Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-01-18
RAISING AND FATTENING Hou>
A Timely Article on this Subject by
Senator B. IL. Tilimnn.
(Farmers' Union SUM-


northern climates eat more largely of
beef and mutton than they do Of pork
and bacon. Climatic conditions here
and the habits Of living handed down
to US from the semi-patriarchial days
Of slavery, have given us an appetite
FOR hog flesh that is eqnaled nowhere
else. 1t is nearly 25 years since be-
gan to investigate and study closely
the subject upon which 1 am to
speak; and, while l have not been
actively engaged in farming, except
at intervals during the last % years,
have always managed to raise
enough pork for my own use and
very often have had good deal to
SELL | do not hesitate to say, there
fore, that hog raising Is not only
practicable in profitable way in
South Carolina, but that, under in
telligent management and with pro-
per attention to crops adapted to
them, we can produce bacon in South
Carolina just as cheaply as 1t can be
grown in any part Of the United
States; and the State, instead of be-
ing dependent upon the West for it's
supply Of that necessary article,
could easily and cheaply grow all the
hogs 1t requires for home consump-
ton, and could make money export
ing hogs TO tell you how to do this
will be my task this evening; and,
while the subject can be gone into
eXhaustively, ! shall cover the
ground as best may in the limited
time l have.
The first cook book ever complied
was written by an Englishman
named Kitchener, and his recipe for
cooking hare has been standing
Joke among literary men for a cen
tury or more His instructions be-
gan: "First, catch your hare" and
then went on to give directions about
the preparation and cooking. In hog
raising, | will say to those who wish
to engage in it; "Firsts catch your
hog that is, get a good, thrifty
breed that will not require pamper-
ing, but will hustle for a living and
take on fat readily. 1t Is useless to
start unless this INDUCTION is to be
faithfully obeyed. The difference
between well bred hog and a poor
ly bred one is the difference between
success and failure. Here we have
the choice between two policies to
follow. Pure, thoroughbred hogs
can be grown profitably and fitted for
slaughter at an earlier age; but they
require pushing from start to finish,
and must never be allowed to get
hungry or become stunted. If so,
they never recover. | have found it
more desirable under the ordinary
treatment on the average plantation
to have high bred grades. They are
harder and will stand a little neg
lect better, are just as thrifty as the
thoroughbreds, and will take on flesh
Just as readily under favorable cir
cumstanccS. In either case, a thor
oug' rcd male should be used and
the Cd SOW carefully selected.
There ) as much difference among
brood sows &C among milk cows, and
1t Is only after the pigs have come
and the milking qualities of the SOW
have been tested that we know whe-
ther she Is a profitable breeder or
not One good indication hch
shculd be followed In selecting a
SOW pig for breeding is the number
of tcats. | have seen sows with only
ten teats and I have known others
to have Is. Select the one with the
largest number, certainly never less
than ID; and, while this is only
an indication, 1t Is something like
good pointer.
1T is better for the pigs to come in
early fall, say October, and in March
and April rather than in the dead of
winter or in the heat of summer, and
tho SOW should not be bred too
young, though size and development
should govern In this case rather
than age. The first litter never
amounts to much anyway. The mum
ber OF teats is no indication of the
number Of pigs that can best be SUP
ported by the brood SOW. think
ten the maximum number to be al
lowed The tcats are only an indi-
cation Of the milking qualities, and
every good brood SOW, like every
good milk COW, turns her food into
milk rather than flesh and grows
Door under the strain or rourco II