The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1888-12-01

[NIissourl nd Kansas Farmer.I

Missouri and Kansas Farmer
A correspondent in the following
article has good word to say of the
razor-baek hog of Missouri and the
Southwest:
Il see it stated in the papers that
Missouri is a fine place for raising
hogs; that they live ON acoFns and
nuts, have plenty of pure water and
that cholera is unknown among them.
~Now the first two statements re-
garding acorns and pure water we
viii not question; but who, personally,
can voueh for the truth of the third
Is it not fact that owing to the read
iness with which the hog takes fatal
diseases-so-called cholera being the
most destruetiye-he has become risky
property Why is this?
~The hog has steadily deteriorated
in respect to the most important requi-
sites Of desirable stock, physical vigor.
The efforts of stoekmen to produce
fancy breeds by cross-breeding and
other devices have resulted in an ami
NAL with but little vital force. They
therefore take disease easily, patho-
logical changes easily occur in the vital
parts of their anatomy, and the func-
tions of vital organs are easily dis
turbed. The hog will finally become,
with his present management by
breeders, veritable nest of disease
germ, and be absolutely unfit for hui
man food. A perfectly healthy hog
in the so-called fine breeds is, believe,
unknown; dissection always reveals
disease of some important organ
liver, kidney, lung or spleen. lspeak
of the so-called blooded stock and
fancy breeds introduced into the coun-
try of late years, which have almost
entirely superseded the old stock.
"Let me add en- passant horticultu-
! rists are doing the same thing for our
apples and peaches. We are getting a
host of budded fruit trees, high-toned,
that is, loudly praised by the origina-
tor, but weak and sickly. Cold kills
them and insects spoil the fruit. The
hardy peach of past years is no more.
ain Northern Missouri and Illinois
where peach trees were once product
i've, hardy and healthy, they are almost
gone out of existence, and the taste OF
a luscious, ripe, fresh peach is known
: only by tradition and as dream that
is past. Give us back again the old
time hardy and healthy Seeding trees
and in Northern Missouri and Illinois
we will haye plenty ofpeaches to spare
"Now, as | said, the hog is going the
way of the peach tree; he ia being inn
proved out of existence. understand
that the hog of Southern Missouri Ii
the old.time razor-back,' or haze
splitter That solves the mystery and
explains the existence of cholera The
question of health simply resolves It.
self into one of the breeds. Introduce
into Southern Missouri the so-called
fine breeds and you will soon have
plenty of hog cholera. Please make q
note of this. Keep your 'razor-backs
: and you win have healthy meat, fit for
food. which If labeled 'razor-back
pork, should bring better price in
the market than the diseased product
of the breeders of fancy stock. II
may take longer to put certain num-
Der of pounds of meat on their bones
but that objection to them is more
than counterbalancc by the satisfac-
ton of knowing that cholera viii not
exterminate your entire number OF
any one of your number, and that
when market day comes they will moi
be on the sick list, and will live to 'gei
there
"Clear streams with pure water,
acorns, and all the gifts of nature will
not save the fine breeds of hogs from
cholera, as those who monkey with
them will find to their sorrow