Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1860-11-01
3grimltural Department,
Fyom he -dmpican Agriculturist.
Hints on Fattening Fork.


It is usual with many farmers to put this of
until cold weather sets in. The pigs run in
woods, the road, or the pasture, picking up q
scanty living, and come TO the pens lean and
hungry, when they ought to be fattened In
our practice we keep pigs in the sty the year
round We fnd them quite too valuable CO.
laborers in the manufacture OF manure to allow
them to waste " their sweetness upon the
desert air" A pig is worth ten dollars a year
for this purpose alone, if you will give him the
material to work with and plenty Of food
But possibly it may pay for q little time in
the Summer, TO keep the SOW aud pigs in
good clover pasture where grass is more plenty
than corn upon the farm. II this be DONE all
cI them intended for the butcher by Christmas
should be shnt up Immediately and be fed
with all they can eat. A squeang pig is
worse for the owners pocket than for bis ears.
1t is much easier to make pork in September
and October than in December and January.
No extra amount Of food is wasted in keeping
up the animal heat. 1t all goes to fat and
muscle. Variety of food is matter of much
Importance in iattening swine. At this season
a greater variety is easily commanded. The
garden, if it is a good one yields a great many
refuse articles, squaShes beets. carrots, apples,
melons, tomatoes, and corn, which will find a
good market in the sty One of the best
articles Of food for them is sweet corn, cut up
by the roots and fed whole. They are very
fond of it, and it makes them thrive very fast
a half acre near the sty may be rruitably
cultivated every year expressly for this purpose
If this be not on hand, corn from the field may
be fed in the same way once q day. But swine
bn, t,G ,,,,,
nutritious, to make them fatten rapidly.
The cooking food is much more economical
than Is generally supposed, especially upon the
farm, where fuel costs little but the labor of
preparing it. We think about one third of the
value Of all the grains usually fed to swine, is
saved by cooking. 4 boiler or box for steam
ing is Indispensable in every well arranged
Swill house. In this the meal may be cooked
and thoroughly mixed with the roots and other
vegetables. The meal absorbs large quantities
of water, is more highly reIished by the pigs,
and is more perfectly Gigcsted. Numerous cx-
periments fully prove the economy of cooking
the food under ordinary circumstances Some
claim that they can make pork for less than
three cents a pound in this way. A dairy
farmer of this State made one year 1927
pounds of pork. The feed with which he did
it, was 4, 4,127 pounds Of corn and oat meal at
$3.50 a hundred. 470 pounds of shorts at IS
cents, I47 bushels Of potatoes at Is cents, all
of which were cooked, and half an acre Of
green peas worth say SIS making the total
cost Of feed $lO3.95, or not quite two and
half cents per pound for the pork. TIE value
of the whey and sour milk was not reckoned
This and the labor of feeling, with the fuel for
cooking, are very properly balanced against
the manure they made. There can be no doubt
that cooking the food pays well.
A dry, warm place for sleeping is another
important item in keeping swine thrifty. They
should have a good sly with roof and board
floor, and plenty Of straw so that they con
Keep themselves clean. With these conditions
pork can be made very fast, and the sly will
be found TO pay as well as any part of the farm
arrangements. CONNECUCUT