Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-05-21
Popular System
for Sanitation
Plan Originated Few Years
Ago Is Saving Hog Raisers
Much Money.
(Prepared by the United States Department
of ARricuIture.)

Prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture)
THAI the system of swine sanitation
originated in the United States De-
partment of Agriculture few years
ago is saving hog raisers large num-
Ders of pigs and much money Is shown
by reports coming In continuously
from various parts of the Middle West.
Illinois, where the system was first
tried out in Mclean county, has been
taking up this new method of han
ding sows and young pigs with
great deal of energy, and the results
obtained no doubt will stimulate in
.creasing numbers of farmers to raise
pigs under sanitary precautions which
win keep them free of worms.
Pigs Given Good Start.
This spring 500 farmers in 81 ILL
nois counties gave all the pigs far
rowed a good start by having them
come to clean narrowing houses after
the sows had been thoroughly
scrubbed. The live stock extension
specialist of the University of Illinois
considers that with this start half the
battle in the economical production of
pork has been won. He says the other
half consists merely in keeping the
pigs away from worm eggs until they
are at least four months of age, and
to do that does not require skill, but
merely determination and persistence.
Reports indicate that farmers who
have raised pigs the sanitation way
will not go gack to the old careless
method. They saved more pigs, the
pigs grew faster, and gain costs less,
the pigs were ready for market soon
er, and the profit was greater. At the
experiment station farm at Urbana,
Ill, lot of sanitation pigs gained 50
pounds each while others allowed to
run in old hog lots where they picked
up worm eggs gained only Is pounds.
DR.. III. B. Raffensperger, of Bloom
ington, ILL.,, representative of the bu-
reau of animal industry, United States
Department of Agriculture, reports a
lot of sanitation hogs that reached
weight of 21S pounds, while others
frequenting an old hog lot grew to
only 1872 pounds. In this case the san
3tation method increased the size Of
the pigs 80 per cent. Hundreds of
farmers in various parts of the state
have reported similar and even great
,er gains. One man raised sanitation
hogs to a weight of 300 pounds in
the same time that his hogs formerly
grew to only 200 pounds; another re-
ported a ton litter of sanitation pigs
averaging 272 pounds when others in
the old hog pastures weighed only $50
pounds gain of 80 per cent. A
farmer who adopted the sanitation
system last year had two sows which
raised Ii pigs on a half-acre of old
pasture land which had been plowed
and sowed to oats and rape. AS this
man expressed 1t, he had the best
''luck" with these pigs that he had
had in ten years.
Easiest Way to Raise Pigs.
With such enthusiasts as these men
scattered throughout the state, 1t is
highly probable that the sanitation
method of hog raising will be the COM
mon method in a few years. The
method is not complicated and, as
one Illinois farmer expressed it, once
you are fixed for handling hogs in this
way, it is the easiest way to raise
pigs. Briefly, all that is necessary is
to have the pigs narrowed in a pen
that has been thoroughly cleaned with
I've and hot water, from soWs that
have been thoroughly scrubbed be-
fore the pigs are born. From this
point on the pigs must be handled so
as not to be brought in contact with
old hog-lot soil polluted with worm
eggs. They should be moved to clean
pastures and kept away from contact
with other hogs until they are four
months of age, and have a good
enough start to resist any worm in
lection that may come later.