Cheraw gazette and Pee Dee farmer. [volume] (Cheraw S.C.) 1838-1839, 1839-09-20

STATEMENT OF TIE COST AND PROFITS OF
AN EXPERIMENT IN FEEDING HOGS.
To the Editor of the Farmers Register.
PHILADELPHIA. April 2Oh, 1889.
When agricultural experiments are fairly
and carefully made, and their results recorded
I think they have great value, det the results
be what they may,) for which reason, / send
you the following account of the cost of bay
ing, raising, and feeding lot Of hogs, and the
value produced. / am encouraged SO to d.
because have every confidence that implicit
reliance may be placed in the statements o
my friend who furnished me with the account
1t was not prepared for publication, but was
sent 10 nae in course of familiar correspon.
dence. I have lately mentioned to my friend
my wish to send it to you. He did not object.
but as he did not specifically authorize me to
attach hls name to it, must send it without.
will mention, however, that he is one Of the
most successful pupils of the late George H.
Walker, and that he is doing much to improve
go '''''' ""'" 10 ID OST psTEk sTris HuLuE.
herewith send you an account of expense
and profits arising from feeding hogs, as taken
from memoranda strictly kept. These pork.
ers were fed with my own hands from begin.
ming to end, and all their feed was measured
and charged by myself; so that you may rest
assured, upon my responsibility, that every
thing is as correct as possible.
I am convinced that had had good breed,
instead of one Of the worst, should have been
the gamer by at least one-third. But as it
has turned out. it is decidedly preferable for
q farmer (removed from narkct,> to feed
away all his grain than to sch it. As I fed my
hogs great deal on boiled food went to the
expense Of purchasing wood, although | had
sufficient on my farm, that no expense nigh:
be incurred without being justly charged.
AS killed my hogs very early, their weights
are not heavy-another loss; as now consid-
er the longer hog is fed, fhe ~ good feed
er,) the more profit. That is, when hog be-
comes lazy with fat aad is inclined to spend
al bis time, except while eating, in lying about
and sleeping, he puts on more fat than in the
deal of exercise. However, as intend next
year to feed my porkers till they become some
thing worth looking at, and as | shall still
keep an account with them, I shall be more
fully prepared to speak positively on this
question. The fact is, every farmer who WISH
en- to try experiments in feeding, should have
some means of weighing his cattle weekly, go
that he might tell to certainty whether he
was making or losing money, as we'll as what
food was the cheapest, or rather, gave the
most nourishment. There is entirely too much
guess work Ia all our operations, which must
be the case until study, capital, and hberality
in the use Of money, are united to our exer-
tions.
As it is not necessary to give you a list of
every purchase, Will set down the cost Of
hogs, the expense of food, wood and pasture /;
and give you items of credit in pork, shoats,
lard, &c.
This account is somewhat lame az respects
the worth ofthe pasture and manure. My hogs
fed till harvest en- three acres Of ground COW
cred thickly with trees, Gan apple orchard,
trees forty feet apart, interspersed with peach
trees,) which owing to the dry summer, would
not have netted me $40 per acre in any other
crop, and which I consider fair valuation fer
the pasture. After harvest they had the run
of fifteen acre field. The aftermath you
May value at what you please. 1t was Of no
use but to pasture, and do not consider that
farmers ought to take it into consideration, az
It is the only way it can be applied; and |
doubt not, the manure left upon the land well
paws for the pasture eaten. However, to sun,
up the whole concern, think the manure in
my barn yard made by the hogs, worth great
deal more than the use OF the land before har-
vest and all the grass after. | would not
take, at rough guess, $75 COR my hog dung.
Their pasture before harvest consisted oi
white clover; (the field had been idle two
years and covered itself with grass,) after har-
vest they had the run of stubble field for
three weeks; and after that red clover pas.
ture. During their pasturing, which was from
MAY 5th to September 3rd, they had no drink
but water, with exception OF my small pigs
which had, in addition, after they left the
Rows. a weak swill, the slops of the house and
Indian corn and oats ground together. had
not much milk to spare, as | only keep i've
cows, and have large family to consume a
great deal of that article. The feed of my
hogs, from the commencement until killing
was entirely merchantable food-corn, oats
rye, bran, and oil cake, and charged at price
/ should have had to give for those articles i
! had bought them.
On the 9th of March, 1888, purchased
nineteen hogs at vendue, for which | pal'
elOO. Four of them gave me twenty pigs OF
the 18th and 18th of April. On the 18th Q
March, brought home SOW and eight pigs
three days old, for which | paid Sl4. Th
eight pigs killed this winter for my own use
the weigh: of which will give you presently
Besides this, one Of my sows stole bore an
had six pigs on the 9th ofJune.
Now the whole cost of hogs, first cost an
feed, (excepting pasture,) until killing time
amounts to the sum Of $494 81