Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1916-08-23
HOGS FATTEN At SMALL COST
Reasons Briefly Explained and Situation
Made Clear,

WdQe Ul6df,
Some people are slow to believe the
actual conditions relative to hog rails
ing in this county are as we have fire.
quently stated IN briet manner. For
that reason we shall explain tor the
benefit of those who are not familiar
with conditions here.
TIMEBERED COUNTRY.
This being a timbered country and
most of the timber being the various
kinds of oaks. every one will under
stand that the larger part of the feed
for hogs comes from acorns.
SWEET MAST.
| For several years the marketable
white oak and post oak has been in
course OF being put on the market as
lumber and railroad cross ties. That
has removed the larger part OF the
large and healthy trees of those two
kinds, but it has left many small and
inferior trees OF that kind. The re-
moving of the large trees has caused
, the smaller trees to produce many
more acorns than all the timber pro-
duced before, just as thinning an orch
ard that stands too thick will cause
larger crop of fruit. What IS known
as "Sweet Mast" comes in large
measure from the oaks named. The
sweet mast is so called because the
acorns are good fattening feed for hogs
as soon as hey fall, and the Sweet
Mast is first of the acOrns to fall.
There IS also , small nut, the chlnqui-
pin. similar ! taste to chestnut, that
grows here in profusion in places,
which is also cisssed AS sweet mast and
Is very fatteniag for hogs.
1 BlT+ER MAST.
what is known as Bitter Mast" is
the acorns that grow on black oak. red
oak. spotted oak, chestnut oak, and
some other kinds of oaks. The reason
this IS called Bitter Mast" is that
when 1t falls 1t is bitter and hogs will
not eat it readily. After it has lain a
few weeks and has been frozen the
freezing kills the bitterness and sweet
ems 1t. After being sweetened by
freezing hogs eat it readily and fatten
on It rapidly. This Bitter Mast ripens
later than the Sweet Mast and for that
reason provides later feed for hogs.
This Bitter Mast will remain good un-
til 1T grows the following season and
hogs keep tat on it until IN May. Very
little of the Bitter Mast oaks have
been cut because the demand for that
class of timber has been small and the
price low. As the price OF timber ad-
vances and as the railroads build Gre
osotlng vats for treating ties made
from these oaks-which does not have
to be done in the case OF the white and
most oaks-the price for these oak ties
that have been non-marketable Will ad-
vance. There is every indication now
that this inferior class of oaks Will
( very soon bring such price as will
l make it profitable to market the TIM
bre. In some places in this county
l there is now standing more of this IN
fer,or class OF oak trees than there
& ever has been of the better grade OF
1 timber In some Instances the ties
will be removed at profit sufficient te
r nay the present price of the land.
!. In rare instances the acorn crop will
be damaged by an unusual dry spell ol
the tree may fail to produce just as
J. anv other trees may tail to produce 1t!
Il fruit. With a we'll distributed rainfall
a of SO to go inches each year, 1t will b'
seen that the years when there will b'
a mast failure are very rare.
q SPLENDID MEAT.
q The pork produced from mast is tn
sweetest and incest OF any. No othe
y kind of food equaling 1t in any way
d hut it is best to be used for fresh eat
% ing as when cured 1T drlps the fat ava.
! in warm wealth r, unless kept In COO
Mace, Yet most of the people her
~ get their entire pork supply out OF tn
% woods. When the hogs are fed llttl
e COIN or cotton seed meal, before butch
is ering, the flesh becomes hardened an
=, the meat is then most excellent Il
:. every way.
If When the mast fails-whlch it rarel
it does to the point where the hogs car
q not live, even though they do not ge
- fat enough for butchering-the owner
+ must feed some or take the chances O
losing their hogs through starvation
is Disease occasionally gets among ther
as and causes considerable loss, but tina
q IS rare.
~ HOGS REQUIRE LOOKING AFTER
Itisnot a safe plan to attempt t