The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-01
AGRICULTURAL.
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
FatteninS Hogs.

It is the part of good farmer to con,
duct all his operations on the best and
least expensive plan. His chief profits
arise from doing things at the right time,
in the best manner. and with the least
possible expense. In nothing does this
show itself more plainly than in fattening
of hogs.
The most important point in this di,
rection is to begin so early IN the 1ail
that his hogs will be ready for the knife
as soon as the weather is cold enough for
sailing and curing pork-it being we'll
established fact that hogs will fatten
faster and on less food when the weather
is mild than when it is excessively co:d.
AS striking example of this, from an
experiment made last fall at the Wlscon-
sin Experimental Farm, it was found
that lot of hogs weighed and shut up
to fatten on the tenth day of October,
and weighed a .ain Oh the twenty third
day of November, just forty-four day.,
had gainel ten pounds each for every
bushel of corn each had eaten. They
were again weigh iu forty-four days
thereafter, when it was found that they
had only gained TO r pounds each for
every bushcl of corn each. had eaten, thus
going to show that hog will gain more
than double as much on the same amount
of food when the weather is mild as 1t
will when tile weather is intensely cold.
In this respect the animal system is like
a stove the colder the weather the more
fuel Good it requires to keep up the IN,
ternal heat, FOR let the Gather be as cold
as it will, the temperature of the body
must. be kept up to the normal
point of ninety-ei ght degrees, and
if the food is not more than
sufficient to supply this, there will
be none to go to th1 formation IT fat
hence the colder the weather the larger
the consumption of food. A barrel OF
corn in the latter art of October and
first half of November, rs shown above,
will 90 as far and put on as much fat as
will two barrels in December and Janu-
ary, because it requires but half as much
to keep up the animal heat. In other
words, the loss of heat from the animals
body is tn small. and therefore the
less food is required to keep it up.
For fattening purpo cs there is snothinS
80 good us cJr.,, rs it is richer In oily
matter than any other cereal or vegetable
substance used for tn: purpose. Aplenty
of charcoal during the time is also
especially useful, iu that it corrects the
acidity to which the stomach of hog is
30 subject when fed exclusively on corn.
Complete gu etudc is also matter of
the first Importance, as it is we'll known
that an animal in confinement will fattei
much IA, ter than one whose liberty is not
so restricted as to prc:,ns him from taking
too much physical exercise. Muscular
exertion increase; respiration and accel-
crates the flow Of blood, which, as it
passes through the lungs, becomes
charged with atmospheric oxygen, and
which latter introduced more freely
burns out the fit. Hence it is that In
confinement as Jon as hog begins to
fatten the less incline | he is for physical
exercise, and consequently accumulates
fat the faster. In other words, the faster
he grows the more sluggish he becomes
and the more rapidly he take on fat
Baltimore Sun.