The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-11-02

profitable lines Of animal husbandry
in the South if wisely managed, and
one Of the most Improbable if con-
Quoted in the ordinary way: that is,
if the hogs are raised without care
and fed without knowledge or judg-
rnent.
Two methods of hog raising are
common in the Southern States, both
equally obiectionable:
% When managed by the first
method the hogs are allowed free
range in woods and SWamps, fenced
OF ~unfenced; subsit on grass, roots,
acorns, and grubs; breed indiscrimi-
nately, and the survivors are slaugh-
tered at two or three years of age.
Weighing net from SO to 125 pounds.
such animals furnish inferior hams
and shoulders, provide scarcely any
lard, and do not make a compensat-
in~ return for the use Of the land.
The n are liable to heavy losses
rom diseases, storms, and other
causes, and the product does not meet
the requirements of the genera mar
ket.
90 The second plan is to keep the
hogs in small lots and fed corn main
ly. This has been proven Improbable
with corn at the average price in the
South. Hogs thus fed show a fevered
condition, are restless, and are gen
orally found roofing in the fresh
Cartn.
The cost of raising hogs when fed
on corn alone is generally estimated
at ) cents a pound, live weight, when
corn is worth SO cents q. bushel, and
7 cents a pound when corn is worth
% cents a bushel; that is, a bushel
OF corn will usually make 10 pounds
Of 2ain, live weight, when carefully
led 20 thrifty hogs. This agrees with
the results at experiment stations. But
corn is not usually fed with care, and
when raised on corn alone hogs are
seldom very thrifty; consequently the
lost will average much greater han
This. Investigations show that Z
pounds Of gain to the bushel of corn
is nearer the result when corn is fed
on the cob without other food. This
would place the cost of live gain at
10 cents a pound with 70-cent corn.
The best way to make hog raising
profitable in the South is to Craze the
hogs upon pastures prepared espe-
tally for them, supplementing the
green food by the addition of a small
grain ration. Upon this plan .iogs
can be raised at an average cost af
IL to 3 cents a pound, depending
mainly upon the management of the
plan Of f~attening.
Cropping Plan for Economic Pork
Production in the south
Prepare q central pasture Of Ber-
muda grass. Adjoining this central
pasture should be seevral small pas
ture fields-or they may all be in
one field, with movable fences for
partition, as required. (See fig. II
The pastures required i~naddition to
The Bermuda are, for winter and
spring grazing, wheat n hairy
Vetch, chufas, Early Essex rape, and
red clover fWhere red clover will
srOw)-or crimson lover may be
used for Sl1nmpr and fall pr3Zlng
sorghum, soy beans, pea
nuts, and alfalfa. Adjacent to the
central pasture should be a field of
corn in which cowpeas are planted
1t the time of the last cultivation
The central field, containing the
buildings, breeding pens, and water,
should be quite rolling, SO as to thor
oughly drain at all times; sandy loan
land preferred, well set in Bermuda
grass, with some trees for shade
Sow q mixture of burr and white
lover on the Bermuda sod in the fall.
This will greatly improve it for VIM
ter grazing. This lot should contain
10 acres.
On one side Of the central field
lay off another 10-acre lot, 6 acres of
which should be planted in Early
Essex q and red clover; if too far
south for red clover, use crimson or
Japan clover Qespedeza). The re-
maininp 4 acres should be in wheat
or rye and haioy vetch.
On another side of the central field
ray off a 1O-acre lot. z acres for
spanish peanuts and , acres for soy
leans (large Yellow.
On a third side should be another
I0-acre field, allotting 5 acres to al
iaIfa } acres to chufas, and 2 acres
10 sorghum. This will leave two 10
acre fields, one at each corner, for
'orn and p This plan can be
tiIarged without material moditica-
Ion by including the peanut and soy
oean field in the central pasture and
addlng other fields for forage crops.
mere should be some oval fence
SO as to divide the pastures for the
MOST 11i6icinnn rnuirn