The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-01-10
TEXAS FARMING.

4EAAS ANA4R
awe have the hog Law" here and I
am persuaded that it is one able ele-
ment of success in farming. In a pre-
cincs where three hundred and seventy
two votes ara cast the ordinance ives
carried By a majority Of sixteen; now,
should the matter come up for recon
sideration at the ballot box, [ am con
fident that not One man out of ten
would vote for its adjustment | have
taken some trouble to consult both
renters and landowners, and In one
instance only have | found a man who
objected to the Law. He lives in the
edge of a creek bottom. on the border
of the precinct, where hog raising
might be a bonanza to him, and he, az
q matter of course, objected to his
single interest being sacrificed for the
benefit of the many. This individual
is a land owner, though he urged that
the ordinance imposed a hardship upon
the renters, who not having land to
! pasture are deprived of the means of
raising his own meat. This IS an error,
for local merchants inform me that
they have sold less bacon during the
last two years than in any equal period
since they have been in business.
Furthermore, they inform me that
30 per cent. Of the amount sold has
been placed IN, the stores by farmers
who reside where this law is in force.
When a renter wishes to keep more
than two or three hogs, he spends a
few days in assisting the land owner
in building pasture fence in which he
becomes an equal shareholder, thus
actually paying less for the privilege
Of keeping hogs than the landlord him
self.
A fo wears since every man had a
bunch Of long, hungry backs,
roaming up and down the earth, seek
ing what they might devour, and when
fall came nOt one mAu out of ten had
enough meat to supply him till Christ
mas. Nov things have changed You
can scarcely find a man who has not
from two TO ten large, fat hogs Of the
most improved breeds, making Eufi
Glent meat for his " use and in many
instances having some for sale. We
see men coming from adjoining pre-
cinCtS where this law is not in force
and where the woOdsa re teeming with
swine(O. buying a supply of lard and
bacon and trading for improved strains
Of stock hogs. 1t dOss not cost any
more to keep a good blOOded hog than
it does a razor back" and one at
eighteen months old will weigh one
hundred and fifty pounds and the other
from two to four hundred pounds.
With q single brood SOW of the best
strains, Poland China and bald faced
Berkshire being the ~favOrite here. a
man will Dol be we'll stocked with
choice pigs. The surplus he can dis
pose of at remunerative figures, while
with reasonable attention be can de-
pend ON the remainder for a supply of
healthy, home raised bacon and lard,
and in many instances he is able to
furnish some to his less thrifty neigh
bOrS.
Hogs roaming at large, neglected and
left to change, are very poor property
When the hog law is not in force farm
ers are usually compelled to commence
repairing fences when crops are gath
cred and the work of making them
pig tight" extends far into the win
ter, embracing the time farmers should
spend in reading and mental improve
ment. Great drOves of poor, unhealthy.
flea infested hog, sleeping around the
barns and ~OuthOuses. are origin 4tOrs
and transmitters of diseases. sven to
the human family. On the other hand
with smooth we'll fed, we'll sheltered
pigs of the best strains. the hog crOD
becomes as much f q certainty as anv
other crop, and equally as important.
The farmer alive to his own interest
can no better afford to miss a hog CROP
than he a an Oat or corn crop, since
they bear vital relations to each other
Again, it is undeniable that hogs inhict
permanent injury upon land by roofing
1t into holes 10 De washed and water
soaked by rains and leached by the
to the certain detriment Of the soil.
Here are the two greatest reasons
for the hog law; a saving of labor and
fencing material and a decided i'm
prOvement in the breed of the hogs
kept
Two or three wires are all that are
necessary to turn stock Of all kinds.
except hogs. and the material saved
will invariably buy more and better
meat than an ordinary bunch of razor
backs Will make running at large with
no feed and less attention. When a
farmer can have a good breed of hogs
aud with the same attention can get as
much meat and lard from one pure
bred hog as he can from three or four
scrubs, where is the profit of keeping
up twice the mount of fence necessary
for the privilege Of owning a bunch of
worthless hogs that brings him more
trouble than home raised bacon and
lard and hams?
1t matters not how much timber and
time you have at your disposal, adopt
and thoroughly test the hog law for
two years and you will find that it will
become a fixture as permanent and
profitable as it is progressive.-H p.
Webb, an Home and Farm.
IF the tariff is such a burdensome tax
upon a depressed, suffering people,