The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-24
movable
 be profitable every producing

In the corn belt hogs furnish one of the most important means of market ing the corn crop. With the exception of chickens, they are the most numer- GUS of all farm animals, and are grown for market on more farms than any other stock. Hog raising has probably made more clear money for the corn belt farmers than any other enterprise. Ill view of this one might expect to find hogs the best housed of any ami mals on the farm, but the opposite is the case. It is still hard for many farm CTS to get rid of the notion that anything is good enough for a hog. Yet there is no animal on the farm which requires ibetter protection from cold than the hog; none for which good bed is more neces- sary, and none so much in need of sun shine as the little pig. The Aorse and the COW have good coats of hair-eyen a calf or colt when left in the cold is provided with, good fur coat; the hens feathers are the best of protection against cold; but the hog has almost nothing between his skin and the weather.
 One of the first requisites for success with hogs is shelter where young pigs can be kept warm and well supplied with sunshine and fresh air. A little pig takes cold very easily and recovers slow ly if at all. To prevent taking cold he must be kept dry, warm, away from drafts, and provided with fresh air.
 TIME TO START
 Most good hog raisers who have warm buildings try to have their sows com mence farrowing about March l, but without good houses this is impractica ble. Breeders find it necessary to have tEeir pigs come about this time in order to have them large enough for the fall demand, and producers of market hogs find the practice profitable. Early pigs 1x-p tc h out a good house two filters a year can not be raised to advantage, because the spring pigs must be put off until so late that the fall filters do not get well started before cold weather, but with good house two filters can well be raised. Most farmers do not feel that they can keep an old SOW for one litter, but with two filters it becomes a different proposl- tion. It is universally conceded that old sows raise better pigs than young ones, and the keeping of old sows enables one to select and keep only the best pro- ducers.
 TYPES OF LARGE HOUSES
 The variety of hog bouses is almost as great as the variety of individuals using them It is rare, indeed, to lind even d semblance of uniformity pre- vailing in a community. Therc are. however, only two or three general tyues which commend themSeiFeS lo the cal efuI hog man. Of the two styles of larger houses, the larger has two rows of pens, an alley through the middle, and a jog in the roof for Win dows to light the north pens, Whl'e the smaller has but one row of pens, with an alley and a row of windows on the south side. The double house is much cheaper per pen, and for that reason is to be preferred. Less work is aico required to care for ths hogs than where a single row of pens IS used
 Probably the cheapest house possible is a low building with single row ef rens and no alley, but such house is much less convenient, especially in stormy weather.
 In the majority of large hog houses the upper windows are>not so placed that the sunshine will strike the flcor when it is most needed there. Indeed a hog house with the windows in he proper position is rarely seen. Direct sunshine should strike the floor in every pen for as many hours in the day as possible at the time when the pigs are farroweG Nearly everyone realizes this is a matter of the greatest impor- tance. but too often the builder does not take the trouble to find out whether he is getting it or not Ordinarily the farmer has no means of ascertaining where to put the windows so as to get