The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1897-12-17
The Pig on the Small Farm.

There is hardly farm 50 diminutiye
in size that pigs cannot proftably be
used in consuming products that would
otherwise be wasted. They take place
that the poultry cannot fill, and consume
products that other livestock on the farm
will not touch. Some men will not keep
pigs because they cannot grow all the
food necessary for them, allowing more
required to make a finished product
There is seldom a time, says writer
IN National Stockman, when food costs
so much and pork sells for so little that
purchased food consumed by healthy
pig cannot be made to yield a good profit
and leave out of count entirely the fer
tilizing properties of such food left on the
farm. We can find small farmers who
look upon the pig as their chief money
maker, but who lose second profit on
him equal to the first, because they think
1t suicidal to purchase food. At the
same time their land is hungry for ma
nure. Some Of them buy commercial fer
tilizer, when at the same time they can
purchase the food that the pigs most need
for less than their fertilizing constitu-
ents cost in the form of commercial ma
nures. The manure made by the pig is
rich if made from rich food. AS a ma
nure: maker, compared with the sheep,
the latter must take the back seat, be-
cause the pig can make so much more of
1t. The small farmer as we know him
either keeps no pigs at all or else keeps
more than he properly cares for. The
pigs would fare better if divided between
them, and would give both a profit
The small farmer who will not grow
pigs doubtless has the mistaken notion
that there is no profit in them unless
tatted for market. A good thrifty pig,
such as can be grown on a small farm
where but few are kept, is always in de-
mand by the feeders, and often ut a
price above what fat pig will bring.
One brood sow kept where she and her
pigs can have exercise, producing two
i1tters year, sold at 1OO-pound weight,
having consumed but little bought food.
will often give the small farmer more
profit than all the grain crops grown on
the farm and sold on the market. The
lOO-pound shote can nearly always be
sold above the price for fatted stock to
the feeder. If the SOW farrows two lit
tiers of good number each year. the pig at
lOO-pound weight has cost the farmer
less than IT sold at a heavier weight, pro-
vlded he has made them do their best
from birth. When the small farmer
undertakes to grow pigs he should keep
only such numbers as he can keep right
not have the farm look like it is com
pletcly overrun with pigs on short ra-
tons: Pasture and other green products
should constitute a large part of their
rations: During all the growing season,
and late in the fall, the garden can be
made to contribute much to their thrift.
Usually what the pigs will save IF the
garden products goes to waste because of
neglect on the part Of the farmer 10
gather it up and feed it. There are sew
eral profits that the small farmer may
save if he grows and cures his own POI k
instead of buying it at his grocer's coun-
ter. One point that should not be lost
sight of in considering this matter is that
the few pigs kept on small farm are
less liable to disease than where kept in
large numbers.-Prairie Farmer.