The Wichita daily eagle., 1896-01-22
HE TALKED ABOUT HOGS
air Cook of This CITY Delivers an Addre
Before Swine Preeders.


Before Swine PreederS
Robert S. Cook Of this city delivered
the following address before the Swine
Breeders association of the state last
week. Mr.. Cook is president of the as
sociation:
81 bid you welcome, ye honest sons OF
toll. In making my first annual ad-
dress, hope you will pardon me if II
should be brief, as most of you are
know me know full well that 1 am not
successful with the pen, but better
adapted TO handle the slop-pail. These
annual meetings of ours are a source OF
great interest and education and
should be better attended by stock
raisers of all classes, whether pure
bred breeders or not, for the great
men of the earth come from your
ranks.
''One of the many subjects that are
attracting our attention is the inroads
upon our profits and sources Of revenue
of the much dreaded disease, swine
plague, or hog cholera, which, when it
gets hold of our herds, soon lets US
down and out Our labors and time
for months have vanished like dew
drops before the morning sun. The old
maxim that one ounce of prevention is
think there are a great many causes
that might be avoided if proper care
was put into practice, such as using
older and more mature animals
in making our crosses in breeding for
the coming crop of swine, as they are
better able to produce strong and Wig
orous animals If they have their
growth. More Of the food they eat
goes to develop their offspring, instead
CT consuming the grea ter portion to
develop the dam and furnish her
growth as well as to keep up her con-
stftution. By continually using imma-
tu-e animals of both sexes, it has
tendency 10 weaken the constitution
and diminish the size and vitality, and
when attacked by or exposed TO dis
ease they are more liable to succumb
TO its inroads. Too many farmers de-
sire to purchase a small male because
he costs less. BY this practice he soon
degenerates his herd, weakens their
constitutions, and, Of course, they have
less strength to resist disease. If the
older animal is stronger it has more
vitality, more strength TO ward off dis
ease. They say the older onces are too
large and heavy, as they wish TO breed
mostly young sOws, hence the results.
They also say the older ones are nearer
ready for the market and will bring
more, is another tempting reason for
selling the large and mature animals.
We do not expect as good results from
our young heifers as we do from our
older COWS, or as good results from our
young mares as from older ones; then
why should We expect as strong pigs
from young sOws as from older ones?
Older COWS viii raise larger and better
-
Older sow give more milk and produce
larger and stronger Htters. Look at
our wild herds. where they run at
large. The smaller. weaker and young
er ones are crowded out and are not
allowed TO mate with the female until
they are quite grown.
Another great factor in producing
disease, l think, is that We do not use
enough care in the management of our
herds We do not practice as good
sanitary measures as we should 1
fear We do not attend to cleaning our
yards and feed lots often enough, but
allow our swine TO be fed on the same
ground too much. / think the yard
and lots should be cleaned once or
twice each year, scraped off thoroughly
and sprinkled literally with air-slacked
lime. and if possible, be plowed we'll
and sowed with oats and rye and har-
rowed in. 1t will not only furnish good
green food for the brood SOws and their
litters, but have tendency TO absorb
and destroy disease and purify the soil,
and the manure viii be a good fertil-
SZer for our cabbage or potato patch,
or, if you please. the corn field. All
yards that are 100 small for the team
and plOw should, after cleaning, have
q liberal Supnlv of lime we'll S0ri0 LIad
with crude caTbolic acid. The pens Of
sleeping departments should be kept
thoroughly cleansed, bedding changed
Carbolic acid is TO be used frequently
in the hog house 1t Will not only
help to keep down bad odors and keep
off disease. but viii prevent lice also.
/ believe where a herd Is fed a variety
OF food and has a change Of bedding,
they Will be better able 20 resist the
disease than il they are on the down.
ward road. Corn for breakfast, corn
Tor dinner. and corn for supper. and
corn FOR midnight lunch, if his hogship
should See fit TO leave his warm bed,
psoNlded ne has one. by the warm side
OF BOARD fence or the warm side of a
baro wire fence, with a clear or cloudy
SKY as me case may be. for a roof. is il
any wonder his system IS out OF order
and a hot-oed for the lodgment Of dis
ease?
AS there will be others here who are
better or just as able 10 air The subject
at this meeting as myself. I viii 5ron
Ii for this time. and ask the breeders i
we are all pure-bred farmers as we'll a
pure-bred breeders? Do We kasn ,,,r