 Indian corn, milk, and meatmeal tankage, white flour middlings, 
 young tender alfalfa, rape, or clover, and other pastures, and so on. 
 In all of our tests with self-feeding versus hand-feeding, when we 
 used a ration the basis of which was corn those with young growing 
 and fattening pigs as well as for fattening shotes and fattening sows 
 have practically all shown up in favor of self -feeding, in that there 
 is a greater average daily gain made, more feed eaten daily, and less 
 feed required for 100 pounds of gain by the self -fed group. This 
 of course means greater profit on the pig, if any profit is made, and 
 that at less labor cost. 
 
 Returns From Experiments. It would be superfluous to set 
 out even a small portion of our experiments, but we are giving a 
 couple which illustrate the practicability of self-feeding. In one 
 experiment where we fattened well-grown yearling hogs weighing 
 
 166 
 
THE FREE-CHOICE SYSTEM 167 
 
 about 125 pounds, self-feeding them for a period of 76 days, the 
 groups self -fed and hand- fed respectively, both given corn, showed 
 results as follows : The self-fed pigs -outgained the hand-fed pigs, 
 making 2.05 as compared to 1.87 pounds daily more than a 10 
 percent increase; ate more feed daily, showing that under this 
 system of feeding they could work at higher speed, or 9.21 pounds 
 as compared to 8.79 pounds daily per hog, an increase of close to 5 
 percent; required less feed for 100 pounds of gain, or 449 pounds 
 as compared to 469, a saving of 20 pounds of corn on every 100 
 pounds of gain produced when the animals were self -fed as when 
 compared to where they were hand-fed twice daily. 
 
 At another 4ime young two and one-half-month-old pigs were 
 taken and during the first 100 days of the trial the self-fed group, 
 which was given shelled corn, wheat middlings, and tankage in 
 separate feeders, gained 1.13 pounds, requiring 408 pounds of feed 
 for 100 pounds of gain. The group fed three times a day gained 
 practically the same (they were fed free-choice style also, feed 
 being placed before them three times a day, in open troughs) ; but 
 required 10 pounds more feed for 100 pounds of gain, namely, 418. 
 The third group fed twice a day gained more than 10 percent less 
 rapidly or .59 of a pound daily and required 430 pounds of feed 
 for 100 pounds of gain. Peculiarly enough the gains were more 
 expensive in the hand-fed groups because they ate a larger portion 
 of the expensive feeds, namely, of wheat middlings and tankage in 
 proportion to corn. This is what should be expected on physiolog- 
 ical and general nutritional grounds. 
 
 Self-Feeders on Pasture. On pasture we have fed some 
 groups, self -feeding them as compared to full-feeding them by hand, 
 with gratifying results for self-feeding. One summer on timothy- 
 clover pasture two groups were fed, one receiving a self-fed free- 
 choice ration of corn and tankage, and the other a full-fed ration 
 of corn hand-fed plus as much tankage in addition two times daily 
 as was eaten by the self -fed free-choice group. These pigs were 
 started out when they weighed 53 pounds and were fed from July 
 6 to Nov. 13 on pasture, and if at the close of the pasture season 
 the pigs in each group did not average 225 pounds they were con- 
 tinued until they did. The figures therefore, taking the pigs from 
 53 up to 225 pounds, show that where they were self-fed free-choice 
 style it took 120 days as compared to 148 days where they were 
 hand full-fed. Tankage was kept the same. The big difference then 
 is in the amount of corn allowed and in the method of its allowance. 
 Of course where they are self-fed they eat much more than where 
 they are hand-fed, because they have it continuously before them 
 and they can eat night or day. Here is a saving by self -feeding of 
 some 28 days, or practically a month. This means considerable in 
 the fall in getting pigs off to market, because the market begins to 
 decline in September and usually hits the bottom along in January 
 or February, and every day that a man keeps his pigs after 
 September he is keeping them on a steadily declining market. This 
 statement is based on the average of a number of years. 
 
168 : _ . HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 In regard to the feed for a 100 pounds of gain, the self -fed group 
 took 353.1 pounds of shelled corn as contrasted with 389.1 pounds 
 where they were hand full-fed twice daily. Here is a difference of 
 36 pounds of grain on every 100 pounds of gain saved by self-feed- 
 ing. This is just on .the corn, yet there was also a saving of tankage, 
 self-feeding requiring 26.9 pounds as compared to 31.2 where hand- 
 fed, a difference of 4.3 pounds on every 100 pounds of gain. Actu- 
 ally less pasture was required for 100 pounds of gain where the 
 animals were self-fed than where they were hand-fed, or .012 as 
 compared to .013 acre. In other words, it took a twelfth more pas- 
 ture for every 100 pounds of gain where the animals were hand- 
 fed, simply because during the nights and the middle of the day, 
 when there was nothing else to eat, they would eat pasture, and also 
 because, under this system of feeding (that is, hand-feeding), they 
 actually require more total protein supplement daily per pig to 
 balance the ration than where self-fed, hence eat more pasture ; but 
 this has a nutritional basis which is too complicated to enter into 
 here. 
 
 Beginnings of the Free-Choice System. In the Proceedings of 
 the American Society of Animal Production in 1916 and 17 there 
 appeared two papers, one entitled "The Pig Versus the Feeding 
 Standards," and the other "The Pig Versus the Feeding Stand- 
 ards: Further Progress," both being contributed by the writer 
 from the Animal Husbandry Section of the Iowa Experimental Sta- 
 tion. In those papers is given the results of taking j)igs on the 
 feeding standards versus the free-choice system up to the age of 8 
 months, taking the pigs when they were 2% months of age. The 
 method of feeding was as follows : Lot I, free-choice system (self- 
 fed). Shelled corn self -fed plus wheat middlings self -fed plus 
 tankage self-fed. Lot II, same as Lot I, excepting hand-fed three 
 times daily. Lot III, same as Lot I, excepting hand-fed two times 
 daily. Lot IV, Dietrich or Illinois system, hand-fed twice daily the 
 same feeds as used in Lots, I, II, and III, these being all mixed 
 together before feeding; water allowed at free-will. (The Dietrich 
 system was worked out by Dietrich, formerly of the Illinois Experi- 
 ment Station, after 10 years of laborious investigation.) Lot V, 
 same as Lot IV, excepting that water was limited according to 
 standard. Dietrich would weigh the water also and apportion it 
 on a certain specific basis. Lot VI, Kellner system, a German sys- 
 tem of recent origin. Hand-fed twice daily the same feeds as in 
 other lots, all mixed, however, before feeding. Lot VII, Wolff- 
 Lehmann system, also a German standard of "old-time" origin. 
 The same feeds fed as in other lots, but all mixed together, accord- 
 ing to this standard so much of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and 
 so on, in feed for each 100 pounds of pig daily as per standard. 
 It differs somewhat from the Dietrich and Kellner standard in 
 method of procedure, and so on. Lot VIII, free-choice mixture of 
 the feeds used above, this mixture being based on the average as 
 consumed by similar pigs when self-fed free-choice style, which 
 mixture was 89 parts shelled corn (ground after the first 60 days 
 
THE FREE-CHOICE SYSTEM 
 
 169 
 
 to keep the pigs from sorting out the tankage and middlings which 
 they preferred), 5 parts wheat middlings, and 6 parts of tankage, 
 all thoroughly mixed together and self-fed. 
 
 Inasmuch as 225 pounds is a handy marketable weight, the fig- 
 ures represented pigs taken to that weight, but remember, before 
 we study the following table, to note that after we had continued 
 ^these standards six months the pigs were all put upon self-feeders 
 and allowed the feeds free-choice style in each group. When this 
 change took place it was marvelous to note how the groups previ- 
 ously fed according to the artificialized standards began to improve, 
 making more rapid gains that before, and, generally speaking, re- 
 quiring less feed for 100 pounds of gain. The table gives the re- 
 sults as regards the pounds of feed eaten daily per animal during 
 the period from the beginning of the test until they weighed 225 
 pounds ; also the number of days required until they reached that 
 weight, this being based on the actual age of the pigs : 
 
 AVERAGEIPOUNDS TOTAL DAILY FEED EATEN PER HOG DURING 
 PERIOD 
 
 The 
 Group 
 
 Days Re- 
 quired (Age in 
 Days) 
 
 Up to 225 Pounds 
 
 Up to 300 Pounds 
 
 Actual 
 
 Per 100 Pounds 
 Live Weight 
 
 Actual 
 
 Per 100 Pounds 
 Live Weight 
 
 I 
 II 
 
 III 
 IV 
 V 
 VI 
 VII 
 VIII 
 
 229 
 234 
 250 
 256 
 268 
 271 
 294 
 276 
 
 5.363 
 5.434 
 5.087 
 4.919 
 4.800 
 4.436 
 3.994 
 4.358 
 
 4.348 
 4.353 
 4.120 
 4.072 
 3.892 
 3.649 
 3.489 
 3.719 
 
 5. "307 
 5.480 
 5.379 
 5.319 
 5.159 
 4.929 
 4.521 
 4.645 
 
 2.999 
 3.155 
 3.260 
 3.365 
 3.096 
 3.202 
 3.152 
 3.017 
 
 This table in itself is better appreciated on close study. Note 
 that the least number of days are required in the three free-choice 
 groups fed (Lots I, II, and III), whether self -fed or hand-fed, and 
 that the feeding standards were good, depending on their chrono- 
 logical origin; in other words, the newer standards are the best. 
 We can more thoroughly appreciate this table in comparison with 
 one other. The following table shows the feed required for 100 
 pounds of gain in the various groups, taking the groups up to 225 
 pounds in weight : 
 
 FEED REQUIRED FOR 100 POUNDS OF GAIN UP TO 225 POUNDS 
 
 The 
 Group 
 
 Shelled 
 Corn 
 (14% 
 Moisture) 
 
 Wheat 
 Middlings 
 
 Meatmeal 
 Tankage 
 
 Bone 
 Ash 
 
 Char- 
 coal 
 
 Rock 
 Salt 
 
 Total 
 
 I 
 II 
 
 III 
 IV 
 V 
 VI 
 VII 
 VIII 
 
 356.09 
 350.77 
 359.79 
 391.31 
 402.80 
 352.58 
 379.68 
 417.46 
 
 44.83 
 52.83 
 65.82 
 44.50 
 44.58 
 55.29 
 46.29 
 22.70 
 
 43.49 
 48.31 
 49.47 
 43.51 
 45.00 
 56.94 
 42.37 
 29.66 
 
 .07 
 .03 
 .12 
 .07 
 .03 
 .12 
 .05 
 .03 
 
 .12 
 .11 
 .09 
 .06 
 .23 
 .19 
 .35 
 .37 
 
 .14 
 .09 
 .09 
 .12 
 .11 
 .05 
 .04 
 .06 
 
 444.74 
 452.14 
 475.40 
 479.56 
 492 75 
 465.16 
 468.79 
 470.28 
 
170 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 Note here again that the least feed was required for 100 pounds 
 of gain in the self -fed free-choice group. It is well here to repro- 
 duce in closing the free-choice system discussion a part of the sum- 
 mary and some suggestions presented before the American Society 
 of Animal Production by the author in 1916. 
 
 Summary and Suggestions.. 1. The free-choice system for 
 growing and fattening weanling pigs has a great field of usefulness, 
 because it enables swinemen to secure approximately maximum 
 growth and development on pigs. 
 
 2. The appetite of the pig is apparently a fairly reliable guide 
 as to bodily needs ; at least it appears to be quite trustworthy with 
 certain combinations of feeds. 
 
 3. The feeding standards, although actually quite easily un- 
 derstood, are nevertheless considered bothersome, difficult of exe- 
 cution and complex by the average swine feeding layman. The 
 free-choice system of swine feeding stands out in remarkable con- 
 trast because of its simplicity. 
 
 4. Broadly speaking, the feeding standards are relatively valu- 
 able in the order of their chronological origin. In their application 
 to cornbelt lard-type swine the newest standard the Illinois or 
 Dietrich (water preferably allowed at free-will) appears best" 
 adapted in taking pigs from weaning time until they reach 8 
 months of age. The Kellner comes next, and the Wolff -Lehmann, 
 the oldest, last. 
 
 5. The great question as regards the best measure. of value or 
 the best yardstick to use in determining which system or standard 
 is most efficient is ever with us. Shall success be measured by: 
 (a) Daily gain or days required to reach a certain weight or finish; 
 or (b) feed consumption ability; or (c) feed required for a unit 
 gain, both quantitatively and qualitatively speaking; or (d) the 
 degree of health and immunization against disease; or (e) the net 
 resulting carcass with its smoothness, muscular or fatty de.velop- 
 ment, hardness or softness, and other variable characteristics; or 
 (f) longevity; or (g) reproductive ability? Fashions change; the 
 carcass that is best today may be economically wrong tomorrow. 
 The ideals we picture in the morning often become altered through 
 the progress of the day, so that when the shades of night come we 
 have a different idealistic endpoint. From man's standpoint, the 
 feed consumed per unit gain, the daily gain, the final product and 
 the healthiness of the pigs are major considerations, but from the 
 standpoint of the pig, health, longevity, and reproduction should 
 mean most to the porcine race. 
 
 6. Disappointment should not be felt if sow or boar pigs in- 
 tended for breeding fatten and mature quickly when opportunity 
 is provided, as in the free-choice self-feeding system. We have 
 selected cornbelt swine for many generations, emphasizing early 
 maturity. If our stock did not mature readily when given the 
 
THE FREE-CHOICE SYSTEM 171 
 
 opportunity, that is, when provided with an abundance of suitable 
 concentrated feeds, we relegated them to the discard, selecting only 
 those for breeders which would under these conditions finish 
 quickly and nicely. To prevent undue fattening, therefore, we 
 must provide inhibitors to overcome long years of effective selec- 
 tion ; inhibitors such as limited feed, bulky feed, and others. 
 
 7. Apparently for the most perfect development there should 
 be many feeding standards devised, the number necessary depend- 
 ing on the goals sought. It may be advisable to have a standard 
 for six-month feeding or eight-month feeding; or, on the basis of 
 weight, one suitable for carrying pigs to 225 pounds; another to 
 300 pounds, and still others to other weights. 
 
 8. Pigs held back or retarded in their growth (provided 
 retardation is not too severe) may catch up in weight later if nu- 
 tritive conditions are abundantly improved. To the judge of live 
 stock the conformation of the retarded pigs, after their develop- 
 ment, appears somewhat different, being more refined in a certain 
 sense than that of pigs fed normally. This retardation may be 
 brought about in numerous ways, but it is interesting to note that 
 pigs, even though self-fed, may be retarded greatly when the feeds 
 allowed are exceptionally good in quality but wrongly mixed. 
 
 9. The character of the feeds used, as well as their kind, affect 
 the feeding standard requirement. So long as we depend on ap- 
 proximate group values, as measured by the bread terms protein, 
 nitrogen-free extract, crude fiber, ether extract, and so on, so long 
 will we secure widely variable and disappointing results. 
 
 10. Our observations suggest strongly that the type of pig 
 used will surprisingly affect the feeding standard requirement. 
 Apparently there should be a standard for every type. 
 
 11. In short, the feeding standard requirement is altered by 
 many outstanding factors: (a) The goal sought as regards age, 
 weight, finish, final product, and other essentials; (b) type and 
 breeding of pigs used; (c) character and quality of feeds depended 
 upon; (d) methods of feeding, as times per day, soaking, grinding, 
 cooking and slopping; (e) systems of management, as exercise, 
 control, housing conditions, castration and spaying; (f) health, 
 thriftiness and natural vigor (disease infection and parasitic infes- 
 tation play an important role), and (g) climate. There may be 
 others. 
 
 12. Practice, has changed wonderfully in the last 100 years as 
 regards market weights of swine. In the old days it was not un- 
 usual to market entire droves of hogs weighing 500, 600 and 
 even up to 800 and 900 pounds. To make such hogs roughing was 
 in order. These studies tend to emphasize the correctness of that 
 scheme. But there has been a great change in market fashion, so 
 that nowadays the average marketable handy weight of 225 pounds 
 is in most consistent demand. To meet new demands we must 
 
172 HOW TO FEED YOUR HOGS 
 
 devise different methods and modem methods. It is apparent that 
 the man in the field has not altered his methods of feeding to keep 
 pace with market changes and demands. Hence the reason why 
 self-feeding pigs to handy weights has been long neglected. In- 
 stinctively we tend to do things as our fathers and grandfathers 
 did them, but this may sometimes be a virtue ; so too such imitation 
 of methods may seriously retard real progress. 
 
 13. The development of the free-choice system of swine feed- 
 ing marks another stepping stone in progress toward more efficient 
 methods of swine feeding. It provides a new viewpoint, a new 
 attitude, a new basis for thought and action. It is profitable to 
 look forward to the development of the best possible free-choice 
 system; in the meantime keeping clearly and steadfastly in mind 
 that we can improve upon the pigs ' own method of selection. 
 
 Self -Feeding Don'ts. In closing the chapter it may be well 
 to repeat a few self-feeding "don'ts" which are to the point: 
 
 Don't depend absolutely on the self-feeder for all classes and 
 kinds of swine. Don't self -feed if you don't want relatively rapid 
 gains, or if you wish to grow pigs along slowly unless of course 
 you use bulky feeds, such as pasture or hay. Don't self-feed 
 pregnant sows on highly-concentrated feed, excepting early in the 
 breeding season, or unless you mix bulky feeds, such as ground oats, 
 alfalfa meal, or bran with feeds. Don't expect the self-feeder to 
 save all the work, because it won't. Don't think that although the 
 "self " method works out meritoriously in many circumstances with 
 hogs, that the same would be true of beef and dairy cattle, horses, 
 sheep, poultry and goats. Don't always expect the hog econom- 
 ically to balance the ration, no matter what feeds you allow. The 
 hog is not an economist; he is a physiologist by instinct; he will 
 eat to suit himself, and if you feed him sugar he disregards the 
 price. But it is surprising how well the hog likes corn. In the 
 cornbelt it is the one great feed for swine, and is most admirably 
 adapted to self-feeding. Don't you know that hogging-down corn 
 is practiced by farmers because it pays? Don't you know that it 
 is "the most natural self-feeder method" of harvesting corn? 
 Don't expect pigs on dry, hard bluegrass to do well when self -fed 
 on corn. Either "green-up" the grass or supply rape, alfalfa and 
 the like. Don't self -feed and expect the optimum results unless 
 you keep water before the hogs, so that they be continuously sat- 
 isfied for drink. Don't self -feed tankage or meatmeal if you limit 
 the corn ration and expect the pigs to eat as little as when self -fed. 
 When the pig gets hungry, it is eat tankage or nothing, and he eats 
 the tankage,, and the tankage consumption in this case is a little 
 lighter, but it is now considered a fair practice to self-feed tank- 
 age, even though the corn is hand full-fed, because we have learned 
 that hogs which are receiving a somewhat limited ration of corn, 
 limited by whatever means, actually require more protein feeds 
 daily than when the corn is self -fed. Don't expect the self-feeder 
 to be a panacea for all feeding troubles, because to expect that is 
 to expect that the millennium has come. 
 
PART III 
 
 BREED HISTORIES 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE BERKSHIRE 
 
 By H. T. MORGAN 
 
 Most authors take the position that the Berkshire is the oldest 
 of the existing breeds of swine, and while its ancestry is somewhat 
 obscured in antiquity I doubt whether it has a rightful claim to the 
 title of being the oldest of the present-day breeds. Prior to about 
 1850 the Berkshire was not much like the pig of that name that we 
 recognize today as the "aristocrat of the swine breed." Indeed it 
 
 A Grand Champion Berkshire Boar 
 
 was not until a number of years after 1850 that the black color, 
 with "six white points," became well established, or "fixed" as a 
 breed characteristic. During the past few years the writer has 
 given a considerable amount of time and study to the work of 
 compiling a history of Berkshires, and in his research has traveled 
 some thousands of miles in visiting the older breeders in various 
 parts of the United States. I have had much correspondence with 
 breeders of Berkshires in England and Canada, and have had, I 
 believe, access to most of the historical matter pertaining to the sub- 
 ject on file in our large public libraries. Everybody knows that the 
 native home of the Berkshire is in England, where it is supposed 
 to have been developed as a breed in the counties of Berkshire and 
 Wilts in the south-central part. Other neighboring counties were 
 also prominently associated with the development of the breed. 
 Back in 1789 Culley, a historian of note, wrote as follows : 
 
 "The most noted breed of hogs in this Island is that excellent 
 kind generally known as Berkshire pigs, now spread through almost 
 
 173 
 
174 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 every part of England, and some places in Scotland. They are in 
 general reddish-brown, with black spots upon them, large ears, 
 hanging over their eyes, short-legged, small-boned, and exceedingly 
 inclined to make fat easily." 
 
 Culley also testifies to the large weight of the breed, and men- 
 tions animals weighing well over 1,100 pounds. Surely the fore- 
 going description does not fit the present-day Berkshire. 
 
 Early Improvement. The early improvement of the Berkshire 
 was undoubtedly due to the .refining influence of a generous intro- 
 duction of Chinese, Siamese and Neopolitan blood. In 1842 Prof. 
 Low wrote as follows: 
 
 "The Berkshire breed has, like every other, been crossed and 
 recrossed with the Chinese, or Chinese crosses, so .as to lessen the 
 size of the animals, and render them more suited to the demand 
 which has arisen for small and delicate pork." 
 
 In 1830, according to Youatt, the Berkshire was still classed as 
 a larger hog, sandy or whitish-brown in color, spotted regularly 
 with dark-brown or black, the body covered with long thin, soft 
 hair (sometimes curly), and free from bristles. The ears were erect 
 and fringed with long hair, the head and snout short, body thick 
 and compact, legs short, skin thin and bacon of superior quality. 
 At this period we see a long step in the line of improvement, but we 
 of today would scarcely call such an animal a Berkshire. At that 
 period (1830) it was regarded as "one of the best breeds in 
 England." 
 
 Pioneer Breeders. In my opinion it is to Heber Humfrey of 
 England, J. C. Snell of Ontario and N. H. Gentry of Missouri to 
 whom the greatest credit must be accorded in the later develop- 
 ment of the modern Berkshire, and it is due to the constructive 
 ability and persistent enterprise of these men that the type of the 
 breed has become fully established and recognized throughout the 
 world. Berkshires were first brought to America in 1823, accord- 
 ing to A. B. Allen of New York. Mr. Allen was an admirer of the 
 breed, and did much to encourage its early popularity in this coun- 
 try. In 1841 he himself imported 41 head, after personally inspect- 
 ing many of the British herds, and subsequently made other impor- 
 tations. 
 
 Commencing about 1840, many Berkshires found their way into 
 Ohio, where they became popular in the great Miami Valley in the 
 vicinity of Cincinnati, at that time the greatest corn and hog-pro- 
 ducing section of the United States. The breed's popularity con- 
 tinued to increase until about the time of the Civil War, when 
 breeders, for some unaccountable reason, allowed their herds to 
 degenerate, so that at the begining of about 1870 but few good 
 representative specimens were available in this country. It was 
 approximately in this period that John Snell of Canada imported 
 his first "English Berkshires," and they soon attracted the atten- 
 tion of N. H. Gentry, who, then a young man, went to Canada and 
 brought home a. number of the best individuals from the Snell herd. 
 It was early in the 70 's that T. S. Cooper of Pennsylvania imported 
 a number of choice Berkshires from England, and it was "Cooper 
 
THE BERKSHIRE 175 
 
 in the East and Gentry in the West" who put Berkshires on the 
 American map. 
 
 An English Authority. One of the most interesting contribu- 
 tions to the history of the breed is a letter which I received a year 
 ago from Edgar Humfrey, secretary of the British Berkshire 
 Society, whose father, the late Heber Humfrey, was the first sec- 
 retary of the British Berkshire Society and the most noted breeder 
 of Berkshires in his day. Edgar Humfrey at my request visited 
 a number of the older breeders of Berkshires in hi$ country, and 
 obtained from them valuable data with reference to the Berkshire 
 of England from a time dating back as far as 60 3 r ears ago. These 
 data supplemented by notes left by his late father, who began the 
 active breeding of Berkshires in 1862, give a fund of authentic 
 information which I believe should be preserved in book form. 
 J. Pittman King of North Stoke, Wallingford, is the oldest living 
 breeder of Berkshires in England today. He started his herd in 
 1862. He states that in 1850 there were in Berkshire, England, 
 several large herds which had been carefully bred. These hogs 
 possessed great length of body and rather long heads, with ears 
 standing forward. The general color of these hogs was black, with 
 occasional splashings of white, but at that period no special effort 
 was being made to breed white points in any particular place. Mr. 
 Pittman states that in about 1855 more attention was being given 
 to setting a standing of white points on a black ground. Mr. King 
 was one of the founders of the British Berkshire Society in 1884, 
 several years after the American Berkshire Association was estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Russell Swanwick of Cirencester, another English breeder, en- 
 gaged in the business in 1867, and is still in the ranks of active 
 production. He states in 1867 that the color of the Berkshire in 
 the middle 50 's was somewhat similar to that of the present. He 
 also states that as late as 1870 certain crosses of the "small black ' : 
 (originally the Chinese or Japanese breed) was introduced by cer- 
 tain English breeders to check the apearance of too much white, 
 which had appeared, due no doubt to a white or spotted cross, 
 which had been used at an earlier date. He also believes that this 
 black cross resulted in the modern shortened snout with its acute 
 angle, the black wrinkled nose, and at the same time produced a 
 consistently better crest. T. S. Cooper imported a large number of 
 the best hogs bred by Mr. Swanwick in the early 70 's. Quoting 
 from Mr. Humfrey 's letter: 
 
 "In summing up the evidence of those in England who can 
 speak with authority it is clear that the Berkshire was commencing 
 to assume a separate stock of its own about 1830, and that it con- 
 tinued to thrive with amazing fertility and ever-increasing quality 
 over the next 15 years, when we find it in the hands of many enter* 
 prising country gentry, who may be called the earliest pioneers of 
 the breed, since it was in their time that the construction in color 
 was definitely fixed, and bred to, and the type improved. In the 
 next decade from 1860, several other well-known breeders came 
 
176 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 into the field. After 1870 many others followed and so on down 
 to the present." 
 
 Tribute to the Breed in England. Mr. Humfrey closes his let- 
 ter with the following tribute to the accomplishments of the Berk- 
 shire in his country: "If I may dwell for a moment on the con- 
 spicuous outstanding merit of the Berkshire, apart from its perfect 
 markings, beautiful outline and symmetry of body, it would be in 
 reference to the wonderful way in which it has sustained and im- 
 proved its fine proportions of fat and lean and good quality of 
 bacon and pork during the past 50 years. For the most convincing 
 evidence of this fact we need only see the results of the competitions, 
 open to any breed or cross, at the great annual Smithfield Show in 
 London. In the live classes since 1883 Berkshires have won the 
 championship 15 times, and it has been awarded 7 times to a Berk- 
 shire cross bred. In the carcass classes at the same show, 1904 to 
 1915, Berkshires won the championship and reserve for same every 
 year. They have also won 40 out of 45 first prizes awarded in 12 
 years, the classes being open to all breeds. "What further proof need 
 we that Berkshires are easily first for quality. ' ' 
 
 White Berkshires. How many Americans are aware that white 
 Berkshires were ever imported to this country? I have before me 
 a copy of an agricultural paper published in 1842 at Cincinnati 
 which describes an importation of white Berkshires which were 
 brought into the Miami Valley that year. Portraits of other im- 
 ported Berkshires of that period indicate that many of them were 
 one-third to one-half white. Undoubtedly J" however, these were 
 hogs from Berkshire County, England, and were of strains which 
 entered but slightly into the composition of the present-day Berk- 
 shire. It is not unlikely that these white hogs were the forbears of 
 the Suffolks, or perhaps the Yorkshires of today. In Kentucky they 
 have a breed of red hogs which they call Red Berkshires, but the 
 writer has been unable to discover a single authentic record which 
 would indicate that they have anything in common with the ancestry 
 of the Berkshire. The evidence on which I base my opinion as to the 
 purity of the Berkshire as a breed leads me to say that the breed 
 today can boast a longer period of time without the introduction of 
 outbreeding than any breed of swine in existence. A few years ago 
 there was a far wider variation in type than is noticeable today, 
 and it is my opinion that no breed, for the reasons mentioned, pos- 
 sesses the prepotency of the Berkshire. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE DUROC-JERSEY 
 
 Accurate information of the origin of the Duroc-Jersey breed 
 does not seem to be of record. It is generally supposed that this 
 breed is strictly American, yet some information available seems to 
 point to the fact that the original stock was imported at an early 
 date. The best information available bears out the statement that 
 originally there were two distinct families of this popular breed 
 
 A Grand Champion Duroc Jersey Boar 
 
 going under separate names, that of * ' Jersey Reds ' ' and ' ' Duroos. ' ' 
 The name Jersey Red was probably given to this family by Joseph 
 B. Lyman, a resident of New Jersey and an agricultural editor of 
 the New York Tribune. Previous to this time the breed had been 
 called Red Hogs. A Mr. Lippincott, of New Jersey was probably 
 the first man to advertise these hogs as Jersey Reds. 
 
 History records the fact that in 1832 there were a pair of red 
 pigs shipped from England to New Jersey. Clark Pettis makes this 
 statement. "Their unique color rendered them objects of special 
 interest in a locality long noted for successful swine breeders and 
 feeders, among whom had long existed a great spirit of rivalry % as 
 to whom should annually win the honor of raising the best lot of 
 hogs, making the greatest average weight at different ages for which 
 prominent Philadelphia butchers paid advance prices." 
 
 The Duroc family were so called by Isaac Frink, of Milton, Sara- 
 toga county, New York. Mr. Frink visited the farm of Harry Kel- 
 
 177 
 
178 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 sey, of Florida, N. Y., who was the owner of a noted stallion named 
 Duroc. While on this visit Mr. Frink saw a litter of ten red pigs, 
 the production of a pair brought by Mr. Kelsey from Oyster Bay, 
 N. Y., or imported from England. Information available shows 
 that Mr. Kelsey told Mr. Frink they were imported, but it is pos- 
 sible that the term was misused. 
 
 Farmers and hog growers were very much impressed with the 
 productive power of these red pigs and they were much sought 
 after, taking the name of Duroc because of the noted stallion owned 
 by Mr. Kelsey. It seems that the Duroc family of red hogs at this 
 time possessed more quality and probably finer bone than the Jersey 
 Bed but in the course of time the two families were inter-bred with 
 the result of a larger hog with more quality that seemed to meet 
 with great favor wherever they were known and later on assumed 
 the name of Duroc-Jerseys. 
 
 The older breeders and growers of hogs well remember the time 
 when the Duroc-Jersey hog was a curiosity at our larger state fairs. 
 It is well within the memory of many of the breeders who are 
 actively breeding Duroc-Jerseys today that one who would have the 
 nerve to take an exhibit of them to a fair was regarded as being 
 fanatical. The fact remains, however, that these men were not 
 fanatics, but showed genuine judgment in the selection of this breed. 
 We know of one particular locality where some twenty-four years 
 ago a breeder bought a pure-bred Duroc-Jersey sow and began the 
 production of this breed. At that time there was not another Duroc- 
 hog within fourteen miles of this man's farm. Inquiry of the hog 
 buyer at the town where this man lived recently revealed the fact 
 that at the present time 85 per cent of all the hogs shipped from 
 this town to market were solid red. What was done in popularizing 
 the breed in this particular locality has been done in many of the 
 best hog growing districts throughout the United States. Farmers 
 and hog growers never would have taken hold of this breed of hogs 
 and promoted them to the extent they have unless there was genuine 
 merit and feeding qualities to warrant the effort. 
 
 In practically all of the leading hog shows throughout the 
 United States the numbers of Duroc-Jerseys are equal to that of 
 any other breed; in many of these shows there are more Duroc- 
 Jerseys shown than any other breed and in some of the leading 
 shows as many as all other breeds combined. The visitor to these 
 fairs will bear out the statement that in these large numbers shown 
 they will find quality in proportion to numbers. 
 
 In recent years there are many parts of the United States in 
 which hogs are being successfully grown that a few years ago were 
 not producing any. The popular Duroc-Jersey breed will be found 
 in practically all of these new localities. The farmer and hog 
 grower of today whether he be located in a new locality or an old 
 one recognizes the fact that in order to succeed as he should he 
 must produce the best. In starting his business he gives the matter 
 of breed selection careful attention. The very fact that as we have 
 stated that this careful attention to breed selection has been given 
 
THE DUROC-JERSEY 179 
 
 and that Duroc-Jerseys have been found in these localities shows 
 that they are one of the breeds for maximum profit. In the leading 
 barrow shows throughout the United States, Duroc-Jersey barrows 
 are carrying away their full share of the honors, in singles, pens 
 and car-load classes. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE CHESTER WHITE 
 
 As the earliest swine writers make no mention of a native Amer- 
 ican hog, and as the Chester White breed is an American product, 
 it follows that we must look for the source of the origin of the 
 breed to the progeny of swine that were brought over from the 
 European countries by the earliest settlers in America. An analysis 
 of the common stock, as found in New England and Pennsylvania, 
 
 A Prize Winning Chester White Sow 
 
 early in the nineteenth century, from which stock the breed evi- 
 dently had its origin, shows that they possessed the characteristics 
 of the early English white breeds, as the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and 
 Cheshire. Authors agree as to the English origin of the Yorkshire 
 and Lincolnshire, but as to the origin of the Cheshire opinions dif- 
 fer. Be that as it may, the origin of the large white hog as found 
 in Chester Co., Pa., early in the nineteenth century is partly accred- 
 ited to the blood of the Cheshire hog. These Pennsylvania hogs 
 were white, very large, bony, coarse, muscular and only showed 
 good feeding qualities when matured, or nearly so. Some of them 
 dressed over 1,000 pounds. 
 
 Early Improvement. The first impulse toward the most suc- 
 cessful improvement of these large hogs is accredited to Capt. James 
 Jeffries, who introduced a pair of fine white pigs, known as the 
 Woburn, from Bedfordshire, England, and located them on his 
 farm in Chester Co., Pa., in 1818. The Woburn was of the smaller, 
 
 180 
 
THE CHESTER WHITE . 181 
 
 compact type, a quick maturing animal, of good disposition and 
 an excellent feeder. The constructive breeders of Chester and 
 Delaware counties, in Pennsylvania soon realized that by crossing 
 Bedfordshire or Woburn hogs on the best white hogs of the county 
 great improvement was made, and by selection and judicious breed- 
 ing for thirty years a hog was developed that would reproduce its 
 characteristics to such a degree that it became known as a distinct 
 breed, and was named in 1848 " Chester^ County White." which 
 soon became generally known as "Chester White." It has the 
 distinction of being the first named American-made breed of swine. 
 
 A Breeder's Description. A brief description of these hogs 
 by Paschall Morris of Philadelphia, a breeder of that period, says : 
 * * They are generally recognized now as the best breed in this coun- 
 try, coming fully up to the requirements of a farmer 's hog, and are 
 rapidly superseding Suffolks, Berkshires and other smaller breeds. 
 The best specimens may be described as long and deep in the car- 
 cass, broad and straight in the back, short in the leg, full in the 
 ham, full shoulder, well packed forward, admitting of no neck, 
 very small proportionate head, short nose, dish face, broad between 
 the ej'es, moderate ear, thin skin, straight hair, a capacity for great 
 size and to gain a pound per day until they are two years old. 
 Add to these quiet habits and an easy taking on of fat, so as to 
 admit of being slaughtered at almost any age, and we have what is 
 considered in Chester county a carefully-bred animal and what is 
 known elsewhere as a fine specimen of a breed called * Chester 
 County White/ ! 
 
 As the different hogs from which the breed was created were all 
 white, or nearly so, its power to transmit a pure white coat on any 
 outcross was the pride of the originators and supporters, and much 
 has been said of the white coat and the pink skin of the early 
 Chester White swine. The Chester White, from its adaptability 
 as a farmer's hog and from its phenomenal winnings wherever 
 shown, became and was acknowledged by writers as the most popu- 
 lar breed in America during the 60 's and 70 's. This popularity 
 stimulated a most profitable business in breeding; so much so that 
 the breeders who kept their herds pure could not readily supply the 
 demand, and dealers, who saw an opportunity for speculation, 
 bought thousands of mongrel white pigs and sold them as pure- 
 breds, and the fact that they did not breed true to color and char- 
 acteristics so menaced the popularity of the breed that it received 
 a back-set that required some time to overcome. Thus the best 
 American breed of hogs that had been created on constructive lines 
 and had made for itself a national popularity by its own merits 
 was doomed to censure by the practices of unscrupulous dealers. 
 
 The First Record. During the time between 1848, when the 
 Chester White hog was named, and 1884, when the first record 
 association for the breed was organized, many of the constructive 
 breeders who were ever loyal to the promotion of the purebreds, and 
 who continued improving the breed along constructive lines from 
 direct ancestors until the breed again had national popularity, saw 
 that in order to have further protection from unscrupulous dealers 
 
182 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 it would be necessary to form an association, and to this end E. R. 
 Moody, Eminence, Ky., was instrumental in organizing the first 
 Chester White record association for the breed in 1884. E. B. 
 Ashbridge, Chester Co., Pa., a charter member, who bred them and 
 had the distinction of winning more prizes over all breeds during 
 the 60 's and 70 's than any other breeder of any breed, bought his 
 first Chester Whites in 1848 from Bennie Hickman, Chester Co., Pa., 
 one of the first few men to whom the creation of the breed is 
 accredited. The animals with which he made these winnings were, 
 like their early ancestors, very large. His herd boar Jim Burns was 
 slaughtered when five years old and dressed over 1,000 pounds. A 
 grandson of this hog, when three years old, was slaughtered and 
 dressed 946 pounds. 
 
 The Period; Numerous Records. The period of record associa- 
 tions for the breed dates from 1884. Individual efforts made for 
 personal prominence by the handling of animals of the breed 
 brought about quite a number of record associations with different 
 claims for distinction. With the writer's years of breeding and 
 studying the affairs of the breed, he has noticed that the result of 
 the claim made for distinction has not only confused the advocates 
 of the breed but has confused the public as well. From 1884 up to 
 1913 unity of action for the welfare of the breed was menaced by 
 the activities of seven *record associations catering to the business 
 affairs of the Chester White breed. To the constructive breeders 
 and loyal supporters of the breed is accredited the maintenance of 
 the merits of the breed from its creation up to 1907, when the first 
 unity of action was manifested in promoting the breed by placing 
 the Standard Chester White Record on such a financiaj basis as 
 would support universal breed promotion. A growing sentiment to 
 ''boost" the breed as it should be was made possible by launching 
 of the " White Breeders' Companion" in 1910, which is now known 
 as "The Chester White Journal" 
 
 Merging Associations. With the improved methods and pur- 
 pose of the Standard record and the help of the "Companion" in 
 showing the advantages of greater unity in co-operation, the Ameri- 
 can Chester White Record consolidated with the Standard Chester 
 White Record in 1913, thereby creating the Chester White Swine 
 Record Association, which the National 0. I. C. Chester White 
 Record Association joined in March, 1915. To the progressive 
 breeders is ascribed the progress of the breed. They have brought 
 about great improvement in individuality, and uniformity in type 
 and size. They have bred a heavier coat of hair, which enables 
 the breed to stand the climate in all countries much better than the 
 original Chester White. The feet and legs are straighter, with 
 bigger bone ; backs are broader and stronger ; the sides are deeper 
 and the head and face are neater. All of these improvements have 
 been made, yet the merits of the breed and its prolificacy have been 
 maintained. 
 
 *Note: An analysis of the record associations and the claims made for distinction 
 can be obtained by writing to the .Chester White Swine Record Association, Rochester, 
 Indiana. 
 
THE CHESTER WHITE 183 
 
 A Heavy Breed. The Chester "White is classed as a large breed 
 of the lard type. Specimens of the ancestors of the breed dressed 
 over 1,000 pounds. In fact, specimens in any period of the breed's 
 history have dressed 1,000 pounds. While the breed has the capacity 
 for making large hogs, a table of the average weights of the ani- 
 mals shown at the National Swine Show, Omaha, Nebraska, in 
 October, 1917, may be of interest : 
 
 15 aged boars averaged 744 Ibs. heaviest one 915 Ibs. 
 
 7 senior year boars averaged 572 Ibs. heaviest one 710 Ibs. 
 
 15 junior year boars averaged 583 Ibs. heaviest one 720 Ibs. 
 
 26 senior year boars averaged 404 Ibs. heaviest one 460 Ibs. 
 
 20 aged sows averaged 586 Ibs. heaviest one 690 Ibs. 
 
 9 senior year sows averaged 551 Ibs. heaviest one 630 Ibs. 
 
 18 junior year sows averaged 501 Ibs. heaviest one 530 Ibs. 
 
 23 senior sow pigs averaged 401 Ibs. heaviest one 415 Ibs. 
 
 A well-known swine writer in his report of this breed at the 
 National Swine Show says : " As to uniformity of size for age the 
 Chester White breed is unexcelled." With this reputation and with 
 the winnings that this type of Chester White has made in the bar- 
 row shows and carcass contests, it is the opinion of the writer that 
 it might be a mistake to standardize an average weight very much 
 higher than is shown above. The Chester White is easily acclimated 
 and contented under different conditions ; is a good grasser a clean 
 dresser and a profitable cutter ; is prolific and raises a large percent 
 of a big litter, and can be fitted for the packer's market at any 
 age. The finished product, or the carcass of the Chester White and 
 its crosses, has an unparalleled record of winnings at the Inter- 
 national Live Stock Exposition in Chicago. The standard of type 
 for the breed, as formerly used, was revised by representative mem- 
 bers of the Chester White Swine Record Association and the 0. 1. C. 
 Swine Breeders' Association in 1913, and it is the official score card 
 for the breed and is so recognized by the American Association of 
 Expert Judges of Swine. 
 
 The Record Associations for the breed universally recognized 
 are the Chester White Swine Record Association, Rochester, 
 Indiana, the 0. I. C. Swine Breeders' Association, Goshen, Indiana, 
 and the National Chester White Record, West Chester, Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE POLAND CHINA 
 
 By WM. M. MCFADDEN 
 Secretary of the American Poland-China Record Association 
 
 In the early part of the nineteenth century, prior to the devel- 
 opment of the great Middle West, where grain production and ani- 
 mal husbandry now largely obtain, the necessity was keenly felt 
 for a meat-producing animal which could not only condense the rich 
 grain, chiefly corn, and carry it to market, but consume large 
 
 A Grand Champion Poland China Boar 
 
 quantities in short order, and be got to market as speedily as pos- 
 sible, once the grain was ready to feed. In the absence of pure- 
 bred hogs or records, a body of farmers and feeders in southwestern 
 Ohio set about designing a type of hog suited to American require- 
 ments, selecting, modeling, developing and perfecting various sorts 
 obtainable. They continued this cause until 1877, when a record 
 was established, and the Poland- China became the acknowledged 
 "cornbelt type," the great Middle West being known as the corn 
 and hog belt, later styled the corn, hog and clover belt. These Ohio 
 farmers sought a type of hog that could make the best use of corn, 
 because corn was abundant, and the most bulky crop to market as 
 raw product. 
 
 184 
 
THE POLAND CHINA 185 
 
 Developed and perfected, therefore, under American environ- 
 ment, by undoubtedly the most competent and skilful men who 
 ever engaged in a like enterprise, whose ideas were both original 
 and constructive, and whose primary object was superior feeding 
 and fattening ability, coupled with vigor, size and rapidity of 
 growth, the essentials, the prime requisites of economical produc- 
 tion and packing quality, were pre-eminently established, and 
 grounded in the breed in its inception, regardless of minor consider- 
 ations of color, markings and points of finish or fancy. 
 
 To the fact that the two prime factors disposition easily to 
 fatten at any age, and to make rapid and immense growth 
 were staunchly maintained against those divisions having to do with 
 the outward appearance or beauty, is due, beyond question, the 
 present superiority of the breed, and this fact is also accountable for 
 its universal popularity. 
 
 The geographical origin of the Poland- China was the Miami 
 Valley, Butler Co., 0., and the origin of the breed dates back to 
 early in the nineteenth century. Previously to 1816 two breeds of 
 hogs were generally known in this valley: the Russian or Russia 
 and the Byfield. These were generally bred, and their blooji 
 mingled with common hogs of the community. 
 
 In 1816 a boar and three sows, known as the Big China, were 
 brought into the valley by the Shakers' society, whose members 
 had much to do with the development of the Poland-China breed. 
 Used on the Russian and Byfield crosses, the Big China produced 
 superior feeders, and much improved the character of the Miami 
 Valley hogs, resulting in what became widely known as the Warren 
 County hog. 
 
 Between 1816 and 1835 the swine industry of southwestern 
 Ohio had a great impetus, due to the beneficial effects of this cross. 
 In 1839 a hog called the Irish Grazier was brought into the county, 
 and was one of the main factors in the perfecting of the Warren 
 County hog. 
 
 The Warren County hog had the distinction of being hardy, 
 vigorous, prolific, and much larger than hogs of any of the other 
 common breeds. After 1839 no outside blood was brought into the 
 county, according to the claim made of men in a position to know 
 the facts. Breeders of swine in this valley became "thoroughly 
 assured that they had the elements, the basis of a good breed of 
 hogs, and that by judicious, discriminating breeding they could 
 produce and establish a breed that would meet the demands of 
 the country." At the National Swine Breeders' Convention in 
 Indianapolis, Ind.,'in November, 1872, a committee, authorized to 
 investigate the origin of the breed, made a report, recommending 
 the name "Poland-China,"' which was adopted. The report con- 
 tinues : 
 
 "This breed has been thoroughly established. For more than 
 thirty-five years it has been continuously improving without the 
 
186 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 introduction of any new blood. It possesses unquestioned good 
 qualities, and can be relied upon for the production of a progeny 
 of like good points and qualities. The prominent characteristics of 
 the Poland-China are as follows: 
 
 1 'Hogs of good length, with short legs, broad, straight backs, 
 great depth of body, flanking well down, very broad, full, square 
 hams and shoulders, drooping ears ; short heads, wide between eyes ; 
 of spotted or dark color. They are hardy, vigorous and prolific, 
 and when fat are perfect models, pre-eminently combining the 
 excellencies of both the larger and smaller breeds." 
 
 All of what could properly be said about the breed in 1872 can 
 still be said, and much more. The addition of some degree of size 
 has been one of the most popular improvements among farmers. 
 Added bone, substance, and the holding of all the desirable ele- 
 ments of prolificacy and broodiness are some of the things that 
 have served to keep the breed as the best model for successful pork 
 production. 
 
 The claim that the Poland-China is the only strictly American 
 breed was questioned by a number of persons interested in other 
 breeds. But close study and careful thought in regard to the mat- 
 ter has resulted in a general acceptance of the correctness of the 
 statement. The consideration of this matter has served to bring 
 out some striking facts, quite favorable to the breed, which had not 
 previously had the attention which their importance deserved. 
 
 The Poland-China was distinctly the result of the constructive 
 breeding ideas of cornbelt farmers. Breeds of all colors and many 
 different forms and characteristics were used in connection with 
 the common hogs of the cornbelt country to produce the Poland- 
 China. In no predominating degree did the breed owe its form, 
 conformation and easy feeding qualities to importations, nor to 
 any one of the numerous breeds and kinds of hogs used in making 
 the Poland-China. 
 
 The breed was not fashioned after any hog ever seen in the 
 world before. It had new qualities, new possibilities, a new form, 
 and was not only a new hog, but pre-eminently the result of the 
 environments of the American cornbelt. In short, the breed was 
 distinctly entitled to that slogan which now bids fair to become so 
 popular, "Made in America." 
 
 Many significant things have happened during the last few 
 years to emphasize the growth of the Poland-China business in new 
 territory, and the popularity of the breed. Only a few years ago 
 the territory east of the Mississippi, and south of the Ohio, was 
 smothered under a bacon type blanket. All this has completely 
 changed, and the number of purebred Poland-Chinas in this sec- 
 tion is many times what it was a dozen years ago, and the breed 
 has assumed a commanding position, where formerly it made an 
 indifferent showing. Remarkable progress has been made in the 
 
THE POLAND CHINA 187 
 
 Pacific Coast country in the breeding of Poland- Chinas, and all of 
 the great northwest portion of the United States. Poland-China 
 breeders in this section are' aggressive, and imbued with unbounded 
 faith in the breed. 
 
 The wide dissemination of the breed in the great northwest 
 country of Canada, extending from Manitoba to the Pacific Coast, 
 has marked the most notable epoch in the way of breed extension, 
 which the Poland-China has ever seen, outside the so-called cornbelt. 
 The increase in popularity of the breed has doubtless been greatly 
 assisted by the large number of cornbelt farmers who have settled 
 in that territory. It is noticeable, however, that the quick growth 
 and easy-feeding qualities of the breed have commanded favorable 
 attention from a great many people in this section who were for- 
 merly bacon hog advocates. 
 
 The number of Poland-Chinas being recorded at present is 
 greater than ever before. The introduction of the breed into new 
 territory is making astonishing progress. In addition to this, there 
 is unmistakable evidence that the cornbelt farmer, after having 
 tried some experiment in breed or type, or having noted the results 
 of such experiments, has it more firmly fixed in his mind than at 
 any former time that no breed of hogs has in its makeup so many 
 of the essential elements of profitable pork production as the 
 Poland-China. 
 
 The first breed fashioned and developed in America, as a strictly 
 American breed, to meet cornbelt conditions, the Poland-China is 
 today better prepared than any other breed to serve as a pork- 
 making machine. Unexcelled for prolificacy, unequaled for size 
 with quality, and size for age, unapproached for adaptability to 
 average farm conditions, the popularity of the Poland-China is for 
 these reasons on a foundation of such real stability and tested merit 
 that the recent remarkable increase in business is easily accounted 
 for. No breed of hogs offers a more inviting field in which to obtain 
 sure and satisfactory results in return for intelligent and pains- 
 taking efforts. " 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SPOTTED POLAND CHINA 
 
 The Spotted Poland-China breed claims its origin is identical 
 with all other Poland- Chinas. They originated from an amalga- 
 mation of from five to seven mongrel breeds, beginning about 1830. 
 The first record association of the Poland-China breed, the old 
 Central, bears out this statement, as its first volume contains photo- 
 graphs and descriptions in about 1877 of black hogs, spotted hogs, 
 
 THE SPOTTED POLAND CHINA 
 
 189 
 
 and white hogs from the same litter. Many Poland-Chinas at 
 that time were white, spotted and black. We maintain that through 
 color prejudices the white hogs and spotted ones were discriminated 
 against to such an extent that they were almost extinct by 1910; 
 but a few breeders held out for spotted 'hogs, and in 1914 an 
 association was formed in Indianapolis for a record from that time 
 on for the spotted ones, and they were to be known as the Spoted 
 Poland-China. 
 
 Many of the hogs included in the National Spotted Poland- 
 China Record Association are eligible in the black Poland-China 
 records also, while others were picked up in 1914 and recorded 
 as foundation animals. 
 
 'We do not claim a perfect animal in type or color at this time, 
 but we do claim to be making an honest effort to improve our hogs, 
 and to breed them as near a given standard, both as to individuals 
 and as to color, as possible. We are trying to develop a hog of 
 good length, a nice spring of ribs, a smooth coat, and marked about 
 40 per cent white and nicely spotted, and we want just as large a 
 
 188 
 
THE SPOTTED POLAND CHINA 189 
 
 hog as possible to maintain its feeding qualities. We are enjoying 
 a splendid demand in every section of the United States for the 
 Spotted Poland-Chinas. We have now recorded about 7,000 head, 
 have 954 members, and I think practically every state in the union 
 is represented. We had classes in at least fourteen state fairs in 
 1918. We are strongly inclined to believe that there is no better 
 breed than ours, but the kind of hog to breed is ths kind one likes 
 best. Success with every breed depends on the efforts of the man 
 raising the hogs. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 HAMPSHIRES 
 
 The Hampshire hog of today is a combination type being 
 adapted for both bacon and lard. The breed is of English origin 
 and according to Mr. H. F. Work, at one time secretary of the breed 
 record association, the Hampshire traces to pigs brought to Massa- 
 chusetts from Hampshire,' England, about 1820. Descendants of 
 this importation were taken to Kentucky about 1825, and for a 
 
 A Typical Hampshire 
 
 number of years were kept pure and became popular with hog 
 breeders in Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana, but eventually 
 became so mixed with other breeds that it was hard to find a pure 
 bred Hampshire. 
 
 In the early 70 's, there were several herds along the Ohio River, 
 known as Thin-Rinds, which continued to exist until the American 
 Hampshire Swine Record Association was established in Boone 
 County, Kentucky, in 1893. This association by active work began 
 to improve and popularize the breed, and in 1904, the name * ' Hamp- 
 shire" was officially adopted for the breed. 
 
 The Hampshire hog has made good records in the dressed car- 
 cass contests and the barrow shows at the International Live Stock 
 Expositions and other national shows. It is held in high esteem by 
 
 190 
 
HAMPSHIRES 191 
 
 the packers, and its flesh carries a high percentage of lean, and is 
 generally fine grained. The breed gives good satisfaction in early 
 maturity and feeding qualities and is a good grazer. It is active, 
 hardy, and adaptable to almost any climate. 
 
 During the past few years, there has no breed made greater 
 progress than has the Hampshire in development of individuality 
 and in the distribution of the breed, as they are now found in large 
 numbers in most of the states as well as becoming popular in 
 Canada. 
 
 According to the standard of excellence adopted by the Amer- 
 ican Hampshire Swine Record Association, the ideal Hampshire has 
 a head of a medium length, rather narrow, cheeks not full, face 
 nearly straight, and medium width between the eyes. The eyes are 
 bright and lively, and free from wrinkles or fat surroundings. The 
 ear is medium, although thin, and slightly inclined outward and for- 
 ward. The neck is short and well set to the shoulders ; the back is 
 straight or slightly arched, medium breadth with nearly uniform 
 thickness from shoulder to ham, and full at the loin. The sides are 
 full, smooth and firm. The hams are of medium width and long 
 and deep. The legs are medium length, set well apart, and squarely 
 under the body. The coat is fine, straight, and smooth. The animal 
 is black with the exception of a white belt encircling the body, 
 including the fore legs. The disposition of the Hampshire is docile, 
 quiet, and easily handled. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 YORKSHIRES 
 
 The Yorkshire, as its name might signify, was originated in 
 England and is descended from large, coarse boned, leggy white 
 hogs which were common in Yorkshire and other nearby counties 
 for many years. The exact origin of the breed is unknown.' 
 
 Three distinct types of Yorkshires are bred : the Large, Middle, 
 and Small Yorkshire. The Yorkshire is strictly a bacon type hog, 
 
 A Typical Yorkshire Sow, "Bacon Type" 
 
 and is used with splendid success in crossing on smaller types. 
 
 The first authentic report of an importation of Yorkshires to 
 the United States was in 1892. The headquarters for the breed is 
 in Minnesota with representative herds in many sections of the 
 United States. 
 
 In Canada the breed has progressed much farther than in this 
 country, and is one of the most popular and most numerous breeds 
 found there today. 
 
 The Yorkshire is pure white in color. Black hairs disqualify, 
 but black or blue spots on the skin do not, although it is the aim 
 of the breeder to reduce these skin spots as far as possible. A large 
 proportion of lean to fat, and great length of side makes the York- 
 shire particularly desirable as a bacon producing animal. To pro- 
 duce a very fat carcass at an early age, the Large Yorkshire is not 
 the ideal type. It is a special-purpose breed, and that purpose is 
 to produce bacon, and as a bacon producing animal it is held in 
 very high regard. 
 
 192 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE TAMWORTH 
 
 The Tamworth is one of the oldest breeds of improved swine, 
 there being no out-crossing for more than 100 years. About or prior 
 to 1812 Sir Robert Peel, then secretary 'for the English Crown to 
 Ireland, brought from Ireland to his own estate in England, at a 
 place called Tamworth, a breed of swine, probably descendants of 
 the Irish Grazier. Sir Robert was much interested in improvement 
 
 A "Bacon Type" Tamworth Sow 
 
 of domestic animals, and "Kept this breed of swine pure and without 
 an outcross to the time of his death in 1850, and the breed became 
 known from that time on as Tamworth. 
 
 In the first volume of the National Pig Breeders' Association 
 herd book of Great Britain, published in 1885, we find four Tarn- 
 worths recorded, two sows and two boars, Ruby 272, bred by 
 Lord Hastings, East Dereham, Norfolk; Sanda, 274, bred by Mrs. 
 Jos. Norman, Tamworth, England ; Ruf us, 261, bred by Lord Hast- 
 ings ; Sampson, 263, bred by Thos. Watson, Coleshill, England. 
 
 In Vol. XI of the English herd book, 1895, is found the first 
 published standard of excellence. It is practically the same as is 
 in use today. The Tamworth was practically red in color, with 
 occasionally some black spots, these spots, however, denoting no 
 impurity of blood. It is objectionable merely as a fancy point, and 
 today very few black spots are seen. 
 
 193 
 
194 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 The second volume of the Canadian Swine Breeders' Record, 
 published in 1893, has the first recording of Tamworths in America, 
 imported in 1889 by John Bell L'Amoroux, Ont, Canada. The 
 breed became very popular throughout Canada, and the writer at 
 one time while visiting the Toronto Exposition, the great Canadian 
 fair, saw more Tamworths on exhibition than any other one breed 
 of swine. How long previously to this if any there were Tamworths 
 in Canada the writer has been unable to ascertain. 
 
 We find in 1881 Thos. Bennett, Rossville, 111., imported from 
 England some purebred Tamworths. Since this introduction into 
 the United States the Tamworth has been slowly making gains. 
 The appearance of the animal has been against it, and much unjust 
 criticism, both through intent and ignorance, has been cast upon the 
 breed. 
 
 Chief Characteristics. For decades before the introduction of 
 bacon hogs the American people had become fixed admirers of the 
 lard types with their rather short, thick, plump, smooth bodies and 
 short heads, necks and limbs. The Tamworth conformation inclined 
 to the opposite type. The wide divergence from appearance stand- 
 point has undoubtedly militated against them, even in the face of 
 logical reasoning from an economic standpoint. The Tamworths, 
 contrary to the opinion of some, are docile, tractable animals, 
 responding, as all animals do, to the character of the, treatment 
 accorded them. The Tamworth is possessed in an unexcelled degree 
 of the qualities of good motherhood, including ease of conception, 
 large litters, abundant milk supply and attentiveness to young. 
 It is particularly well adapted for the purposes of cross-breeding in 
 the production of intermediate types. 
 
 The Tamworth is pre-eminently a bacon hog. The dressed car- 
 cass may be cut up on the local dealer's block, and retailed with 
 little labor and expense in converting the by-products into market- 
 able goods. The Tamworth products a maximum amount of bacon 
 from its long, lean, deep sides, which are not unduly covered with 
 fat. The hams and shoulders, being devoid of an excess of fat, 
 meet with favor on the market. 
 
 From the standpoint of economic production there is no reliable 
 data on record to prove that it costs more to produce a given weight 
 with the bacon than the lard type of hogs. A number of compara- 
 tive tests have been made by several institutions, and the results go 
 to show that the Tamworth is capable of holding its own. 
 
 Standing of the Breed. The following data were collected by 
 Geo. M. Rommel of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, 
 and published in Bulletin No. 47 of the Department of Agriculture. 
 Experiments were made with six breeds, at eight different experi- 
 ment stations, with reference to the number of pounds of feed con- 
 sumed to make 100 pounds of gain. It appears that the Tamworth 
 is capable of holding its own with the best of the breeds. 
 
 \ 
 
THE TAMWORTH 
 
 195 
 
 Breed 
 
 No. of Tests 
 
 Total No. of 
 Pigs 
 
 Feed for 100 
 Ibs. Grain 
 
 Tamworth 
 Chester White 
 
 16 
 13 
 
 92 
 71 
 
 344 Ibs. 
 347 
 
 Poland-China 
 Berkshire 
 Large Yorkshire 
 Duroc-Jersey 
 
 22 
 28 
 11 
 11 
 
 96 
 121 
 67 
 66 
 
 357 
 369 
 407 
 418 
 
 As a range hog none can surpass the Tamworth; in fact, it has 
 not been found wanting in any place, north, south, east or west. 
 Tamworth sows are great mothers, producing as a rule large litters 
 and raising them. The percentage of loss very small. To show the 
 tendency to prolificacy the following will illustrate: One sow in 
 eighteen months farrowed 57 pigs, and raises 50 of them; another 
 in a twelve-month farrowed 42 and raised 40 of them. 
 
 The Tamworth will weigh well at any age, but to get full growth 
 and weight, which occasionally reaches over 1,000 pounds in sows 
 and 1,200 to 1,300 pounds in males, the time required to reach 
 maturity may be a little longer than with some of the other breeds ; 
 but how long it would take the others to reach these weights we do 
 not attempt to say. It is reported from an authority that a Tam- 
 worth was killed in England some years ago that weighed alive 
 1,607 and dressed 1,330 pounds. This without doubt establishes the 
 heavy-weight record for swine. Amber King 1705, sold by W. 
 Warren Morton of Kentucky to the John Robinson Circus, weighed 
 1,400 pounds, and was shown as "the largest hog in the world." 
 
 Record Association. The American Tamworth Swine Record 
 Association was organized in 1897. It is the only record associa- 
 tion of the breed in the United States, and the only exclusively 
 Tamworth record association in the world. No apology is due either 
 the bacon hog for his looks or the owner for his choice. The most 
 typical of all bacon hogs, the Tamworth is as much a distinct type 
 of hog as the horse is of the equine family. Purebred bacon hogs 
 should never be confounded with the lean, unthrifty and half- 
 finished, half -starved type of hog of all breeds or no breed at all, 
 brought to market and offered as bacon hogs. Neither should the 
 breadth of his ears, the length of snout or of leg be made a matter 
 of comparison with freaks of other breeds. The undisputed merit of 
 the Tamworth, together with the kindly spirit of his breeder, is 
 rapidly extending his acquaintanceship, and he is here to conquer 
 conditions as he finds them. "We find in all lines of endeavor that 
 there are some who are aggressive, and push their business. It is 
 so in the breeding of purebred stock, and too many engaged in the 
 business leave all the push and publicity to the few, and they sit 
 quietly by and indirectly get the benefit at the expense of the 
 hustler. Let each breeder stand up for the advantages of his par- 
 ticular breed, and the value of the PUREBRED over the scrub. 
 All our improvement in the industry has come through the pure- 
 bred, the pedigreed animal. Purebreds make most economical gains, 
 
196 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 mature at an early age, are more uniform in shape, color, and 
 quality, hence are worth more for market purposes than scrubs. 
 Purebred sires are a necessity. 
 
 It is true that there are pedigree scrubs, but these are to be dis- 
 carded. No breeder who wishes to build up a permanent business 
 and a good reputation should breed from inferior animals, or sell 
 their produce for breeding purposes. The price asked for pure- 
 bred animals should be sufficient to guarantee to the purchaser 
 that he will get valuable animals, typical of the breed. Too many 
 purchasers want to buy cheap. Don't cater to that kind of trade. 
 
 In the swine industry let there be a higher standard of excel- 
 lence for pedigree stock, a more general appreciation of its value 
 among breeders, and then a means of impressing this value on in- 
 tending purchasers. We must have confidence in our business, else 
 we cannot inspire others with confidence. More and more is con- 
 fidence in breeders becoming apparent, and those who have or will 
 achieve success must be honest and have the confidence of the public. 
 A sale made by mail should be as satisfactory as by personal inspec- 
 tion of the herd by the would-be purchaser. That inspires confi- 
 dence in the business. 
 
 Breed for a purpose, have an ideal and strive to attain it. The 
 breeder who aims at nothing in particular usually hits the mark. 
 Nowhere is the goal of him who follows anywhere. Breed and 
 feed improve live stock for profit. Breed improved live 'stock for 
 the pleasure there is in it. Breed improved live stock to hand a 
 legacy to posterity, something of value that will show that you 
 have been a benefactor to your community while engaged in a liveli- 
 hood, and perhaps carved for yourself a name that will be carried 
 into history. The true breeder does not lose sight of the fact that 
 any improvement made in breeding has been done to improve the 
 animal rather than to wander to speculative values. While im- 
 provement goes on, the ideal must be kept in mind, no matter what 
 the commercial value of the animal. Those who have stood "pat," 
 those who looked into the future and guessed it would be good, 
 have not been disappointed; they are reaping their reward. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE MULEFOOT 
 
 By JOHN H. DUNLAP, 
 President, American Mule foot Hog Breeders' Association 
 
 Aristotle, who was born in 384 B. C., wrote of a race of hogs 
 with undivided toes or consolidated hoofs. Later Linaeus, the 
 Swedish naturalist, born in 1707, wrote that hogs with undivided 
 toes were not uncommon about his native town in Sweden. This 
 hog has been known to naturalists in different parts of the world for 
 more than 2,000 years. With all of this line of ancestry, the Mule- 
 foot is a stranger to the great rank and file of hog breeders today. 
 Just as the hut builders of South Africa used the blue mud from the 
 diamond vein to daub his house, overlooking the immense wealth 
 carried in each hod, so have the hog breeders overlooked the great 
 value of the Mulefoot. It is a real diamond which was neglected 
 in the rough, but brought to perfection has surpassed the fondest 
 hopes of the most enthusiastic. 
 
 The bottom of the foot of these hogs is soft and padlike, similar 
 to the pads on animals of the cat family. This would indicate that 
 they must have been a flesh-eating animal at one time, and nature 
 provided them with pads to enable them to prey on other animals. 
 They seem to be the same as other hogs except for their feet, yet 
 I find their intestines are smaller. This gives them a larger dress- 
 ing percentage. 
 
 This breed gets its name from its solid foot, which is solid like 
 that of a horse or mule. The flesh is of a remarkably fine flavor. 
 There are a great many ideas held about its origin, but this as well 
 as the tendency of the purebred Mulefoot to assert itself with 
 a solid foot when crossed with other breeds, is still puzzling the 
 scientists. 
 
 My attention was called to this breed by a letter from Mr. Quinn 
 of the United States Department of Agriculture. It seems that 
 the Government has never been able to find out where or how this 
 breed got its solid foot. Claims are made by many who purchased 
 Mulefoot of me that compared with other breeds they are hardier, 
 have greater vitality, mature earlier, and cost less to make the first 
 250 pounds. The sows are gentle, kind mothers, are usually very 
 prolific, raising large litters, which if turned out will hustle for 
 their living, or grow and thrive, paying big returns under good 
 care and attention. They claim the pigs are hardier and freer 
 from pig diseases than pigs of other breeds, and are great rovers, 
 hustling for themselves from time of birth. The sows are better 
 sucklers than those of any other breed I have ever had under ob- 
 servation. They seem to have a gre^at capacity to produce milk 
 while suckling pigs and the sows are harder to keep in high flesh, 
 but as soon as their litters ase weaned the gain in flesh is very 
 
 197 
 
198 BREED HISTORIES 
 
 rapid. As a breeder of Mulefoot, I am now taking pains to cross 
 the different families, and to have a hog equal to any breed. While 
 the Mulefoots have been inbred to a certain extent, they attain 
 to weights equal to those of Poland- Chinas or Duroc Jerseys, and 
 can easily attain to individual weights of 600 to 800 pounds. 
 The color of the Mulefoots is usually black, sometimes black with 
 white spots. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 OTHER BREEDS OF HOGS 
 
 In addition to the standard breeds of hogs which are most 
 numerous in the United States, there are other minor breeds, a 
 number of which have only local distribution. Others have in the 
 past been more or less popular but have lost popular favor because 
 of deterioration in the breed or some other reason. These minor 
 breeds are : Essex, Victorias, Cheshires, Suffolk, Large Black Pig, 
 and Middle White. None of these breeds are raised to any extent 
 in the United States. 
 
 The Essex originated in Essex County, England, and belongs 
 to the small breeds, being much smaller than the present day pop- 
 ular breeds. It is all black in color, smooth and compact of body. 
 The Improved Essex was imported into the United States in large 
 numbers at one time, but practically no Essex have been brought 
 into this country during later years. The Essex is quick maturing 
 and easy fleshing, but its lack of size prevents it from becoming 
 popular with the farmer. 
 
 The Victoria is a medium sized hog, with a rather short snout, 
 dished face, erect ear, and white in color. The breed was originated 
 about 1870 by Geo. F. Davis, Dyer, Ind., and was formed by com- 
 bining the blood of the Berkshire, Chester White, Suffolk, and 
 Poland-China. Although a breed known as the Victoria was orig- 
 inated in 1850 by Col. F. D. Curtis of New York, the breed is not 
 generally recognized as a distinct breed and is not widely known. 
 
 The Cheshire breed was originated in Jefferson County, N. Y., 
 about 1855. Some believe that Cheshire is simpty a derivative of 
 the Yorkshires, as Yorkshires were brought into Jefferson County 
 and crossed with white pigs of that neighborhood. It is also be- 
 lieved that Suffolk blood was used in breeding up the Cheshire. 
 The Cheshire is a white medium sized breed with slightly dished 
 face, small erect ear, fine bone, with well developed shoulders and 
 hams. The breed has made very slow progress and is practically 
 unknown outside of the United States. 
 
 The Suffolk is a small breed, with dished face, small and very 
 short snout, erect ears, and a thick short body, set up on very short 
 fine boned legs. The hair is of a pale yellowish white color. This 
 breed is of the same origin as the small Yorkshire. There is no such 
 breed as the White Suffolk recognized in England, but the name 
 is sometimes applied locally to the Small Black breed, of which the 
 Essex is a representative. The breed has practically disappeared in 
 Canada and is found only in small numbers in the Mississippi 
 Valley in the United States. 
 
 The Large Black Pig, as its name would signify, is solid black 
 and of large proportions, one of the characteristics being a very 
 
 199 
 
200 OTHER BREEDS OF HOGS 
 
 large drooping ear. It is somewhat on the order of the bacon 
 type. The origin of the breed is not known, although it has been 
 bred for many years in England. This breed is hardly known 
 outside of England and is bred only locally there. 
 
 The Middle White is in reality a cross between the Large 
 White and the Small White, although it is recognized in England 
 as a distinct breed. Some of the breed might pass as the Large 
 White and others, the Small. The Middle White is practically un- 
 known in this country, although a few have been imported into 
 America during the past few years. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 FARMERS MEAT SHOWS 
 
 During the last few years exhibits of country-cured meat have 
 become quite common throughout the United States, especially in 
 the Central and Southern portions where the curing of hams after 
 the old-time recipes has reached the highest degree of perfection. 
 
 Of all the states in the Union, Missouri was the first to put 
 on a Farmers' Ham and Bacon Show under state auspices. In 
 January, 1913, at which time we were serving as assistant secretary 
 of the Missouri State Board of Agriculture, we, with the approval 
 of that body, inaugurated the pioneer farmers' meat show. Two 
 factors prompted us to put on such a show. We wanted to get 
 the consumer acquainted with the outstanding merits of country- 
 cured meat, and we desired also to interest more farmers in the 
 making of meat that would be a distinct credit to the country. So 
 the show was both an exhibit and a school. Our idea was, and 
 still is, that the farmer is of all men the best fitted to instruct and 
 interest others in meat making or, to put it in Missouri parlance, 
 to "show 'em." 
 
 The first exhibit, held in the Missouri College of Agriculture 
 buildings, brought out a few very excellent pieces of country- 
 cured meat, especially hams, but in the main the exhibits were 
 sadly lacking in attractiveness and uniformity. Generally speak- 
 ing, the quality was good, and the men who knew of the merits 
 of country ham eagerly bought all that were for sale at the con- 
 clusion of the show. At the same time the city consumer, accus- 
 tomed to the attractively put up packing house product, was wont 
 to turn up his nose at the country-cured ham that is unless his 
 nose caught the appetizing aroma of said ham. In this event it 
 was different. To taste this ham was ever after to want one. 
 
 At this first show some effort was made to establish a sort of 
 score card or standard of excellence for hams. A tentative score 
 card for the judging of hams was suggested as follows; Size and 
 form weight (10 to 18 pounds) 5; trim, 10; symmetry, 5; total, 20. 
 Cure and quality flavor, 50 ; color, 10 ; texture, 10 ; proportion of 
 fat to lean, 5 ; marbling, 5 ; total, 80 ; grand total, 100. 
 
 Not only was the second Missouri farmers' ham and bacon 
 show larger than the first, but the quality and uniformity of the 
 meat was superior. The improvement of trim and general appear- 
 ance of hams was especially noticeable where the exhibitors had 
 made entries in the first show. The third annual exhibit repre- 
 sented a long step forward. Clearly, both the management and 
 the exhibitors were learning a noteworthy change in the better 
 display of meat in the showroom. This included more and clearer 
 classifications, with rack and shelving arrangements calculated to 
 
 201 
 
202 FARMERS MEAT SHOWS 
 
 bring out more prominently the educational side of the show. 
 For instance, after the hams had been cut for the inspection of 
 the judges; they were not piled in a heap but by the use of 
 proper racks, provided with shelving, the parts of the ham were 
 kept together so that the entire piece of meat might be seen at a 
 glance. This arrangement made it easy for the public to compare 
 the outside appearance of the ham with the appearance after it 
 had been cut. 
 
 In the third annual Missouri show the prize list was as follows : 
 Best home-cured country ham, $25 ; second, $15 ; third, $10. Home- 
 cured country bacon first, $25; second, $15; third, $10. Home- 
 cured country shoulders first, $12.50 ; second, $7.50. Fresh coun- 
 try sausage, first $10, and second, $5.00. Smoked or fancy country 
 sausage, first, $10, and second, $5.00. In later shows separate 
 classifications were provided for cured sausage and for fancy saus- 
 age. This is advisable. Green hams are not exhibited. Hams 
 must have been made eight months or more. This rule should not 
 apply to shoulders or bacon. Here only sufficient cure to preserve 
 is all that is required. 
 
 In conducting a farmers' meat show it is important that the 
 announcement concerning it be made in ample time and that this 
 announcement be couched in the plainest and most simple language. 
 The premium list and terms governing the exhibit should be clearly 
 defined. All meat should be received at the show room in time to 
 be entered and placed for exhibit before the opening of the show. 
 When received, each piece should be weighed and tagged with a 
 number corresponding to the entry number in the superintendent's 
 book. All entries should be confined strictly to farm-made meat. 
 In the Missouri show the rule has been to return all meat at ex- 
 hibitor 's expense at the close of the contest or to sell meat at market 
 price and remit this. 
 
 In conducting a meat show, one difficulty is to secure competent 
 judges, men who know good country-cured meat and who know 
 how to make it. If there are up-to-date farmers who have given 
 considerable thought to this question and who have established 
 reputations for the quality of their smoke-house products, they will 
 perhaps be the best judges. Many good judges of fresh meat lack 
 the qualifications for judging the country-cured product. 
 
 It is important that the showroom be neat and clean as this 
 will make the exhibits appear to better advantage. Winners of 
 prizes should be required to furnish, if possible, the recipes by 
 which meat was cured. Other information, such as breed of hog, 
 age and weight, from which meat came is desirable. 
 
 If at first there was doubt as to the value or practibility of a 
 farmers' ham and bacon show, these misgivings have been removed. 
 At such shows, in Missouri and in many other states which have 
 fallen in line, there is now seen the real country ham, brown as a 
 berry, sweet and savory, and with white fat and red lean, making 
 altogether a most appetizing product. The bacon, too, is of the 
 best, " crisp, juicy savory," with the much sought "streak o' fat 
 and streak o' lean" splendidly sandwiched. Such an exhibit ban- 
 
FARMERS MEAT SHOWS 203 
 
 ishes forever from the city man's mind the idea that a country 
 ham is a long-shanked piece of meat apparently trimmed with an 
 axe, the superabundance of fat being yellow, and the smell, as it 
 comes from a dirty sack, a vivid reminder of rancid lard. Nor 
 will this connoisseur from the city longer think of country bacon 
 as a piece of very salty "pale complexioned side meat". The only 
 dissatisfaction that will exist in the mind of the would-be con- 
 sumer will result from his inability to satisfy his ap.petite. 
 
 Farmers ' meat shows should not be limited to State and Federal 
 support. Swine breeders' associations everywhere should back up 
 the movement. Agricultural associations and farm clubs generally 
 may well take the lead. The war has taught many that they can 
 temporarily do with less meat. Hence, it is doubly important 
 that, now that peace has again come, that the truth that nothing 
 can, after all, permanently take the place of meat, be impressed 
 on the purchasing public. Most of all, the farmer needs to know 
 that he can make better meat for his own use than he can buy, and 
 at the same time the cost is less. The after-the-war period should 
 bring about the revival of the countcy smoke-house. If it is worth 
 while for the lemon growers and the raisin growers of California 
 to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in exploiting their goods 
 it is no less important that the swine growers of America advertise 
 their products. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' 
 ASSOCIATION 
 
 BY MEBRITT S. MCFADDEN 
 
 The devastating and long to be remembered foot-and-mouth 
 scourge which secured a footing in America in 1914 was the in- 
 direct cause of the formation of the National Swine Growers' Asso- 
 ciation. It has long been the custom for breeders of purebred swine 
 to look forward to their annual meetings during the International 
 Live Stock Exposition in Chicago, the first week in December. The 
 prevalence of the foot-and-mouth disease in 1914 made it necessary 
 to abandon the International that year, thus removing the attrac- 
 tion that had made possible representative gatherings of the de- 
 votees of the several breeds. It was to counteract this loss and to 
 offer an attraction that would bring forth representative gather- 
 ings that the Illinois Swine Breeders' Association in 1914 sent 
 forth an invitation to the swine breeders of America to attend a 
 meeting of their organization in Chicago on Dec. 2, 1914, the 
 prime object being the formation of a National association of swine 
 growers. 
 
 At the time this step was taken J. Young Caldwell, William's- 
 ville, 111., was president of the Illinois Swine Breeders' Association, 
 and Charles A. Marker, of Auburn, L. E. Frost, then of Spring- 
 field, W. M. McFadden of Chicago, E. J. Evans of Chicago, L. E. 
 Troeger of Chicago, E. C. Stone of Peoria, W. S. Corsa of White- 
 hall, W. J. Carmichael of the University of Illinois and others 
 took an active and prominent part in crystallizing the idea of a 
 National Swine Growers' Association. 
 
 Accordingly on the date set more than one hundred representa- 
 tive swine breeders of all breeds and from all sections of the country 
 sat at dinner at the Fort Dearborn Hotel in Chicago. Opinions 
 and suggestions were offered by nearly all of the leaders of the 
 swine business of that day who were in attendance. The unanimity 
 of opinion and the broadness of the spirit of those present re- 
 sulted in the organization of the present National Swine Growers' 
 Association. Wm. M. McFadden presided as chairman of that 
 meeting. A. C. Halliwell, at that time editor of "The Chicago 
 Daily Live Stock World," was elected president, J. L. Thatcher, 
 Davenport, la., vice-president, L. E. Troeger of Chicago, secretary, 
 and Geo. M. Cantrall, also of Chicago, treasurer. All of these 
 officers were elected by acclamation. The executive committee 
 selected at this meeting constituted a representative from each 
 of the various breeds, and the personnel was as follows: For 
 Hampshires, E. C. Stone, Peoria, 111. ; for Berkshires, W. S. Corsa, 
 Whitehall, 111. ; for Duroc-Jerseys, J. Young Caldwell, Williams- 
 ville, 111. ; for Poland-Chinas, J. E. Meharry, Tolono, 111. ; for Tam- 
 
 204 
 
THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 205 
 
 worths, Frank Thornber, Carthage, 111.; for Large Yorkshires, 
 Thomas H. Canfield, Lake Park, Minn. ; for Mulefoots, John H. 
 Dunlap, Williamsport, 0.; for Chester Whites, Fred H. Moore, 
 Rochester, Ind. 
 
 The activities of the first year were directed by men who gave 
 liberally of their own time to the service of the association, and no 
 mean amount of progress was made in placing the association on a 
 plane that commended it to the attention of the nation's live stock 
 husbandmen. Plans for a National Swine Show, suggested and 
 commended upon at various times during the year, failed to result 
 in the establishment of such a show, owing to the prevalence of the 
 foot-and-mouth disease. The interest in the association, however, 
 continued, and when the annual dinner was called at the Fort 
 Dearborn Hotel on Dec. 1, 1915, notwithstanding the fact that the 
 International Live Stock Exposition had again been cancelled, the 
 attendance numbered well above two hundred breeders from many 
 parts of America, and represented all of the breeds of swine. The 
 idea of the National Swine Show crystallized at this meeting, and 
 definite plans were inaugurated, looking to the establishment of 
 such a show during 1916. Secretary W. M. McFadden of the 
 American Poland-China Record Association was elected president 
 of the association, with J. Young Caldwell, Williamsville, 111., vice- 
 president, James J. Doty, Shenandoah, la., secretary, and George 
 M. Cantrall, Chicago, treasurer. The personnel of the executive 
 committee was, for Poland-Chinas, H. L. Currie, Brownsville, 
 Tenn. ; for Duroc-Jerseys, Charles V. Truax, Sycamore, 0. ; for 
 Hampshires, E. C. Stone, Peoria, 111. ; for Spotted Poland-Chinas, 
 Mrs. Jennie M. Conrad, Conrad, Ind. : for Mulefoots, John H. 
 Dunlap, Williamsport, 0. ; for Berkshires, W. S. Corsa, Whitehall, 
 111. ; for Large Yorkshires, Thomas H. Canfield, White Bear Lake, 
 Minn. ; for Chester Whites, C. R. Doty, Charleston, 111. 
 
 The enthusiasm that prevailed at the meeting indicated that it 
 was the definite intention of the swinemen to support the associa- 
 tion, using it as the official voice of America's swine interests. The 
 year that followed the meeting found the association active in its 
 efforts to secure more uniform and better quarantine regulations, 
 disease eradication methods and many other improvements in swine 
 husbandry conditions, and to the development of a national show 
 of purebred swine. 
 
 In January, 1916, announcement was made of the selection of 
 the site for the National Swine Show. Omaha was chosen as the 
 location, after competition with Waterloo and Des Moines, la., 
 Dallas, Tex., Atlanta, Ga., Memphis, Tenn., and Shreveport, La. 
 The inducements offered by the Nebraska city were such as to offer 
 every likelihood of a successful initial show, which proved to be 
 the case, when the show closed on Oct. 7. Upwards of 1,400 hogs 
 were on exhibition, and the character and excellence of the exhibits 
 were such as to bring forth the highest praise from the country's 
 live stock press. The judging in the various breeds was ably done, 
 and the standards there established have become the standards for 
 
206 "THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 
 
 the breeds in all of the shows, with a resulting harmony of effort 
 that has advanced the purebred industry and the showring to a 
 plane that neither had ever before enjoyed. 
 
 The annual meeting of the association in 1916 was held at the 
 Fort Dearborn Hotel in Chicago on Dec. 4. Two hundred and 
 thirty-nine sat at dinner that evening. There is no question that 
 there had never previously been so large or representative a gather- 
 ing of men interested in America's swine husbandry, and all were 
 enthusiastic over the accomplishments of the association, especially 
 over the initial National Swine Show. The discussions of the 
 evening outlined many of the fields of endeavor for the association 
 in broadening the swine industry. It was at this meeting that the 
 suggestion was first publicly made for the employment of a man to 
 devote his entire time to the interests of swinemen an idea that 
 crystallized twelve months later. 
 
 The officers in 1916 were unanimously chosen to continue their 
 duties through 1917, thus leaving in office President W. M. Mc- 
 Fadden, Vice-President J. Young Caldwell, Secretary James J. 
 Doty and Treasurer George M. Cantrall. The 1917 executive com- 
 mittee was selected as follows : For Poland-Chinas, H. Wade 
 Gillis, Mt. Pleasant, la.; for Duroc-Jerseys, W. H. VanMeter, 
 Williamsville, 111. ; for Berkshires, C. F. Curtiss, Ames, la. ; for 
 Chester Whites, Fred H. Moore, Rochester, Ind. ; for Hampshires, 
 Willie Essig, Tipton, Ind.; for Spotted Poland-Chinas, Fred L. 
 Obenchain, Bainbridge, Ind. ; for Mulef oots, John H. Dunlap, 
 Williamsport, 0. ; for Tamworths, J. B. Mackoy, Farrugut, la. ; for 
 Large Yorkshires, B. F. Davidson, Menlo, la. 
 
 The Association early announced that the National Swine Show 
 for 1917 would be held in the same quarters as the event in 1916, 
 with such additions as might be required. The dates were set as 
 Oct. 3-10, inclusive, thus including a Sunday in the middle of the 
 show week a move made to bring out a large attendance of town- 
 folk on that day. The idea did not bring the desired result, how- 
 ever, and was abandoned the following year. In July the show 
 committee W. M. McFadden, L. E. Frost and E. C. Stone met 
 with the various recording association secretaries, and compiled the 
 rules that were to govern the show in 1917, and the report of that 
 meeting was widely published. A students' judging contest was 
 planned at this meeting, and N. M. Gordon of Chicago was made 
 chairman of the committee in charge, his co-workers being Ray 
 Davis and R. L. (''Bob") Hill. Subsequently this event proved to 
 be one of the real features of the show. 
 
 The stage for the second national was well set, and the number 
 of entries exceeded those of 1916 by over a hundred head and the 
 quality, uniformity and type of the animals presented offered elo- 
 quent evidence of the influence of the show of the preceding year. 
 There was far less divergence in type and a considerably greater 
 uniformity in the pens that year, and the judging was again of the 
 kind more firmly to set the best standards of breed development. 
 The attendance at the show was a disappointment to the officials 
 although the earlier days showed a sharp advance over the figures 
 
THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 207 
 
 for the previous year. Doubtless the cold weather of the closing 
 days was largely responsible for the decrease. It was a fact worthy 
 of note, however, that there was a larger number of breeders 
 present from a distance, and many of the best animals were sold by 
 exhibitors to these men. 
 
 Gifford Pinchot of the United States Food Administration was a 
 visitor at the show, and a meeting of the swinemen was held in the 
 Exchange Building in Omaha during the week to consider with 
 him the best means to be employed to bring about an increase in the 
 amount of pork produced in 1918. Members of the association at- 
 tended the meeting in large numbers, and resolutions were adopted 
 designed to offer the proper stimulus to pork production. The de- 
 bate on the subject was spirited, and the unity of the hogmen to aid 
 the Government in bringing the 'desired results was marked. There 
 is no question that that meeting largely of the National Swine 
 Growers' Association membership, was an important cog in the 
 machinery that was employed to assure an adequate production of 
 pork in 1918. 
 
 In the winter of 1917 the importance of the association had come 
 to be so widely appreciated that it was no longer possible to hold 
 the annual meeting in the quarters previously used for that pur- 
 pose. Therefore the meeting was arranged for the Morrison Hotel 
 in Chicago on Monday night of the International show week. The 
 healthy condition of the organization was evidenced by the balance 
 of $2,199 in the treasury and by the large increase in membership 
 during the year. It was at this meeting that the subject of securing 
 a salaried secretary for the association was brought to a head by 
 the assurance of various pledges of financial support. The record 
 associations and various publications evidenced a desire to be 
 counted in on the program for supporting such an office, and the 
 selection of a man was delegated to the executive committee. This 
 committee was selected as follows : For Duroc-Jerseys, W. H. Van- 
 Meter, Williamsville, 111. ; for Poland-Chinas, Chas. A. Marker, Au- 
 burn, 111. ; for Chester Whites, Fred H. Moore, Rochester, Ind. ; for 
 Berkshires, E. J. Barker, Thorntown, Ind.; for Hampshires, E. C. 
 Stone, Peoria, 111. ; for Tamworths, J. B. Mackoy, Farragut, la. ; 
 for Spotted Poland-Chinas, John Bock, Kempton, Ind. ; for Large 
 Yorkshires, B. F. Davidson, Menlo, la. ; for Mulefoots, Robert E. 
 Pfeiffer, Columbus, 0. W. M. McFadden was elected president 
 of the association for the third successive term, Robt. J. Evans of 
 Chicago, vice-president, E. Z. Russell, Omaha, Neb., secretary, and 
 George M. Cantrall, Chicago, treasurer. 
 
 Early in 1918 a meeting of the executive committee was held 
 in Peoria, 111., at which various proposals were heard for the loca- 
 tion of the 1918 National Swine Show, and at the same time a con- 
 siderable amount of discussion was indulged in relative to the 
 selection of a permanent salaried secretary for the organization. 
 No definite decision was reached in either instance at this meeting, 
 but subsequently announcement was made of the selection of Cedar 
 Rapids as the site of the 1918 show, and a month later ratification 
 
208 THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 
 
 of the selection of John T. Stinson for the office of permanent secre- 
 tary was announced. The selection of Cedar Rapids for the show 
 came as a considerable surprise, but centering the show as it did in 
 the heart of one of the greatest swine producing areas the announce- 
 ment was well received, and interest in the event took an early 
 impetus. 
 
 Mr. Stinson located his office at Cedar Rapids, and at once 
 busied himself with campaigns for the securing of memberships in 
 the association. A great deal of missionary work was done to find 
 the most effective methods of securing members, and the results of 
 the efforts were considerable, though the natural reticence of 
 farmers to organize themselves has been apparent throughout the 
 building of the association. The secretary's office kept the members 
 well posted on the happenings in swinedom and was particularly 
 effective in giving authentic reports of all movements of the Food 
 Administration looking toward a realization of the necessary in- 
 crease in pork production. In this regard E. Z. Russell, who re- 
 signed as secretary in favor of Mr. Stinson, gave valuable service 
 as the special representative of the association in "Washington. Mr. 
 Russell was in charge of the swine promotion work of the Bureau 
 of Animal Industry of the Federal Department of Agriculture and, 
 working with the National Swine Growers' Association, his efforts 
 have been effective in making possible the work the association has 
 accomplished. 
 
 Unquestionably the greatest of the three swine shows was that 
 held at Cedar Rapids Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, 1918. The new location 
 found a community alive to the importance of swine husbandry in 
 American agriculture, and the attendance greatly exceeded that of 
 either of the previous events. In fact, the attendance practically 
 equalled the combined attendance of the first and second shows. 
 An inadequate conception of the magnitude of the show on the part 
 of those responsible for its conduct resulted in a rather inadequate 
 preparation for the event, with some discomfort and inconvenience 
 to exhibitors. Neither can it truthfully be said that the judging 
 equaled that of previous years in all breeds, though as a whole 
 criticism in this regard was mild, and the type and standard of 
 breed perfection was not impaired by the decisions made. Hogs of 
 seven breeds were exhibited at this show, both the Large York- 
 shires and Tamworths having classifications. A notable part of 
 the show was the exposition feature promoted by Secretary Stinson, 
 which included a corn, ham and bacon show, machinery and equip- 
 ment, as well as other accessories of interest and entertainment that 
 were cordially received by the visitors. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the association on Dec. 2, 1918, at the 
 Hotel Sherman in Chicago, the annual dinner was dispensed with, 
 owing to the press of business to be transacted. Upwards of two 
 hundred members were present, and it was obvious that the interest 
 in the association had become so great that the. special feature of a 
 dinner was unnecessary to attract them. Officers and members 
 alike viewed the activities of the year 1918 as most encouraging, and 
 the outlook for future as bright. Among the accomplishments of 
 
THE NATIONAL SWINE GROWERS' ASSOCIATION 209 
 
 the association that were viewed with particular regard was the 
 activity of the officers in regard to the fixing of the minimum price 
 for hogs in conjunction with the Food Administration, the lifting 
 of embargo and express shipments of hogs during December, the 
 successful conduct of the swine show, the progress made in securing 
 uniform shipping regulations for the various states and other 
 features. 
 
 A talk by Geo. M. Rommel, Chief of the Bureau of Animal 
 Industry, enlightened the members on the live stock conditions of 
 the old world, as observed by him on a trip made with a commission 
 sent to investigate. L. H. Stubbs of the Chamber of Commerce at 
 Cedar Rapids also made a talk, in which he explained the reasons for 
 the shortcomings of the swine show accommodaticns for 1918, and 
 promised the members that Cedar Rapids had learned its lesson 
 well and was prepared to correct all mistakes at the show of 1919. 
 The following officers were unanimously elected : President, Robt. J. 
 Evans, Chicago ; Vice-president, Fred H. Moore, Rochester, Ind. ; 
 Treasurer, Geo. M. Cantrall, Chicago. Executive Committee : For 
 Poland-Chinas, Chas. A. Marker, Auburn, 111. ; for Duroc-Jerseys, 
 W. M. Putman, Tecumseh, Neb. ; for Chester Whites, L. C. Reese, 
 Prescott, la. ; for Hampshires, Clayton Messenger, Keswick, la. ; for 
 Large Yorkshires, B. F. Davidson, Menlo, la. ; for Tamworths, P. 0. 
 Morris, Aledo, 111. ; for Berkshires, Ralph M. Jenkins, Orleans, Ind. ; 
 for Mulef oots, John H. Dunlap, Williamsport, 0. ; for Spotted 
 Poland-Chinas, John H. Bock, Kempton, Ind. The selection of the 
 secretary was left to the executive committee, under whose official 
 direction he was placed. 
 
 Subsequently the committee selected W. J. Carmichael, formerly 
 of the Animal Husbandry Department of the University of Illinois, 
 and for several months previously to his appointment, associated 
 with E. Z. Russell as a specialist in swine husbandry promotion by 
 the United States Bureau of Animal Industry in Washington. 
 Mr. Carmichael selected an office in the Old Colony Building, Chi- 
 cago, as his headquarters, and is taking an active part in live stock 
 activities of the country in behalf of swinemen. 
 
 The Swine Growers' Association has made progress toward realiz- 
 ing a powerful organization, working for the betterment of men 
 engaged in the production of sw r ine. Organization is coming to be 
 more and more recognized by farmers as a means of accomplishing 
 things. Various associations of farmers and farmers' interests are 
 springing up, and their effect is coming to be more and more 
 noticeable. The National Swine Growers' Association has arrived 
 at a place in its development that promises that it shall become one 
 of the most powerful organizations of the country devoted to such 
 a course. Membership in it is a mark of progress and alertness, 
 and farmers and breeders are taking advantage of it irrespective 
 of breeds or whether they are breeders of purebreds or growers 
 of pork. 
 
210 
 
 FORTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OF A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 
 
 GESTATION TABLE 
 
 Showing the date when a sow is due to farrow, counting sixteen 
 weeks from the day when she was served. Find the date when the 
 sow was served, and the date immediately to the right is the date 
 when she is due. For instance, if the sow was served February 1, 
 she is due May 24 ; if served May 24, she is due September 13. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 May 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 April 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 July 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 June 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 27 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 5 
 
 28 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 31 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 29 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 31 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 
 June 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 27 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 28 
 
 17 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 29 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 July 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 17 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 31 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aug. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 11 
 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 21 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sept. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 
 22 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 23 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 24 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 16 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 25 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 27 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 28 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 29 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dec. 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 *8 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 30 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 27 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 10 
 
 31 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 31 
 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
INDEX 
 
 Advertising. 
 
 Ages, Authenticating 
 
 Alfalfa, Feed Saved By Use of 
 
 Alfalfa Hay 
 
 Alfalfa Pasture ,. , 
 
 Alfalfa, Protein in 
 
 Antiscorbutic Substances Seemingly 
 
 Necessary 
 
 Arrival of Pig 
 
 Page 
 80 
 70 
 123 
 163 
 121 
 122 
 
 Barley 
 
 Beans ..., 
 
 Berkshire History 
 Blood Lines, Study 
 Bloodmeal 
 
 108 
 76 
 
 145 
 161 
 173 
 
 78 
 158 
 
 Bluegrass 127 
 
 Breeding, Age, Time and Season for 32 
 
 Breeding Crates, Use of 32 
 
 Breeding Pigs, Ration for 116 
 
 Breeding Season 32 
 
 Brood Sow, Care of 36 
 
 Brood Sows, Selecting 29 
 
 Brood Sow, Feed of 36 
 
 Buttermilk. . . 154 
 
 Canker Sore Mouth 
 
 Carbohydrate Equivalent 
 
 Castrating 
 
 Catalogues for Herd 
 
 Cereals, Efficient Use of 
 
 Charcoal or Slack Coal 
 
 Cheshire 
 
 Chester White History 
 
 Chute for Loading Hogs 
 
 Cob Charcoal, How to Make. . 
 
 Concrete Dipping Tank 
 
 Condiments 
 
 Cooking Feed 
 
 Corn, A Healthful Feed 
 
 Corn, A Substitute for 
 
 Corn and Alfalfa 
 
 Corn and Cobmeal 
 
 Corn and Other Feeds 
 
 Corn Oil Cakemeal 
 
 Corn or Indian-Maize Grain . . 
 Corn, Preparation for Hogs. . . 
 
 Corn, Soft ., 
 
 Correspondence 
 
 Cottonseed Meal 
 
 Cowpeas 
 
 Crops to Feed Green 
 
 Cross Breeding 
 
 Curing Hams, A Recipe for . . . 
 Curing Thick White Fat Pork. 
 
 Diseases, Common. . . 
 
 Dressing 
 
 Duroc Jersey 
 
 112 
 
 101 
 
 81 
 
 110 
 
 139 
 
 199 
 
 180 
 
 10 
 
 58 
 
 50 
 
 64 
 
 56 
 
 135 
 
 149 
 
 136 
 
 143 
 
 144 
 
 162 
 
 135 
 
 140 
 
 144 
 
 78 
 
 161 
 
 130 
 
 57 
 
 48 
 
 95 
 
 67 
 
 177 
 
 Page 
 
 Emmer 151 
 
 Energy Builders 108 
 
 Essex 199 
 
 Exercise on Show Circuit. . . 67 
 
 Farmers' Meat Shows 201 
 
 Farrowing Time 34 
 
 Fishmeal .,. 157 
 
 Feeding for Market 52 
 
 Feeding on Circuit 68 
 
 Feeds and Feeding 54 
 
 Feeds, Basal 113 
 
 Feed House and Feeding Pens for 
 
 Swine (Ground Plan) 15 
 
 Feeds, Composition 113 
 
 Feeds, Condimental 164 
 
 Feeds, Miscellaneous 114 
 
 Feeds, Miscellaneous 164 
 
 Feed Saved by Using Alfalfa 123 
 
 Feeds, Supplementary 153 
 
 Forage Crop Mixture 7 
 
 Forage Crops, Selecting 121 
 
 Forage Crops, Why Grow 120 
 
 Free Choice System, Beginning of. . 168 
 
 Garbage 164 
 
 Gluten Feed 161 
 
 Grains, Hard Should Be Ground. .. . 109 
 
 Grazing, Heavy 111 Advised 122 
 
 Green Feed 55 
 
 Green Rye, Effects of 129 
 
 Hair, Clipping 66 
 
 Hair, The Coat of 30 
 
 Ham and Egg Lunch Loaf 85 
 
 Ham Balls 85 
 
 Ham, Baked 84 
 
 Ham, Boiled 84 
 
 Ham, Boneless Boiled 85 
 
 Ham, Delicious Fried with Eggs .... 85 
 
 Hampshires 190 
 
 Head Cheese 84 
 
 Herd Boar, The 26 
 
 Herd Boar, Handling the 27 
 
 Hog Cholera and Serum 88 
 
 Hog Farm, Location 9 
 
 Hogging Down Corn 54 
 
 Hog House, Community Hah" Moni- 
 tor Roof Type 22 
 
 Hog Houses, Movable; Types Built 
 
 at Iowa State College 16 
 
 Hog House, Myers Plan. 12 
 
 Hog Wallow, A Convenient and 
 
 Sanitary 45 
 
 Hominy Feed 149 
 
 Housecleaning 58 
 
 211 
 
212 
 
 INDEX Continued 
 
 Page 
 
 Immunizing a Business Policy 93 
 
 Inbreeding . 48 
 
 Ingredients, Basic 118 
 
 Judging at Shows 72 
 
 Lard, Home Made 
 
 Large Black Hog 
 
 Limestone. r 
 
 Line-Breeding 
 
 Linseed Oilmeal 
 
 Marking 
 
 Marketing, Six Months Before. 
 
 Meatmeal Tankage 
 
 Medium Red Clover 
 
 Middle White 
 
 Mulefoot. .. 
 
 86 
 199 
 136 
 
 48 
 157 
 
 39 
 47 
 156 
 126 
 199 
 197 
 
 National Swine Growers' Associa- 
 tion, The 204 
 
 Oats, Common Field 
 
 Oats , 
 
 Oatmeal, Hull-less 
 
 Overfeeding, Ill-Effects of .... 
 
 Pasture, Importance of Good . 
 
 Pastures, Miscellaneous 
 
 Pasture, Mixed 
 
 Pastures, on Low Protein 
 
 Pastures, on High Protein .... 
 
 Peanuts 
 
 Peanut Meal 
 
 Pedigrees 
 
 Pigs' Feet, Boneless 
 
 Pigs' Feet Souse 
 
 Pig Meal 
 
 Pigs, Care of 
 
 Plant Leaves Balance Rations. 
 
 Pleuro-Pneumonia 
 
 Poland China, The 
 
 Pork, Home Cured 
 
 Porkmaking Profitable 
 
 Potatoes 
 
 Precautions, Sanitary 
 
 Protein Another Essential . . 
 
 129 
 
 159 
 
 160 
 
 52 
 
 18 
 
 128 
 
 130 
 
 132 
 
 130 
 
 152 
 
 159 
 
 78 
 
 84 
 
 84 
 
 58 
 
 44 
 
 111 
 
 97 
 
 184 
 
 83 
 
 53 
 
 151 
 
 45 
 
 106 
 
 Rack for Feeding Alfalfa 59 
 
 Rape, Analysis of 124 
 
 Rape 124 
 
 Ration, A Complete 104 
 
 Ration, How to Balance. .......... 105 
 
 Ration, Successful for Economical 
 
 Dry-lot Feeding^ 132 
 
 Ration, To Balance a/ 115 
 
 Rheumatism 99 
 
 Rock Phosphate 137 
 
 Roots 164 
 
 Record Card 42 
 
 Record of Litters 39 
 
 Rye 147 
 
 Salt 
 
 Salt Pork, Fried 
 
 Sausage, Home Made. . 
 
 137 
 
 84 
 86 
 
 Page 
 
 Self -Feeding, Does It Pay? 166 
 
 Self-Feeding Don'ts 172 
 
 Self-Feeders on Pasture 167 
 
 Selecting a Boar for Common Sows 51 
 
 Serum, Preparation of 90 
 
 Shade, Natural or Artificial 19 
 
 Show Herd, Feeding the 64 
 
 Show Herd, Handling in the Ring . . 65 
 
 Show Herd, Exercise Necessary .... 65 
 
 Show Herd, Fitting the 63 
 
 Show Herd, Finishing Touches 66 
 
 Show Herd, Selection and Fitting of 62 
 
 Showing, Advantages of 60 
 
 Shipment, Preparation of Pig for ... 75 
 
 Shipping Crates. 74 
 
 Sire, Importance of Good 23 
 
 Sire's Influence 24 
 
 Skimmilk 153 
 
 Skin Diseases 100 
 
 Soiling 57 
 
 Sore Feet 98 
 
 Sore Mouths 97 
 
 Sore Teats : 100 
 
 Sorghums 148 
 
 Sow, Type to Select 29 
 
 Soy Beans 129 
 
 Soy Bean Meal 158 
 
 Spaying 101 
 
 Speltz 151 
 
 Spotted Poland China 188 
 
 Stationery 81 
 
 Sterility 98 
 
 Suffolk 199 
 
 Sulphur 139 
 
 Summary and Suggestions 170 
 
 Sweet Clover 128 
 
 Swine House, A Complete 12 
 
 System 79 
 
 Tamworth 
 
 Thumps in Young Pigs 
 
 Treatment of Show Herd On 
 Return Home. . , 
 
 It's 
 
 193 
 96 
 
 58 
 
 Uniformity, Value of 53 
 
 Victoria 199 
 
 Vitamines, Certain Needed 197 
 
 Watering, System of 21 
 
 Water, Necessity of Plenty of Pure. 21 
 
 Water, The Function of 105 
 
 Weaning Pigs. 38 
 
 Weight for Age 47 
 
 What a Breeder of Full Breds Should 
 
 Be 77 
 
 Wheat 146 
 
 Wheat Bran 161 
 
 Wheat Middlings 160 
 
 Winter Quarters, In . 8 
 
 Winter Wheat 129 
 
 Wood Ashes 137 
 
 Worms 95 
 
 Yorkshires. . . ... 192 
 

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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY