Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1897-04-16
FARMER AND PLANTER.
SWINE GROWING.
Conditions In the North and In tho south
Differ.

Conditions IN the North and In tho South
Differ.
IA paper read before Mississippi Stock Breed
ms Association. by f. p. Colemanl
Without any preliminary introduce
ton, l shall proceed at once to the
theme Of this paper: | assert that we
can not raise swine in competition
against the north, on lines laid down
by the hog growers of the north. This
discussion is from the standpoint that
the final end of the hog is the pork
house, SO its references are not directly
applicable to the breeder, who performs
function distinct from that of the
pork grower. The person who attempts
to follow in toto the idea of the north
ern swine grower and apply it to the
conditions that exist in our section will
find that his pork would be like Horace
Greeley's potatoes, cost more than it
could be sold for. In the north
the hog is a necessary auxiliary
to the corn grower. 1t converts
so many pounds of corn into so
many pounds of pork-that is almost
the entire function performed. 1t is
used for no other purpose and expected
to accomplish no other. Do we want
to feed corn to our hogs? Certainly
not. Will bushel of 40 cent Missis-
sippi corn make any more pork than a
bushel of II cent Iowa cornP 1t is
true the young pigs sometimes get
milk and sometimes clover to push
them along to early maturity. But
how different are our environments,
and repeat it, the hog performs an
entirely different mission in the great
corn-growing northwest and the south
erner who attempts to follow him will
fail.
Well, why fail? This brings us to
the gist Of the whole matter. Have we
not conditions, however different,
quite as strong in opportunity If we
only avail ourselves of them? There is
no country that furnishes more con-
tinuous and varied assortment of foods,
its cheapness only excelled by its abun-
dance. And greater than all of these the
hog can be his own feeder. BY intelli-
gent rotation nine months out o.
twelve our swine can CLEAN their own
food. This saves more than half the
expense. This is our archimedean lev
er, and we have the fulcrum, too. Can
we not feed Irish potatoes in spring?
Their food value is one-half that OF
corn. viii swine eat them uncooked?
Yes, especially il balanced with small
ration of corn. Wheat is ripe in May
and while we can not produce as much
as the plains of Kansas and Minnesota,
we get the winter pasture for young
pigs and raise over half as much grain,
with a nominal cost to harvest, and
with hogs, our land is in a more pro.
ductive condition for corn or cow peas.
Oats can follow two weeks later under
like conditions. have fed canteloupe:
largely in July, making from 5000 Il
5000 per acre. Their food value is un
known to me, but they contain large
per cent. of saccharine matter.
In August we strike our staple hog
food, COW peas and corn supplemented
by sorghum and sweet potatoes fol-
dessert. Remember the text, let tn,
hog gather everything. AS to pastures
you can have them all the year round
l mean green food, not few sand
papered" corn stalks and dry sedg,
grass; but real, live, green pastures
Now you will ask, how are we goinl
to do all this? Prepare for hogs or lie
the business alone, that is what is tn,
matter now. Many go into improved
swine raising in two-acre lot of mud
and the balance have no lot at all, bu
go it on the old style root pig or die
principle. Let us borrow the improved
stock from the north, but nothing else
Let us work our own destiny and de
velop and utilize the incompatible ad
vantages we possess. ! for one be
lieve this fair land of ours is the fair
est and most blessed the sun shines on
and if we only use what kind Prov
dence has given us we can meet com
petition from any source. = Rura
World.