Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-05-26
HOGS FOR MARKET.
How to Food Them so as to Obtain the
Best Financial Results.

growth from the litter to the market.
Eight months of skimping and three
OF abundance will not make profit
able hog, either from the cash stand
point or in the quality of the meat
1t must be borne in mind that the sur
rounding conditions being favor able.
the ratio of gain will always be as the
amount of food consumed. and while
nature may provide sufficient nourish-
ment TO sustain life during the grow
ing portion of pigs existence, it is
not sufficient to get the quick growth
essential to profit. The food should
not only DO of sufficient quantity,
but be adapted to the needs of young
stock. Bone and muscle are the OBJ
jects sought at this period. Heating
foods, rich in albuminoids, like corn,
add fat but do not proportion ately
build up the frame needed to carry 1t.
Food having a considerable quantity
OF protein. like oats, bran, shorts
middlings, etc, are free from this evil.
have never within my own expert
ence found any food for feeding pigs
during the first five months of their
lives equal to mixture Of corn and
oats in equal parts ground fine and
mixed with one-third its bulk Of bran
or shorts The oats and bran build up
the bone and muscle, while the corn,
being only .one-third of the whole food,
Is neutralzed by the proteins, keeping
the pig in good order, but not at the
expense of the growth. Corn alone
has an irritating effect upon the
stomach of young hog. and thus
weakening the system opens up the
way for the thumps. mango and in
digestion, the latter ailment killing
more pigs before they are two months
old than any other disease prevailing
among the swine family.
Beside the quantity and quality of
the food, the regularity of feeding
plays an important part in keeping up
the growing condition. The stomach
of hog is not unlike that of man in
its structure and action. To be con-
stantly undergoing either a feast or
famine will not add to the health of a
human being, neither will it produce
well-grown or profitable pig. FOO
much food in the stomach causes re-
action in the appetite. while an in
sufficient quantity requires the use of
n portion of the fat already stored up.
The rule TO avoid these evils is to feed
growing pigs three times a day in
winter and twice when on pasture,
and at no time more than they will eat
up clean.
The third Object which the farmer
must keep in view is to get his pigs to
maturity and the market in the short
est time. The old way of our forefa-
theirs, when they turned out the litter
and hunted up the product in
sixteen to twenty-four months
afterward, is no longer posi-
BILE. Our forests are limited,
diseases prevalent. and q farmers
own possessions are The limit Of his
pasturage. while the food consumed
must be raised upon high priced land
with taxes in proportion. 1t must
stand to reason that if l can market a
hog weighing over three hundred
pounds at eight months old, l am paid
considerably moro profit than II l had
kept 1t year or more in order to get
it into marketable condition. A great
many farmers do not re ach their full
possibilities when raising hogs. even
when trying to do it. Often lot Of
thirty could be fed eff as easily as
twenty. This has always seemed to
be caused by the shortage of pigs.
More brood SOW S should be kept upon
every farm SO that if one fails there
are others to fall back upon. The cost
of keeping a SOW is not great, and by
proper care she should pay for her.
self twice year in her progeny. II
by some streak of good fortune there
is surplus of pigs upon the farm
they can readily be disposed of tc
some one not SO fortunate. My ex
perience, however. is that generally
farmers are not fflicted with sur
plus.
The advantage of feeding the corr
crop upon the farm is great. The
manure and offal are left where they
will do the most good, while the farm.
er can market his product cheaper
and better in the live form. The fat
tening and marketing of hogs is q
study within itself The season, the
spectators, corn crop and consump
tion of pork all have bearing upor
the final results. The early fall, thu
late spring and summer markets ar,
generally the highest, and much easie
to feed for. The packers during the
main packing season aim to keel
down the price as much as possible
After the main crop is sold they
change tactics and endeavor to work
off their pork. Shortage in the corr
crop large districts covered by dis
ease, spectators. fancies and many
other causes all tip the scale up ant
down MS the case may be. and tn
farmer must be ready, if possible, t.