Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-02-24
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raising OF hogs.
The first thing TO consider in laying
| the foundation for a herd of pigs is
the brood SOW She should be a good
sucker, prolific, and capable of trans
hitting her good qualities to her
! young. 1t makes no difference what
the breed is, so she possesses those
| qualities. 1t does not require a full
| blood female, but it does require a full
blood sire 10 give the best results.
think the tendency in breeding at the
present time is too much toward fine
ness. Let a man purchase male
where there are a number to choose
/ from; nine times out of ten he Will
| choose the finest bone and most COM
! pact form. The one that looks the
incest These hogs have been so
chosen for a long time, and the man
that takes the premium is the one that
shows the latest hogs, where a better
1 lot, although poorer in flesh, will be
passed unnoticed, except to be laughed
at, forgetting that fat will cover
multitude of imperfections. The first
answer given To you If you ask a
farmer if he is going to show his hogs
at the fair will be: MY hogs are not
fitted up and are not in condition to
show"
There are families of Poland Chinas
that have been ruined by this fine
breeding; the pigs will soon get chuffy
and fat down and never be anything
but pigs in size. Then there are other
strains that do we'll This is becoming
true with all breeds The Duroc-
! Jersey is receiving this same atten-
ton. Some are getting so fine-boned
! that their front legs grow crooked by
holding up their heavy bodies. The
male should be chosen with reference
/ to the large bone rather than to the
| symmetrical body. / would rather
have a male with a coarse bone, big,
/ homely head and body, than to have
fine bone with a big body. | can
remember when a male was chosen by
the large shoulders. They wanted to
see them wedge-shaped, large through
the shoulders, and tapering back. Now,
I as the ham is the most desirable part
of the hog, | think this order should be
reversed Give me a good, big ham
every time, instead of a good big
! shoulder, especially at dinner time.
and that would mean breakfast and
/ supper time, which means all the
! time.
! 1t often proves better to make
! crosses. This holds good nest where
the breeding has been too much to-
ward fineness. One of the most
desirable crosses, | think, is the
| Poland-China SOW crossed with the
Berkshire sire. But | would rather
keep the breeds pure, using males
with large bone and good transmitting
| qualities.
! The vitality of sows should be main
tanned, and TO raise two litters of
! pigs a year the best of care and food
should be had. Very little corn should
/ be fed for two months before farrow-
ing time. After the pigs are three
weeks old corn may be fed sparingly
and increased until weaving time, in
addition to the usual Stops This corn
will keep the sows from falling off so
much in flesh, and do the pigs no in
jury. After weaving, the sows should
! be brought into good flesh as soon as
possible when they will soon be ready
! for the second litter. A trough with a
little choice Stops should be placed
| in pen close by and fixed so the little
| pigs can run in under. and keep the
sows out The young pigs will soon
learn to go in there to eat, and
they will wean off from the sows
sooner without any trouble and
scarcely know that they ever had
mother.
The old sows should be kept busy
breeding as long as they are profitable
for they will raise more and stronger
pigs than young ones.
For fear that two filters a year will
lessen the vitality Of the sows, the
best SOW you have can be set aside
and only one litter raised from her,
and SOW pigs for breeding can be taken
from her filters. This win surely
keep good, strong, healthy hogs,
SoWs having only one litter year
should farrow about the first of May.
when the grass is tender. This is one
Of the best milk-producing feeds that
SOW can eat. But for two Filters
year this rule cannot be followed.
The spring pigs would do well, but the
fall pigs would be so late that the
winter would be hard on them. For
two litters a year, spring pigs should
come the first Of April, and weaued
when they are four or six weeks old.
-Four weeks sounds young, but they
can be successfully weaned Mt that age
If proper care is given them, and then
( the second litter can be on hand by
the middle of September. Such pigs
will, by winter time, be good-sized
sEoats, and can be sold the latter part
of winter at 200 pounds each This
brings in money twice a year from
hogs.