Arizona republican., 1898-05-16
SWINE MANAGEMENT.

SWINE MANAGEMENT.
 Having been requested by your Wor-
 thy secretary to prepare paper on
 some subject of swine husbandry, and being at a loss to know what part of
 the subject to take to make it most | interesting and profitable to those l present, I feel somewhat timid in talk ing hold, knowing that this will meet | the criticism of many old experienced | feeders.
 1 The chief end of swine is fatness
 The great object of his life to become pork, hence. the best means of bring 1 ing the hog into a fit state for the pork barrel is a subject occupying the l thoughts of all swine feeders, and worthy at all times of proper methods. | That pork occupies a prominent posi- tion among the products of the coun-
 try is shown by both commercial sta tistics and the late census. The num- Der of swine in the United States far | exceed either sheep or cattls. For de- | nestle consumption with the farmer ! and laboring classes it finds an impor- tant place among the provisions se- cured. It is the great staple to be | depended upon when other meats fail. keeping long and we'll, and possessing l the material for cooking itself, as well as portion of the vegetable accompa- niments, it will ever retain it's place where economy is studied, and where hearty, strength-sustaining food is de- sired
 Now having decided to embark in the swine business, I will endeavor to advocate only such management and fixtures as come within the reach of the general farmer and feeder, and not the specialist or the breeder of fancy stock. The first thing to be noticed is the location of the pasture and feeding lots. They should be of sufficient size to furnish ample room for range and pasture, as grass is not only luxury but necessity. Also see that there is an abundance of pure water plenty of shade, and good
 drainage, avoiding all muddy branches and stagnant pools. Having secured suitable place for the stock, the next thing in order is to select the breed. Now it will depend upon your fancy whether you choose a Poland China, Berkshire White, or some of the small CT and finer breeds, for every feeder
 has his fancy or ideal hog, but you will agree with me, I believe, that all
 feeders like to see a good, well devel- oped hog whether his color be white. black, red or spotted.
 In selecting the brood sows care should be used in getting those with good, strong, finty bone, good length of body, back wide and strong, hams
 long and deep and carrying thickness well down to the hock See that they are wide and deep in chest giving full | heart girth. Above all, see that they l are good feeders and that they are able to digest and assimilate large amounts of the elements contained in the food and convert it tu bone, mus cle and fat. As a general rule the
 most profitable hog is one filtered in the spring, put on pasture as soon as it can be had, fed on bone and mus cle forming foods until about six months of age. Then put in the fat tening pen and ripen as fast as pos sible, and then market as soon as rip ened. This will put the hogs on the market when about eight to nine | months old, and it ought then to | weigh 250 to 300 pounds It is quite evident that hogs fed at a small profit while they are below these weights would be fed at loss after they had reached this point. By handling hogs as recommended above we save the expense and risk of wintering them. It is a notorious fact that it is hard to make swine gain steadily and with reasonable rapidity during the winter on account of severe weather and when they weigh but little more in the spring than they weighed in the fall it is certain that their gain has not paid for the food they have con- sumed. I am sorry to say that some swine feeders sacrificed the greater part of their profit by carrying their feeders through the winter, which is wholly unnecessary By having pigs Uttered in the. early spring and push
 ing them through, avoiding over feed
 ing, they can be made of a good mar
 ketable weight before the severe win
 ter weather sets in, a weight, indeed
 now the most popular in the market
 and which commands the highest
 price. The majority of swine in this
 section are fed too slow and too long
 to be very profitable, hence I would
 say again push them as fast as cir
 cumstances will allow, and when mar
 keted have another bunch to take their
 place in the feeding pen, and in this
 way be able to dispose of another lot
 during the year. In either driving
 or hauling hogs have them reasonably
 empty, thereby saving much labor
 and risk, you will also put more
 pounds on the scales, and have them
 in much better condition for the buyer
 than if full when leaving the pen. If