Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-02-12
Best Bedding for Hog.

An Ogle county, Illinois farmer writ
ms: to market paper. tells how he
paid for his knowledge of the best bed
ding for hogs He says:
Il have been raising and buying hogs
fer market. The healthiest, cleanest,
olyest looking black hogs ever
bought ware forty head raised by a
farmer whose hog lot was mucky. the
black loan OF creek bottom, embrace
ing on one side a narrow, slanting
strip of second bottom. on which he
fed them snapped corn.
Il bought the forty head and 1t was
agreed that as soon as had purchased
enough more to make up a car load l
should notify the farmer when to de-
liver them. l got enough to make up a
load the next day, including five which
had slept in a snug log house. on the
dirt floor. which. although black and
fairly we'll finished, looked rocky This
was on Friday, and the hogs were TO be
delivered the next Tuesday. About
dark I drove to the house OF the man
who had the forty head to notify him.
hallooed. but getting no answer drove
out to the hog lot, and looking the lot
over could not see hog. A boy came
out who said that the grown people
were away. said to him: Where are
the hogs? Has your father delivered
them to some other buyer He replied:
No. they are all down there He threw
in a few ears of corn and called them.
The hogs made the shucks fly as they
jumped from their warm beds and
made rush for the feed. Not liking
to lie on either the cobs or the shanks
of the ear. on which the husks ware
each separated from it's fellows, the
hogs. instead of piling up. had each
rooted down thru the bedding to the
black. sandy soil, and, altho huddled
together for warmth. there was layer
of corn husks between the body of each
hog and that of his fellow on each side
as we'll as in front, and enough to hide
them from siglp, and shield their backs
from the cold winds. When it rafned
the husks aerated by reason OF the sep
arate attachment OF each to the shank
OF the ear, and by the cob, soon dried
out, instead of packing down and rot
ting with moisture, and retained their
fluffy condition.
The man whose FIVE hogs slept In his
hog house. brought them on Saturday
and had them weighed into my feed
yard. instead Of delivering them at the
shipping point the next Tuesday. CIV
Ing as his excuse for so doing that "he
feared they would take sick before the
next Tuesday" The forty head were
in show condition, and had not even
slept under shed. With the facts be-
fore me 1t took me some time to draw
the wise conclusion from them.
1 was then feeding steers, followed
by lot of young hogs, which slept in
bedded with straw, and partitioned off
to keep the steers out.
The hogs did nicely SO long as the
straw was dry. A rain came from the
southwest and drenched their bedding.
put in more straw. but the moisture
retained by the previous bedding soon
moistened the new straw, and the
whole bedding packed down closely,
no protection for the hogs.
The hogs rooted the bedding away
from the center. so that portion OF
them slept on the dirt while the rest
piled on top OF them. AT any hour OF
the night when Weakened could hear
the hogs growing over the discomfort
10 which my lack OF gumption was
subjecting them. Soon the catarrhal
fever broke out among them. and also
In two weeks eighty-three
,f the shoats died. No treatment with
medicine did q particle of good. My
ieighbors condoled with me over my
bad luck" instead OF Gliding me for
NY lack of practical sense
Finally drew q wise conclusion
rom the condition and surroundings Of
ne two lots of hogs had purchased.
forked out and hauled away the
vet straw bedding, sprayed the bed