Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1889-03-28
pRo s. 1rl 9 poaR.

Wan f@oesnut 4ee4s-nrf,
/ the time has cDnA, Shea rseisy oecu-
/ patton Oh rttm mast b,s managed
with Judgement and skill ii order to
make il proAiable Pierre Is sharp
competition 10 every department 81
farming and stoek-raisiug IN there Is IN
every department Of trade and manu-
featuring Not many years AFRO there
was profit III producing pork almost
anywhere or III any way that the busi-
ness was conducted. Corn was album
dant and cheap. while live aud dressed
| hogs brought at least Il fair price.
Less risk attended keeping hogs than
any kind OF farm animals, as there
We're few instances OF contagious dis
eases among them Is such was the
case iorehanded farmers would
sometimes keep hogs until they
We're two or three years old If the
price Of pork was not what they
thought it should be. la the timbered
regions Of the South hogs were allowed
To roam in the woods and to subsist on
mast till they had attained d large size.
They were as hardy as wild beasts,
and some of them were almost as
fierce. The cost Of raising them was
little more than nominal. as they had
no roof to cover them and they were
not kept in an Enclosure.
0Not many years ago large number
of persons made money by buying lean
hogs from farmers and others who had
no means Of feeding them and fatten-
ing them on grain they parched. In
the South some man in nearly every
village made practice of buying lean
hogs from blacks and poor whites, and
also buying fields Of lodged grain aud
corn, into which they turned the hogs.
BY taking this course they saved
the expense Of harvesting the
crops and they claimed that
but little Of the grain was
wasted. Many people in the West made
large profits in buying store hogs aud
feeding them on corn and small grain
that was not up to the standard the
market required. Not Il few made
money BY feeding understandable corn
to such hogs. Some claimed that there
was a profit in raising pigs from the
time they were weaned till they were
prepared to slaughter on corn bought
at the usual market price. They found
that they could make ten pounds of
pork from a bushel of corn. The cost
of taking care OF the hogs during the
fattening periods was small and the
losses among them very few
But pork-raising is no longer the
profitable business il was a few years
ago. The difference between the price
Of corn and that OF pork that It makes
is not as large During some seasons
the corn is worth as much as the
pork that can be made from
it. The difference III the cost
OF transporting the two articles
has become less. IN The meantime
the risk in keeping hogs has greatly
increased The swine plague, which |
is generally fatal in its results, has be-
come epidemic. In places where the
disease breaks out the soil appears to |
become infected The losses from this |
disease amount to millions nearly /
every year. Many farmers have suf-
fered SO heavily that they have given
up raising hogs for the market Pork |
production has ceased 10 be a profit /
able industry IN many parts of the |
West where corn is the leading crop /
Few persons are willing to engage ex-
tensively in business that involves so /
great risk For many years hogs T
were regarded as The safest stock that !
could be kept on the farm Now there /
is greater risk in keeping hogs than
horses, cattle. and sheep rs th ey 1
racely suffer from contagious diseases. !
Most farmers have learned by ex-
perience that it is not profitable to |
winter hogs that arc not kept for
breeding purposes Perhaps the ma
jority think it is best to have
pigs dropped ID March and to
dispose OF them by the end /
Of the year BIZ giving them
good corn and feed they can be made I
to weigh from Two 10 three hundred
pounds in that time Without expensive I
buildings and \ large amount Of corn
and hot slops or cooked food hogs will I
gain but little during the latter part OF |
the winter Dairy farmers generally /
find pigs profitable, as they consume +
the sour and skinned milk for which /
they have no other use Experiments
show that hogs can be kept during the
summer on clover cheaper than on any