The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-06-07
nocs ~FoRapRoFIr.

q man must ike the business. he
must like the hogs, and the hogs must
like him. They should be tame, made
90 by gentle use; 60 that you q 60
among them, step over them. push.
them around or do anything TO them
without exciting them. II a man does
not like the business, he had better let
it alone. Many think because it is q
hog it can be kicked arounda and abused.
This is q sad mistake. For the hog TO
give value received, proper care from
start to finish should be given. With
out this, like other live stock, the hog
will not do it's best for you.
After you have decided that you are
suited to the hog business and intend
to engage in it, the first thing is tolook
to the foundation Of your herd. This
is as essential as q good foundation for
q barn. You would think a man very
foolish who builds q hnelooking barn.
picks up anything he runs across and
puts it under for q foundation. Yet
this ia what many do with their hogs.
They choose q SOW because she looks
we'll, without reference to the good
qualities she ought to possess. Il does
not make much difference what breed
she ia of, so she ia well bred. She may
be a Poland China, Chester White,
Duroc Jersey or any other breed, or
she may be q grade, for that matter;
but she should be q good mixer, have
large litters, and spring from q family
that is noted for good mothers and
large Iitters. She should always be
bred to q full. bIooded male that has
sprung from just such families as above
mentioned.
The SOW should never have her first
litter Of pigs until she is q year old,
and should not have another litter
until another year. After that she
may be bred for two litters q year. It
is q good plan, where hog raising is
made q business to any extent, to keep
the best SOW and breed her for only
one litter q year, and from this litter
choose the best SOW pigs for future
breading purposes. This will keep up
the vitality Of your herd, which two
litters q year might have q tendency to
reduce.
This SOW, the same as the young
sows that are to have only one litter q
year, should be bred to farrCW about
the first Of May. 90 that the pigs can
have the benefits OF the grass. Thereis
nothing that will make stronger and
healthier pigs than good range OF grass
for the mothers and plenty Of exercise
for the pigs. Right here is the prin.
cipal drawback to the two litsers q
year business. Spring pigs have to
come so early that their mothers do
nos have the advantages of pasture. If
they come late enough SO they can have
the pasture, then the fall litters viii be
late that they won'e do as we'll Ia the
winter as they would had they come
earlier.
Pigs, to do the best i'm winter, should
be on hand by the middle Of Septem.
Der. II they come by the first Of April.
they can be weaned by the first OF
May. It would be better for them to
run with their mothers until they are
six or eight weeks old; but I am now
looking out for the fall litter, and what
I lose in the spring litter I will more
than make up in the fall litter. This
fall litter a run with the mothers as
long as you have a mind to let them,
and pigs coming the middle of Septem.
Der will be, if treated properly, good
sized shoats by cold weather.
Experience has taught me that spring
pigs can be Weaned with success much
younger than supposed. Last spring /
had considerable experience in this
line. I was foolish enough the winter
before to feed my brood sows too much
corn, owing to our having plenty Of it,
and it's being so cheap. the sows were
bred TO farroW the last Of March and
the first Of April Owing to this I'm
wise feeding, and little too close con
finement, the sows began to eat their
pigs. They seemed to like pigs better
thaRAnything else. They ate up about
half Of them, when we were obliged to
wean the rest at two and a half weeks
old. We put them in a dry pen, made
warm nests for them, separated them
according to their ability to root each
other out of the trough, and fed them
them very carefully ON cooked mid.
dlings and a little oil meal, with a very
little milk, having only one COW. They
began eating right away, but seemed
to fail rather than grow for nearly two
weeks, when they began to change for