The Iola register., 1901-02-08
CHARCOAL FOR SWINE.
Give the Hog Chance to Doctor
Himself.

/ OANS AHE hp6 ~ ChhhCt ~ DOCNUE
| Himself.
DIR. Galen Wilson, the noted veterina-
ry writer, in n recent issue of the New
York Weekly Tribune gives the follow
ing on the care of swine:
From personal use when l kept swine
and from multitude of testimony
since l know It to be advisable to give
fattening hogs access to charcoal.
Feeding swine concentrated foods
largely and usually at times to excess
upsets or disarranges their digestive
apparatus, causing stomach and bowel
difficulties. with. their multifarlous at
tending evils. alternate constipation
and diarrhea are very apt to occur and
weaken the digestive organs, giving
easy opportunity for all sorts of inter-
nal parasites to get in their destructive
work Charcoal seems to absorb or
neutralize Nthe gases from fermentlng
sour food in\the stomach and expels
any troublesome forms that may have
found lodgment there. Theodore Louis
of Wisconsin is one of the best authorl-
ties on swine in America%and he would
no more be without charcoal in his fat
tening pens or feed lots than he would
be without bread on his own table. lie
never has any sick hogs. He keeps
continually accessible to his swine n
charcoal self feeder which is box
with trough at the base so construct
ed that only a little of the coal can
drop down at time and this only as
fast as that exposed Is removed. Any
one handy with tools can make one
from this description. If no self feed
er is made, then give the animals daily
on floor as much as they seem to eat
greedily. But charcoal from wood is
not often to be had now when the
country is so nearly and generally
cleared of its timber. yet coal from
corncobs is just as good
Nearly every farmer has the cobs,
and 1t is easy to make them into coal.
To do 1t make pit in the ground four
or five feet deep, about 1S inches in
diameter at the bottom and five feet
Mt the top Have n sheet iron cover
made large enough TO cover the pit and
project six inches over the edges. Start
a fire in the bottom with shavings and
add by degrees bushe or more of
cobs and let them get well agiow. |
Then add three or four bushels more
and when well on fire add more, and so
on until the pit is rounding full. Should |
the cobs burn faster on one side than .
the other lift the cobs to the side that .
is burning least with sharpened |
pole. Get some iron rod long enough |
TO lay across the center of the hole to |
keep the iron cover from sagging. |
When all the cobs are well blazing COW
er the pit with the sheet iron and press .
fresh earth all around the edges to
keep the pit air tight. Leave the pit so.
until the next day, when the charcoal |
can be taken out and there will be.
about ten bushels. If one wants to
know now whether his hogs need char
coal or not let him get n handful of |
coal from among any wood ashes and .
place II before his swine. Should they
eat 1t readily it will be n sure indi-
cation that they require it to correct
something that is interfering with their
digestion and the owner would con-
serve ms own interests as well as pro-
mote the welfare Of his hogs by get.
ting hustle on him" and providing
them with the needful charcoal. If
that is impossible, or soft coal more
convenient, crack up some Of that into
fine pieces and give them. 1t seems to
answer the same purpose. Where
soft coal is plentiful and cheap some
rNtr In, l..
their animals. At the mouth of n small
vein of soft coal by the roadside in the
soft coal region Of Pennsylvania, being
mined by any farm neighbors who
might need it, have seen swine pick
up waste pieces of coal and crack them
as other swine were cracking hickory
nuts that fell from an adjacent tree.
Nature is the best doctor. Furnish
coal and give the hos a chance to doe
tor himself.