White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-11-05

~ OouuIy, ABOUT tWelVe mlleS Soutu
of the city Of Tacoma, is Fort Stella
COON. where is situated the Western
State Hospital for the Insane.
The hospital is built on, the site of
the old fort used in early pioneer
days to protect the first settlers from
the attacks of hostile Indians, and
headquarters for federal troops. Many
of the old buildings-quarters of the
officers-still stand, though now over
in good preservation, are in use today
as homes for the hospital medical
staff.
This beautiful spot is a fine site
for the hospital, amid grounds COM
posed of many acres of velvety lawn,
studded with lofty naples and frs,
and threaded with well graded ave-
nues fringed with specimens of prac-
tically every kind of shrub that will
grow in this western climate. But
what, you will be asking, has all this
to do with Practical Pig Raising?"
Only this, that the hospital and its
grounds are situated in the midst of a
600 or more acre farm of none too
friendly sofia gravelly formation
that runs feet deep. But on this farm,
in spite of the quality of the land, is
maintained large herd of purebred
Holstein-Friesian cattle; several thou
sand White Leghorn chickens, and a
herd of Duroc swine that now num-
bers over LOO head. 1t is of this
herd of swine and the rather original
way of handling the growing pigs that
/ wish to write at this time.
The practice on this asylum farm,
is to produce all the poultry. eggs,
milk, butter and pork products con-
sum ed in the hospital by its more
than 1000 patients and their attend
ants.
/ So successful have been tie results
in growing pigs under the system now
in use, that several thousand dollar 8
worth of fat hogs are shipped 20
market each year, the surplus over
the requirements of the institu; ion
after its wants have been supplied
with all the variety of pork products,
including hams and bacon.
This system Of raising pigs has
been evolved, over period of sew
eral years, by v. w. Richards. the
farm manager, and now supersedes
the old shut-in-house system so, uni
versally used by hog growers in the
West; for on this9farm at Fort Stella
COON, the hogs are no longer confined
in ill-smelling closed-in hog houses
but instead they all have practically
free range during their entire lives,
and this lasts for some years in the
case of proven brood sows, for in this
herd no brood SOW is slaughtered so
long as she prove herself to be pro-
life breeder and good mother.
1 In keeping with the usual practice
in hog raising the brood sows are
each expected toYproduce two filters
year, SO preparatory to the arrival
of the spring narrowing, large acre
age of this prairie land is seeded to
rye in the early fall. During the win
ter months portable shelter sheds and
pen panels are hauled into the rye
fields and placed at convenient dis
tances SO that four of these sheds,
with their pens occupy an acre and
half of ground and when all are placed
the field is divided by portable fenc-
ing so that each group of four of these
shed houses Is enclosed in a paddock
of one and half acres. These portable
sheds are built on strong runners for
convenience in moving, and are d.
ivided into two compartments or stalls
6x8 feet, SO will accommodate two
sows, and the pen in front of each
shed is also divided with partition.
Late in the winter, or when the
rye has grown sufficiently to stand
some grazing, eight brood sows, now
we'll advanced in pregnancy, are turned
into each paddock. These sows are
selected with care as to their farrowr
ing dates so that the eight in each
paddock will deliver their pigs on or
about the same date. In some of
the paddocks where there is an es-
pecially good stand of rye, an extra
shed is hauled in and two more sows
are added to the group, increasing the
number to 10 sows. Once in the pad
dock the sows are allowed to roam at
will within its confines, grazing on
the tender rye which. is supplemented
night and morning with light feed
of garbage, the accumulation from
the hospital kitchen. The exercise,
green feed and garbage put the sows
in excellent condition for the ordeal
of bringing forth their young, and as
the time approaches for this event
the sows are confined in their pens
and shelter, each sow by herself in
single apartment. While in the
pens they are fed and watered in
troughs. but in the paddock all feed
ing is done on platforms.
AS additional green feed, to supple
ment the rye, rape is seeded early
in March on some of the land on
which rye was grown the previous