Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-01-28
WILL RAISE MULEF0OT HOGS
AN HEAL PCI H. BRED STOCK
FARM STARTED BY THREE
PROMINENT DEBORAH
MEN.
The Famous Mulefoot Hog is Claim
ed TO be Immune From Cholera.

Three DEBORAH gentlemen, Messrs
e. ]. Curtin, Pat Roman and G. r.
Baker are going to establish what
they term an ideal pure blood stock
farm for Winneshiek county. Some
time ago they acquired the Jacob
Ammer farm of ia acres about two
miles north of DEBORAH. They have
put up about $4,000 worth of good
buildings and fixed the place up in
fine shape The farm is now worked
by Harry Skinner. 1t is well
known fact that it is just as easy to
raise full blood stock as it is scrubs,
end these gentlemen intend to make
some demonstrations along these
lines.
Saturday they received from Ne
braska by express two registered full
blood bred sows of the famous Mule
foot breed. 1t is claimed these hogs
are immune from cholera. The gen
tleman the hogs were secured from
in Nebraska has raised them for a
number of years, and during the last
four years his neighbors, who didn t
raise the mulefoot breed, have lost
500 hogs from cholera, and not one
of his hogs were afflicted. The mule
foot has an ancient history. The
ret xxrrtf nyd nf ic
older than the written record of any
other breed. Although not familiar
to farmers and breeders in general,
this type has been long in existence
and has stubbornly preserved it's in
dividuality in spite of the carless-
ness and abuse of it's owners and
breeders. This breed is unusually
prolific. The ordinary litter is from
9 to II. Some filters have been re-
ported as high as II. One breeder
reports actual count 1929 pigs in zoo
consecutive filters. This is quality
highly sought after by our progress
sive breeders. The Mulefoot is us
ually black, and some strains are
black with white points and have
| fine, soft coats. They range in size
1 the same as the other leading breeds
of hogs, but will continue to grow
unless stunned by some blunder Of
the owner, until they reach 600 tt
500 pounds, and sometimes 1po'
pounds. Another thing about thi
breed they do well in any climate
from the cold of Norway to the no
of Cuba and Hawaii.
Aristotle who lived 800 years be
fore Christ, wrote about hogs with
undivided hoofs. This was without
doubt the Muletoot hog. A little
less than two centuries ago, Liam
nacus, the famous Swedish Natur
alist, classified the Mulefoot hog al
a distinctive breed and reports tina
they were not uncommon about hi!
native town. Darwin in 1859 men
tened and described this hog a!
found in Scotland. So it will be seer
that, at least, Tor twenty-five cen
turtles the Mulefoot hog has main
tanned its identity.
Official investigations of the U. S
Agricultural Department have con.
firmed the great age of this breed
but the der artment has not deter
mined the way and date of it's arrival
! in this country. The opinion is ia
vored that these hogs were first
brought by the early Swedish settlers
to Delaware and from this place scat
tered to Arkansas, Louisiana and
Indian Territory, where they have
been frequently found.
With all of this line of ancestry to
warrant the claims of the Mulefoot,
he is a stranger to the great rank
and file of hog breeders and raisers
today. Just as the hut builders Of
South Africa used the blue mud from
the diamond vein to daub his house,
overlooking the immense wealth car
ried in each nod, so have the hog
breeders overlooked the great value
of the Mulefoot He is real dia-
mond which was neglected in the
rough, but brought to perfection has
surpassed the fondest hopes of the
most enthusiastic; thanks to few
breeders who saw this value in the
rough, and by selection and polish,
brought forth a product that is ex-
celled by none.
Besides the Mulefoot hogs, the
gentlemen are going to stock the
farm with pure bred Guernesy cows
and full blood Percheron mares, At
ter they get things running in good
shape the people of this vicinity will
have the pleasure of seeing some fine
animals, we are sure.