Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1911-01-18

corn. Anyway, potatoes are 20 cas-
lily and cheaply grown and ard prac-
tically SO certain crop that they
should constitute one ofthe chief in
gradients In hogs rations for fat
tening. When tho potatoes and
ground peas and cow peas can be
grown under the same fence we have
an ideal arrangement for cheap pro-
duction Of hog meat and 1t oaght to
be very easy for any farmer to ar
range his rotation so that these crops
can be utilized by the hogs as sool as
the corn Is gathered and the ground
peas matured, say about the time Of
the first killing frost. The amount
of cheap pork that can be produced
on a two-horse farm where the plans
have indicated are carried out in
the way | have suggested, would be
astonishing After the fattening hogs
have gotten all they want or require,
then we can turn in the stock hogs
to CLEAN the field; but, If there Is an
abundance, we need not wait, but can
let the stock hogs and the brood sows
and pigs run in the same field. They
Will not interfere with the cotton that
has not been picked. The one possi-
| BILE interruption will be that Of SOW
| ing the grain, oats and wheat. Bur
| even this difficulty is more imagin-
airy than real. | have never tried 1t,
but Northern hog raisers ring the
noses of their pigs to prevent them
from roofing, and | do not see why
we could not do the same thing. If
given plenty Of salt, hogs do not
root much. OF course, tramping
over and grazing on winter grain Is
not desirable, but it will not hurt ex-
cept in very clayey land, if tho root
ing is prevented. Raised after this
! system, the hogs will be ready TO
slaughter after the middle Of Novem-
ber, and economy in the use of offal
makes three killings desirable
They need not have any corn, the
most expensive hog feed we can
grow, except for ten days before they
are killed, and the cost is very small,
compared with the corn-fed hog 1t
will take all winter for the stock hogs
to CLEAN and clean out the COW peas
and ground peas; and during Janu-
airy, February and March they should
be fed sweet potatoes that have been
banked, with very little corn. or
course, when corn planting begins,
the hogs must go to regular pas
ture and must then Craze on rye and
barley lots; and these lots should be
planted in speckled peas, sorghum,
potatoes, or corn to cut green so as to
get In the barley and rye early. Two
crops will then be grown on the lots
annually, thus necessitating heavy
manuring.
Now a word as to curing. We have
hams at our house that are going on
three years old that are perfectly
sound and sweet, so sweet and nutty
that they are far more delicious to
my taste than the Smithfeld or any
other ham that you can buy in the
market
/ The hogs have been killed and
cleaned-after rain, not before,
because 1t might turn warm and 1T is
better to have ice on the water than
not-cut up after they are cold
enough to be somewhat stiff, because
a neater job can be made Of it.;
sprinkle we'll with good common
salt; spread out, without the meat
being more than one layer deep, to
cool and drive off the animal heat
and draw out the water that is in
the meat. Salt down the next day
covering up everything and filling in
around the pieces, and leave for from
three to five weeks, according to the
size Of the meat and the coldness OF
the weather. Use saltpeter If you
want red color to the hams, but
prefer 1t without. Don't disturb it
no matter how warm it may be; and
if you have used enough salt, there
will be no danger Of it's putting at the
joints and becoming tainted. Hang
up after washing all the salt off will,
J. warm water and let it be smoked
from a fire of corncobs or hickory