The Bossier banner., 1892-04-28
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE HOG PASTURE.
An Important Adjunct to Good Farming
and How 1t May be Secured.

An important Adjunct TO Good FarminS
and How 1t May be Secured.
Realizing the fact that the time has
arrived when all farmers must know
that we can not possibly prosper by
growing six and seven cent cotton and
buy our meat and bread-the truth is,
there never was time when we ought
not to have produced all of everything
possible for home consumption - /
thought perhaps 1t might be well
enough to give cheap and practicable
plan of raising hogs.
l advise to use five acres for the pas
ture, where parties wish to raise both
for home use and for market; a smaller
one will answer for home use exclu-
swely. First prepare the ground as
for an orchard. Plant Hicks ever
bearing mulberry trees thirty feet
apart both ways-forty-eight trees
to the acre. Then sod one-half
of the five acres to Bermuda
grass and the other half to Texas
blue grass. Use the roots of both
to plant, and plant about one and one
half feet apart in rows that are four
feet apart, leaving spaces of six to
eight feet next to the tree rows, in
order that the trees may be well cul-
tivated two or three years before the
entire ground is matted by the grasses.
If the soil is good the trees will then
have grown SO large they are not like
ly to be choked out by the grass. The
Hicks mulberry is rapid grower and
early and prolific bearer, apd seems to
be as hardy as the wild mulberry. Be
gins to ripen it's fruit here first of May,
and continues four solid months. This
fruit is more excellent for hogs and
poultry and far better for man than
the wild variety. have found
the Russian mulberry, so highly
recommended in Kansas and some
other northern states, wholly worthless
for fruit as compared to the Hicks.
The Downing mulberry, while its fruit
is larger than Hicks, is not so good in
quality and only last about six weeks,
and the tree is not at all hardy here.
Every Downing mulberry tree-old
ones, six to eight inches in diameter
and eighteen to twenty feet high--on
my place was killed outright by the
cold snap in February, 1890. Both these
grasses should be cultivated one or two
years-that is, the weeds, etc, should
be kept down. After this they will be
able to care for themselves A pool
might be made in the pasture, but
when the hogs have free access to this
fruit and grasses they will require
but little if any water In addition
TO, or before this pasture is ready
for the run of the hogs Chey
should not be allowed to run in
it for one year at least, and perhaps
not until after two years; by no means
until the grasses are thoroughly estab-
lished) one acre in sorghum, or even
one-half acre, have found to pay bet
ter than almost anything on my place.
The sorghum is used as green feed, and
can be cut three or four times during
the season. Begin to cut and use it as
soon as about two feet high or a little
less. l feed this to all kinds of stock
with the very best results Sorghum
will thrive in very dry summer when
many other things fail. If we would
go little farther and plant, say, only
one-half acre each to Spanish pea
nuts and Brazilian or Jerusalem arti-
cholSes, it would be a more excellent
thing for both sows and pigs, as we'll as
porkers. OF course the breed of hogs
should receive earnest consideration.
While others may differ, my own choice,
and that from experimenting with sew
eral OF the best breeds, is a mixed hog
half and half Poland China and Berk-
shire OF course it is absolutely neces-
sary to have the best of full bloods on
both sides to produce this result. This
hVe-acre pasture can be made cheaply,
Hicks mulberry trees can be had at
FLO per 100 by the single hundred; in
large lots at less price. Texas blue
grass roots can be had ut 81
per LOCO Bermuda grass can often be
had for the trouble of taking it up.
Don't say you can't raise hogs; | raise
my own meat and sell bacon every
year. L have just slaughtered and dis
posed of five hogs of the same litter
land not all of the litter at that) ten
months old. The five weighed over
1000 pounds, which is equal in weigbt
to four 500-pound bales of cotton. and
at the same price of middling cotton.
1t will not do to say that you can grow
four or even three bales of cotton as
cheaply as raised these five hogs. 1t
is my opinion that 800 and perhaps 1, 900
pounds OF first-class pork can be raised
as cheaply as 500 pounds of middlinp
cotton.-W. W. Stell, in Texas Farm
and Ranch.
WATCHING ENpEnIAar