Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-06-20
SWINE ON the FARM.

which have been published TINS spring
WAS noticed one of town where there
about q hundred cows kept and only
one hog in town, and now comes another
reporting 1876 horses, so oxen, ,:3i6 cows, "
other cattle, so sheep and only hogs.
As there are only ll9 men In town who
pays q poll tar, Il is evident that II must be
farming town to keep 80 much stock.
This Il further shown by the statement
that In total valuation OF e29O, 900, only
81. $50 IL In mills and machinery.
From these figures the question arises
Have these farmers experimented and
figured and arrived at this conclusion OF
stock growing as result OF careful cal
culation Of profit and loss, or have they
drifted along, selling when others did
and buying because others had done
well In q certain linef Although the
town In question IL back, away from any
railroad or large market, the inventory
shows go fowls whose products must
be disposed Of somewhere, and very soon
after they are produced, especially In
warm weather, and pork products could
be disposed Of Just as easily. The ques-
ton IL. Why are hogs so scarce In these
back townsf The sheep cannot Keep up
the fertility Of the farms, for there are
less than three to each tax payer. FORK
has been low, but beef IL still lower In
proportion and more difficult To sell at
sny price; vet there are 5l2 cattle In
town against eight swine. II a part OF
the farmers sell milk there must be q
large amount Of waste milk from some
of the cows that could be used more prof
itably for swine than any other way.
Selling milk at present prices brings In
A small amount of ready money, when it
does not come back sour In the form OF
surplus but Il reducing the future prod
ucts Of the farm. But with very iit-
tie milk at the start and less meal than
other stock would need to make proht-
able growth, pigs will consume muen
waste material that other stock would
not touch, and II given pasture In sum
mer would clean the land from weeds
and many narrowing insects, and more
than paw for their keeping In several
WAYS, and be worth as much when ready
for market "a another animal whose
Keeping had been constant bill OF ex-
pense. A large part OF the profits OF
dairying under the modern methods
comes from the sale Of pork grown on
the skim milk, aud from the Increased
amount and improved condition OF the
manure, where hogs are kept and prop
erly cared for aud supplied with absorb
ents.
There are too msny people who live
on farms, and for that reason are called
farmers, who have not abandoned the
old belief that beause hogs will stand
more abuse than other stock II IL q nee
essary part of their treatment. Iney
feed them with slops and waste ana
few weeds, and let them wallow In mud
in summer aud gnaw swill from an Icy
trough and lie where the snow blows on
them I'm winter. and all the year feed
them whatever happens To De- al hahu
that nothing else will eat, and have a
stick handy 10 punish them when they
sqeal with hunger or cold.
such people often show by their
method of figuring That there IL no proht
In hogs; but II the hogs could Keep
record OF what they had To eat and
diary showing their treatment and con-
dition through the season, IL would be a
more instructive document.
Pigs, like all other animals, should DE
kept growing and In good condition and
put on the market at from six TO eight
months Of age, instead Of following the
old method Of keeping them on hope
and promises through the winter ana
house wsste and weeds In the summer
and when cold weather comes start
tedious campaign of boiling small pota--
toes and pumpkins aud mixing In meal
and stutiing the victims beyond the Ca
pacity of their stomschs or their sun
scor,hed hide, and calling u fsttening
them. More good material is often
wasted by this "fattening process, by
feeding more than can be digested, than
would be needed, II judiciously used
with little milk and grass at the prop.
er seasons, to grow the animal and
have him fat enough for the market.
When II l. not convenient to pasture
pigs In summer, a patch Of sweet corn
.hould be planted about this time To supp
ly them with green food. Plant IL thick
and when IL L. about ready to show
spindles thin Il out and give the cuttings
90 the pigs, no more than they viii eat
clean. Later In the season, after the
stalks get tough, the ears may be pluck.
ed for them, and there Is no other food
so cheaply grown that will fatten them
faster. -,
n YOU have a pig that will not eat
beets or turnlps raw, tatteh
him on other food and sell him. IL does
not pay to be stopping about the house
or having fire In an outbullding tended
by careless boys to cook swill. Keep
enough muck, chip dirt or some other
substance In the pens to keep them dry,
and the pile OF manure will pay Tor all
the labor.-Mirror and Farmer.