Arizona republican., 1899-03-15

 l go out into exactly the other extreme
 without protection they soon become chilled through and may leave their food to again seek warmth in the
 nest. Hogs that are subjected to such conditions soon begin to cough and
 suffer from lung trouble. They be- come gaunt, with arched backs, and
 have every evidence of ''humped up and unthrifty condition. Many farm ITS allow their hogs to work in straw stacks for shelter from the cold. l con- slider such a place q regular death trap for swine in large numbers. Another bedroom that is bad is the hog house with floor two or three feet from the ground. Many such buildings are open on one or more sides, so that q ,old draft can get under the floor. And again, I would not allow hogs to lie against q stone wall. The carth-itself with a little straw. makes the best bed in the world for a hog if it is dry. In that one word, dry, is the greatsecret of successfully wintering swin9sS Di- vide the herd into small lots of not more than ten each; and in the ease of matured brood sows five or six together are better than more. Keep them as warm as possible, and have. them dry. I would much prefer to have my hogs to sleep in cold and dry than in warm and wet. I am not go- ing to advise anyone who has q nice permanent hog house to aban- don it's use, but I certainly do advise any farmer who cOntemplates building one not to do so. 1 have hog house and make but little use of it, and will eventually tear it down.
 It is difficult to get sunlight and warmth into large houses, and, more than that, they are likely to become d hotbed of disease germs, and much fertility is wasted about them. Hogs should be changed about from lot to lot. We want rotation of hog pens, SO to speak, turning up each lot in turn to the sun and air, cropping it a season or two and putting it back to grass. In this way the fertility is seat tered where it will be of use and the swine are much healthier. The man who always confines his hogs to one small yard and building can never at tain great success in swine husbandry. I will convey an idea of portable sleep ing and breeding pen that I have used for a number of years. They not only give me splendid satisfaction, but greatly please every man who tries them. Swine are, of course, never fed in these pens. I feed outdoors the year round, either on dry earth or on port able feeding floors. These pens arc eight feet square. To make them, construct q platform eight feet square, using 2X4 scantlings for sills and inch stuff for floors. Next take eight boards 16 feet long, one inch thick and 12 inches wide; saw them in the center and use them for the roof, as shown in the drawing. Use half-inch battens to cover cracks. A ventilator should bo placed in the roof, and a small win dow over the door. When completed a man can stand upright in the pen | nicely They stand right on the ground, so that no cold air can get under them. A door is not necessary, as they are very warm without. They make a splendid breeding pen for one sow. | by placing q 2X4 or 2X6 across the end | opposite the door and six to eight 1 inches from the floor. The pen is com | pletely fendered, as the SOW cannot lie | close to the caves, and the pigs can, get out of the way. This style of pen costs about five dollars to build; it is | very durable. Two men will easily | raise up one end of it, when stone boat may be placed under for the pur- pose of changing its location. I have several of these pens. In the sum mer they are moved to the pasture for shelter against storms, and in the fall they are moved to the yards. l attrib- lte much of my success with fall pigs o the use of these pens, and warm 'ood The bedding is changed twice week, and the pigs are always warm md dry.-C. II. Everett, in Prairie Farmer.