The Mena weekly star., 1909-12-09
More From Nj. B. Fried.
the Editor of The Star.

' t~ooN 6if~ HIN space 10 answer question MT. Fdl'on asked about my eleven head of hogs.
 He says that most any hog raiser could ge,.a no pound hog in less than six months. 1 know how all that is done, but how about the expense? Have long since tried to quit spending SIPS that would only bring Sl, when 1 could got the same dollar for 40 or 50 cents.
 First, MT. Fulton said the loss from the time they were born un- til they weigh 1l0 pounds is fully 50 per cent. No sir, not by jug full. We killed Is last year that weighed from 125 to 200 pounds, and at present have 3l head and B of these are bove one year old and, since January l, 1908, we have lost nine head. Figure the loss for yourself.
 Second, as to the diseased hogs that would not pass inspection in packing houses. We cannot say, as we never were in packing house, and, in fact, never had very much to do with anything that had been there, and if you will let us alone with our free range, we hope we never will. There have been lots of hogs shipped from here that we sup posed went io the packing house, and we never heard of them being condemned. Our hogs may be diseased, as in the last six or seven years at Big Fork six or eight people have been buried who died near the early age of 90 ve- rs, who had not been at Big Fork more than 60 years and who had eaten meat from free range hogs all that time.
 Now, as to the crops hogs de- stroy. Ia the past three years the hogs have gotten into our field twice, except when the gate
 was left open. If any one has had his crop bothered in twelve
 months, we do not know il, and
 if we eyer lost hog from our
 neighbor's shotgun or dogs, we
 never knew 1t.
 | Now MT. Fulton enumerates
 several varieties of pasture that
 are good for hogs. We are sur
 prised he did not name Japanese
 clover, which grows in every
 place not shaded to death, and
 is very nearly as good for hogs as any tame pasture. As for alfalfa, we never saw any growing in Polk county, and do not believe
 we can grow hogs on red clover, though we have no figures on the amount of clover it takes to grow
 a hog. We know it is Soc a bale
 and will continue to press 1t and
 risk the consequences. Now. a' to chasing razorbacks, we have not done enough of it to be able
 to put up au argument.
 We tried going to where they had a hog law a few years ago put our hogs in the market ant sold at cents, got there and pait 6 l-2 cents and next year returned , to free range and bought at ] cents, and expect to stay II yo, } will let us use the range.
 l With a hog law, what would { the man do who has no land fol pasture, or who has a little plac' and is no. able to prepare pas ture? !. Let the hog stay where he IS ! fix your fence this winter, plan h sufficient corn and beans aud Il v fact everything needed for hom n use in the way of eatables ant
 feed and little to spare, an d then if you have any ground an [ time left, plant cotton
 Now, Mr. Fulton, you appea U u to sympathize terribly with tn :, hog shiveriug in the cold, lister 70 ing for a lonesome acorn to falI n Now if you will just step over ir IT to parts where they have ho
 law and see some poof little o' d phan crying for a piece oi mea' e YOU will see what touches m > sympathies. Were you eyer a Ii orphan2 was. r..s rs Nov. 2s, 1909.