The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-04
URGES THE SOUTH
 ID RAISE ITS HOGS Uncle Sam Shows Cost and
 Profit to Farmer FORMING OF CLUBS
Meat Will Cost Under Ten Cents Per Pound and Any Surplus Can be Disposed of at Twenty
 Cents Per Pound

Washington. December 3-(speciai) are devising ways and means for financ- ing the cotton crop. Uncle Sam through his department of agriculture is working day and night to divert the souths thoughts from cotton and turn it to other agricultural products. Last week the de- pertinent urged the cultivation of wheat and corn and other cereals today, it sug- gests pigs and horses and mules as re- munerative crops for the farmer.
 In Ireland the pig is called "the gintle- man who pays the rint," and in the corn belt of America the porker is known as the mortgage liter" So, too, In the south, says Uncle Sam. hogs can be made both a source of income and a meat food supply.
 Four requisites are necessary for the southern farmer. says the department of agriculture:
 A place to raise and fatten the pigs
 A pig worth raising and fattening. Feed on which to raise and fatten them.
 The necessary funds.
 First Cost
 For the man whose principal concern is to furnish food for his family. one or two sows will be enough and these can be bought for $10 or $15 each; razorbacks can be bought for less and will produce good pigs If bred to good purebred boar. If there is no purebred boar in the neighbor- hood whose services can be obtained, enough men should club together to rep resent the ownership of 20 to % sows and buy good boar. paying pro rata for the boar, depending on the number of sows owned by each. Boars can be bought for from s1o to s25 for weaned pigs, and from $50 to sloo for yearling and 2-year-old hogs. If 20 men owning 20 sows bought year. ling boar for $50 each man would pay s250 toward the price of the boar. Put the boar in the hands of one of the mem- bers of the club and let each other mem- Der agree to pay him one pig at weaning time for the care of the boar for one year, for attending to the breeding, etc When sows come in heat. they can be loaded on a wagon and carried to the farm where the boar Is kept for service. 2. Sows farrow almost exactly Is weeks after they are bred. When the SOW far rows try to be near at hand.
 As corn Is the most available grain in most sections of the south. it will have to be relied on for feeding both the sows and pigs. With the grazing crops which are suggested for hogs fairly well-bal- anced ration will be obtained.
 Sows can be made to produces two lit ters each year. When this is desired they | should be bred at the first period of heat after. the pigs are weaned. Sows bred twice each year will not produce so many pigs in each litter as when bred only once year, but more pigs should be raised in year from each SOW.
 It does not pay to try to raise hogs on grain alone. In fact. the profit in pig raising, especially in the south. depends directly on the amount of pasture of some kind used to enable the pig to make it's gain in weight. Of the southern forage crops peanuts, soy beans, rape and cow pears are especially valuable. Now, these therefore we use series of crops. For example, have some winter oats on which the sows can be turned as soon as the are gone put the pigs on good Bermuda and lespedeza pasture. Have a crop of soy beans or cowpeas coming and turn the pigs on this after weaning. keeping the sows on the Bermuda. When these are gone put the pigs in a peanut patch and finish fattening them on rape. B. A poor pig is not worth raising or feeding. Pigs should be sired by good. pure-bred Duroc-Jersey, Berkshire or Po- land-Chna boar. Start with good grade