Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1896-03-05
HOG GUESSING.
winter amusement on Long Island
that is Still in Much
Vogue

LOG guessing is one of tho snor+c &c
the olden time which has survived +bo
competition of baseball and golf. Tn fact
me numerous hog guessings held of late
ana the large crowds which have ~
.enueu Inem indicate a revival of the
ssport. Every Long island village must
nave, at least. its annual hog puossino
The important occasion is snre TN DIV.
a crowd and make fat the pocketbook of
tne popular hotel proprietor.
~ make a hog guessing q success re-
lures JudlclOus management and ib-
eral advertising. In the first place the
plggest hog in the town must be OBJ
aalneu several weeks before the time
appointed for the guessing and the hog
pen must be conveniently located near
the par-room, so that the hogs growth
from DAY to day may be noted by the
patrons of the hotel. If he is of m
usual SIZE he is often weighed say a
month before the guessing and his
Melsnt announced. Posters are put up
III helshporlng hotels, blacksmith shops
and other places of public resort, and
everything possible is done to draw n
crowd.
AS the day approaches interest in the
Vvlctlm increases and many so-called
lucky guesser owes his reputation to the
clandestlne visit to the hog pen with
tape measure. Every butcher and pro-
fessional hog guesser has a rule of his
own Tor determining the weight of
hog, but the usual rule is to multiply the
glrtn round the breast. just behind the
shoulder blade. and the length of the
back. from the tail to the fore part of the
shoulder blade. in inches and divide by
IA for the superficial feet Multiply the
result by ii. the weight allowed for each
superficial foot
The Berksh.-cs are the favorite breed,
because OF their immense size and early
maturity. The marks of the thorough
bred are four white feet. white spot
between the eyes and few white hairs
behind each shoulder. The main color
of course, is black. The weights range
all the way from 500 to 800 or even 900
pounds. The bigger the hog the greater
the interest in his weight end the more
free advertisement of the guessing.
When the day arrives, the crowd gath
ers early in the morning, and motley
crowd it is. grading all the way from
the truant school boy to the dignihed
church deacon. They come on foot and
in all sorts of vehicles, including, in rare
instances, the modern bicycle. 4 club is
often formed ot members. who each
guess a different weight with the under
standing that if the hog is won by any
of the members it is divided between all
of them. These clubs often come to-
gether Ill big farm wagon. The hero
VI AAC oSSstSloE Is TIE pIOIcSSlOiltiI pig
sticker, usually an old-time butcher, who
made living by going from farm to
farm killing live stock of all kinds: next
in Importance is the hotel proprietor Or
the local politician
AS soon as the hog stops kicking the
carcass is hoisted on the platform and
prepared for scalding. When all is ready
the body is soused in the scalding water
a few times and then withdrawn and
the work of scraping begins. This is
done with the clam shells, dull knives
or anything that will scrape without cut
ting. After the process of scraping the
skin is complete the hog is usually
weighed amid the greatest excitement.
The holders of the guesses nearest the
weight at once claim the pork and are
expected to pay for all the liquor drank
during the rest of the afternoon and
give the butcher Il liberal tip besides.
Sometimes the hog is cut UP and sold
at auction and the proceeds divided
among the ENTHUSIASTICALLY Eagle.
Royalty Well Paid.