Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-11-22
RURAL ECONOMY.
NAMING PORN.

The business Of tl,tcning pork for sale IS
nracticed to some extent by most OF our
farmers, and when performed economically,
or when the mos: is made Of the materials
riven them. it is undoubtedly a source OF
handsome profit. Ie; all will admit. that
when carried on in the manncrlt sometimes
is. the process ofporkmaking drains, instead
of repcnshing the farmers pockc'.
To make faitening hogs profitable, it is ne
ccsSarv. first of all, that the breed selected
for feeding should be 4 good one. There
is vast difference in hogs in the respect
of easy fatlcning, proper proportion OF bone,
weight, &c, and the farmer who thinks TO
make money by feeding the lons-snou'ed,
hump backed, slab-slided animals, that are
too frequently found among farmers. and
disgrace the very name OF swine, will find
in the end that he has rcckoncd without his
host. and has thrown away boih time and
money.
There arc several good breeds Of pigs
now in the country, mostly produced by
crossings of other kinds with the Chinese.
and of course having different degrees OF
APTITUDE 10 Grtcn: and these breeds have
been so disseminated over Tic country, that
any farmer who is willing 10 make the et-
fort, may have some improved animals in
his pens. The time has gone by when a
hog should be kept fourycar to weigh four
hundred; the business of fnttcn!ng is Iltl"
understood where hogs of year and halt
do not reach that amour, and some pigs
have even exceeded that weight.
Next to selecting good breeds, it is requi-
site that they should be kept constantly grow
ing. There must be some foundation for
fittening, when the process commences, or
much time will be lost iii repairing errors,
and much food consumed in making car.
case that should be employed in covering it
with fat. Hogs should be kept in clover
pasture, field being allotted 10 them for
their exclusive use, so large in proportion to
their numbers that the feed may always be
fresh, vet not so much SO as to run up to
seed. or grow coarse or rank. They should
have the sIops of the kitchen, the whey or
bu:termilk of the dairy, unless this is requir-
cd for Young pigs, and in general every thing
they will eat to advantage, or which viii
promote their growth.
The manner in which the materials in
tended for fattcning pork is prepared and
fed. has decided influence on the rapldlty
of the process, and of consequence on the
aggregate protis. If given out raw much
ofthe value of the article is lost; grain is
much improved by grinding, bu: the full eff.
feet of all kinds of feed is only brought on;
bv cooking. Corn is without a peradven-
ture the best article ever produced for ma
king good pork; anl though other substan-
ces may occasionally DC used viii advan-
,age, and may produce pork of fair and
good quality vet experience has proved that
the real corn fed meat is on thc whole su-
perior to all others. Hogs will fat on corn
riven to them in any state, yet it is far pref
cradle when soaked, ground, steamed or
boiled. 4 f,rmer of our acquaintance, and
who is celebrated for the weigh, of his hogs,
and the excellence Of his pork, is in the
habit drinking oats with his corn before
grinding. in the proportion of about one
touth. and thinks that if he had not the oats
.ofh own, he should be a gamer in exchan-
ring corn, bushel for bushel, for oats, rather
man not have them to mix with his swine
feed. He thinks they eat the mixture better
than clear corn meal, arc less liable to a
.surfcit, and of course will fat much faster
with the oats than without them. Peas have
generally been ranked next TO corn Us al
article for making good pork, and they are
probably the best substitute that has yet been
found. hogs feeding well on them, fattening
rapidly, and the pork being of good quality.
1t is almost indispensable that peas should
be ground or soaked previous to feeding.
Potatoes are more extensively used for ta'-
tening hogs than any oher ofthc cultivated
roots. and arc probably the best ofthe whole
for this purpose. Unless they are boiled,
however, they are Of little value compara-
lively, but when cooked they will give the
hogs fine start in feeding. and they may
then be easily finished off with corn or peas.
The fattcning of hogs on apples NAV Le
considered as one of the successful innoya-
lions ofthc age, it being certain that this
fruit possesses a value for that purpose which
but few years since was wholly unknown.
The success of this experiment has given
a new value 10 orchards, and will probably
check their destruction. which in some sec
tons of the country had already commen.
ced to considerable extent. The vari.
Gus reports from gentlemen of intelligence
.ofthe practical results Of apple feeding arc
most gratifying, and We have 10 doubt tho