The progressive farmer., 1899-11-07
SEOCE
PROFITABLE PORK RAISING.
No /.
No !.
THE CARE OF SOW AND PIGS.

Correspondence OF the Progressive Farmer.
Toe bes5 and most successful farmers
and cotton planters throughout the
South tell US that there is a shortage Of
from thirty. five to forty five per cent.
or even more in this years crop as
compared with that OF the few proceed
ing seasons. To this lack of full crop
many assign hs relatively high prices
now paid tor the great staple crop Of
the Soutl Whether or not this is
true, is not the purpose Of this article
to di-cu-s. But it is evident that the
cotto0 producers and other farmers Of
the S u.h can derive valuable lesson
from lha conditions as they have ex
listed for the past few years and exist
at the present. This is that when the
demand for any art Gle in a community
exceeds the supply the price paid is
such as to bring profiE to the producer
or seller. While if the supply exceeds
the demand the price realized for the
article is generally such as to render
it's production unpr ofitRble.
Some farm crops are generally grown
80 largely as to give supply in excess
Of the market demands, while others
which are qIally we'll adapted to our
climatic ana soil conditions are grown
only TO a vsry limited eX' ent il at all
Some of these are Of daily US in every
community and in nearly every we'll
regulated home.
To this class belong eggs and .poul
try, milk, butter aud cheese, beef, NUT
ton and pork as we'll as many other
articles OF diet which On account of
their scarcity are often regarded as
luxuries while in fact if the household
supplies were grown at home they
would be regarded as soma of our ab
solute and chee pest ecessities.
The q IeStion Of meat supply for land
lord as we'll as tenant, and for country
man as we'll as towDsman, is always
alive Therefore this paper deals with
some Of the points OF Importance in
pork production.
The care Of the brood SOW during the
four months Immediately preceding
faro wing often determines the charac
ter and value of the pig crop. The
SOW should be fed with few 60 keep
ing her in a thrifty, vigorous condi
tion. She should not be kept thin and
half starved In appearance. This does
not insure strength OF constitu Glon nor
an aptitude TO make good growth in
the unOlrl litter. Neither should she
have fat enough on her frame to make
her q desirable animal for the butcher.
An ever fat condition of the SOW means
that the pigs will be few in number,
small and puuy at the time of birth
and very liable to suffer from diseases
OF the heart and breathing organs. Fat
in the mother means that she will be
feverish and restless at faro wing time
and it will be more In the order of a
miracle than otherwise # she does not
crush some of her young and contract
the habit Of eating her pigs which she
does to satisfy her internal craving for
something of a cooling tendency. s.
much for what should be avoided.
Now how to secure immunity from the
undesirable and make sure the desir.
able conditions.
We will start with the SOW at the
time she is bred, supposing she mas
been suekliog litter whi, has run
her down in fssh. (Aud by the way
the SOW that does not lose flesh while
nursing her young is very rarely a
good mother and had better be made
into pork at oncf) The food for the
first month or six weeks should have
tendency to producs fat aud at the
same time 1t should contain an abun-
dance OF the muscle and bone making
lngred en!s to meet the demands of
both dam and unborn young. Corn,
peas and wheat middlings in equal
parts by weight supply the desired
substances in about the right propor-