Lower coast gazette., 1909-09-25
Home Grown Hogs.

When we in Louisiana are paying 16 to II
cents a pound for first class hams, made, from
hogs grown in Iowa and Nebraska, and have to
sell our sugar at $50 cents per pound and our
rough rice at $500 per bag of 1852 pounds, we
are led to wonder why these staple foodstuffs
should show such great discrepancies in value at
the present time. The time was when sugar
and rice were considered Injuries and brought
high prices, while sugar cured hams would sell
at comparatively low figures and less, pound for
pound, than the prices for sugar and rice. In
these latter days, all this has changed and it
takes seven or eight pounds of rough rice to
buy one pound of ham and about five pounds of
96 test sugar to secure the same. precious
+. morse. .~'t ;.:S& I
ca, When the, Romans had so much trouble with
the Ca%rthagenians that they hardly knew, how
to suppress their continued attacks, it. was
Scipio who came and suggested that they should
carry the war into Africa and Scipio's policy
was successful. Why should not we carry the
war negatively at least, into Iowa and Nebras-
ka, by producing our hogs at home?
This is the text that Congressman Ransdell,
with his agricultural aids, is now preaching to
the farmers throughout the state. In his re-
cent address at Ruston he earnestly urged upon
the people there the expediency of the farmers
of North Louisiana engaging in hog production.
North Louisiana has always been a favorite
section OF the state for the production of hogs,
but the uncertainty of the winter weather and
of a sufficiently prolonged cool spell to warrant
the killing of the hogs and the proper chilling
Of the meat before it could be picked to a point
that would preserve it, has prevented any sat-
i~sfactory development of hog growing there.
This, however, is overcome by the great pack
ing houses located conveniently at Fort Worth
and Dallas, and those which will probably soon
be located in Louisiana, where the hogs can
reach a satisfactory market at any time Of the
year. Cold storage has worked an entire revo-
luton in the pork packing business. Fifty
years ago Cincinnati was the pork packing
center Of the United States and attained the
soubriquet Of "Porkopolis." Later on the pork
center shifted to Chicago and now Kansas City
and Omaha seem to be the chief western GEN.
tiers for this industry. Some of these points
can be readily reached at any time by any ship,
per who has a carload Of stock to ship and that
fact would quickly lead to intervening stock;
buyers, who would buy up small lots and make
up carloads for shipment, if there were enough
hogs grown in the country.
The hog has always been spoken of as the
farmers savings bank. His voracious appe-
tte and peculiar anatomical construction and
physiological capacity enable him to take almost
any kind Of food and in any condition, and to
utilize it pro6tably. Our own Parish of Plaque
mines can unquestionably raise hogs proftably
and thus far we have never been producing
enough for the home fresh meat market. let
alone producing enough to justify buyers in
looking for them in larger quantities. Our far
mers and planters should think of this and en-
deavor, it possible, to utilize all their spare re-
sources in the way of foodstufs by putting them
into this very safe savings bank.
We may say, incidentally. that hogs are good
grazers and can avail of any satisfactory pas
turage and that the unsatisfactory experience
OF some OF our people who keep their hogs in
pens and buy feed for them should not deter US
from engaging in this industry in a larger way
and along such lines as are pursued in the hog
sections Of the dountry. Congressman
Ransdell is certainly engaged in a very laudable
undertaking in the hog and hominy campaign
that he is now carrying on in this state,