The Hog (Youatt)/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII.
Martin says:
"That great attention should be paid to the hog, especially in a country like England, and when we consider its importance as a flesh-giving animal, is not surprising. There is, in fact, no part of the hog, its bristles excepted, which is not consumed; the very intestines are cleansed, and knotted into chitterlings, by many persons exceedingly relished; the blood, mixed with fat and rice, is made into black puddings; the skin of pork roasted, is a bonne bouche; a roast sucking pig is hailed with satisfaction; salt pork and bacon are in incessant demand, and are important articles of commerce. Great quantities are prepared in Ireland for exportation, and great quantities are also prepared in England. It is stated by Dr. Mavor, in his 'Survey of Berkshire,' that at Farringdon fully four thousand are annually killed and cured.
"One great value of the hog arises from the peculiarity of its fat, which, in contradistinction to that of the ox or that of the sheep, is termed lard, and differs from them in the proportion of its constituent principles, which are essentially olein, or elain, and stearin. All fats agree in being insoluble in water. It may not be uninteresting to the reader to know the distinguishing characters of the fat of our three most important flesh-giving domestic animals.
"Ox Fat.—When this has been fused, it begins to solidify at 98º, and the temperature then rises (on account of the evolution of latent heat) to 102º. Forty parts of boiling alchol of sp. gr. 0·821 dissolve one part of it, and it contains about three-fourths its weight of stearin, which is solid, hard, colorless, not greasy, and of a granular texture. It fuses at about 112º, and may then be cooled to 102º; when, on congealing, it rises to 112º. It burns like white wax. Of this stearin, about 15·5 parts are dissolved by 100 parts of anhydrous alcohol.
"The olein of ox fat is colorless, nearly inodorous, and its specific gravity (0·913; boiling alcohol dissolves nearly one-fourth more than its weight.
"Sheep's Fat, or Mutton Suet, greatly resembles that of the ox. It is, however, whiter, and, by exposure to the air, acquires a peculiar odor. After fusion, it congeals at a temperature varying between 98º and 102º. It dissolves in 44 parts of alcohol of sp. gr. 0·821 . The stearin is white, translucent, and, after fusion, but imperfectly crystalline. About 16 parts are dissolved by 100 parts of boiling anhydrous alcohol. The olein of mutton suet is colorless. Its specific gravity is 0·913, and 80 parts of it are dissolved by 100 parts of anhydrous alcohol at 168º.
"Hog's Fat, or Hog's Lard, is a soft, colorless solid, which fuses between 78º and 86º. Is specific gravity at 60º is 0·938. By powerful and long-continued pressure between folds of blotting paper, it is stated to yield 62-100ths of its weight of colorless olein, of specific gravity 0·915. Of this, 100 parts of boiling alcohol dissolve 123 parts. The stearin of hog's lard is inodorous, solid, and granular, which, after fusion, remains liquid down to 100º, and then, on congealing, the temperature rises to 109º. It becomes acid by exposure to the air.
"Different as are the qualities of stearin and olein, analysis shows that their composition is less remote than might be expected. The subjoined analysis of mutton may be taken as a general example:—
| Stearin. | Olein. | |
| Hydrogen | 11·770 | 11·090 |
| Carbon | 78·776 | 79·354 |
| Oxygen | 9·454 | 9·556 |
| 100· | 100· |
"One great value of the hog, arises from the peculiarity of its fat. The great mass of this fat is laid on under the skin, and between the superficial muscles.
"Vancouver, in his ' Survey of Essex,' makes the following judicious observations relative to the management and value of hogs:—There is no animal in the whole economy of good husbandry that requires more attention as to breed, number, and supply of food, or will better requite the care and trouble of the farmer, than a well-managed and proper stock of hogs. These things, however, are too much overlooked, or rather disregarded, by farmers in general, though all are ready to agree that an overstock in other respects must ever prove fatal to the interests of the farmer. Hogs are too frequently conceived to be a trifling and unimportant part of the stock of a farm; whereas, if their first cost and the value of their food were duly considered, with their improving value, it would certainly bear them out against some of the more costly animals, and challenge more care and attention than are usually bestowed upon them. A due regard to the breed which the peculiar circumstances of the farm may call for is particularly necessary, as some breeds are much better suited to pasture, and feed upon grass and herbs, than others. The most hardy and best qualified to prog for themselves are the Chinese, a cross with which breed upon almost any other may, under most circumstances, be prudently recommended. Let the breed be what it may, a well-proportioned stock to every farm will most abundantly requite the care and repay the expense of the necessary food provided for them. A few acres of clover would be well applied to the use of the hogs in summer; but in the sty it would be well to restrain them to a certain quantity of water, and to lodge them clean and dry, notwithstanding the wilful neglect and too prevailing opinion to the contrary; for cleanliness is as essential to the preservation of their health and well-doing as to that of any other animal.'
"These views are very different from those of a writer in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, who says, 'It is greatly doubted by many competent judges, whether swine form a profitable stock, at least when fed on food which requires to be raised for the purpose. The results deduced from calculations entered into, to show the probable return for a given quantity of grain, roots, or other vegetable produce, are, however, so discordant as to avail but little in the formation of a settled and conclusive opinion. In connexion with distilleries, dairies, breweries, and other large establishments, they are of much higher and assured importance, and return, in proportion to the offal they consume, a great quantity of meat. Their chief advantage as live stock probably consists in their being nourished by what would otherwise either prove nearly useless, or be entirely lost. When potatoes are raised as a fallow crop, exceeding the demands of human consumption, the rearing of swine for bacon and pickled pork becomes an advisable branch of rural economy.'
"No one, we presume, would keep pigs without having the means of feeding them at his command, all necessary conveniences, and a proper system of management. Under such circumstances they will return ample profit, a fact well known in America, where the hog is important to a degree elsewhere unknown, Ireland not excepted.
"If this animal is profitable to proprietors of large establishments, to great distillers, to millers, to farmers and dairymen, so it is to the laboring peasant who cultivates a little garden, and collects the refuse of the kitchens of his wealthier neighbors; he will have two or three litters in the course of the year, saleable as 'sucking pigs' at the age of three or four weeks, and at Christmas he will kill two, three, or four fat pigs, and find a ready sale for the meat, besides turning part into bacon for his own family. This is no theory; we ourselves know those who act upon the plan, and find it a source of profit and comfort. It would not, however, do for the idle or the improvident; it demands industry, order, and fore-thought, and that assistance, which, while the man is going on with his regular work, his wife or some part of his family can render.
"Exclusive of bacon, hams, &c., great is the demand for fresh pork throughout our island—much greater, indeed, than formerly, and this is in some measure owing to the improvement of our breeds; our porkers are small-sized, with fine-grained delicate flesh, and firm fat, sufficiently but not superabundantly laid on, and the skin is thin and clear; the limbs are round and fine-boned. Such is the country-fed pork to be seen in London and in other towns. Formerly such pork was never sent to market, and in some counties it is still unknown. We allude to the more northern of the midland counties, and those still farther north. A relative farming in Derbyshire, and on a visit to the author, expressed his surprise at the smallness and delicacy of the dairy-fed pork placed upon our table. His idea of fresh pork was limited to spare-ribs, and griskins of bacon hogs; and he deemed the destruction of young porkers for food utter folly. He forgot, perhaps never reflected that these younglings, by quick returns and good profits, remunerated the farmer, miller, or dairy man far more than they would have done if kept to be bacon hogs and fed up to the proper pitch.
"We have sufficiently demonstrated the value of the pig as one of the flesh-producing animals which man has reclaimed. Throughout the whole of Europe, and the greater portion of America, the flesh of the hog, fresh, salted, or cured, is in constant demand; nor less so the lard, which is required by the cook, by the apothecary, and by the perfumer.
"No part of the hog, as we have said, is useless; not even its bristles or its skin.
"The bristles of our fine-bred races are perhaps of no value—they are generally short, slender, and thinly set; but in the coarser breeds, they are long and strong, firm and elastic. The export of bristles alone from Russia and Prussia into our country, forms no inconsiderable item. We need not detail their various uses.
"With respect to the hide of this animal, it is, when tanned, of a peculiar texture, and very tough. It is used for making pocketbooks, and for some ornamental purposes, but chiefly for covering saddles. The numerous little variegations in it, and which constitute its beauty, are the orifices whence the bristles have been removed." —Martin.
The establishment of agricultural societies and cattle-shows formed the commencement of a new era in the breeding of all domesticated animals, and especially of swine, which had, previously to that epoch, been very much neglected. There cannot be a doubt but that the competition, the assembling together of breeders from all counties and even from abroad, the comparison of the different animals brought together, and the conclusions drawn in many minds, tend materially to the elucidation and advancement of the science of breeding. Persons resident in remote localities are apt to set up for themselves some particular standard of excellence, and make it the whole aim of their endeavors to obtain and develop certain points in an animal, and having done this they rest satisfied; but when the annual cattle show places before them other and evidently superior animals, they perceive how much too limited, and often how erroneous, have been their views, and set to work afresh to improve upon the knowledge thus acquired.
But there is no good without its attendant evil. It was, doubtless, originally intended by those who established the distribution of prizes for certain kinds of stock, that the prize animal should be the most excellent as to its points, the most useful to the farmer, breeder, and butcher, and altogether the most profitable; but not that it should be the fattest! It is reported that, on Hannah More being asked what was the use of cattle-shows, she replied, "To induce people to make beef and mutton so fat that nobody can eat it." This certainly is the abuse of them, and in no class of animals is it carried to such an extent as in swine. The greedy propensities of the poor animal are worked upon; he is shut up, often in darkness, and fed and suffered to gorge himself until he can scarcely move or breathe, and often dies of suffocation, or is obliged to be killed, from the simple exertion of being brought to the show in the most easy and careful manner. A premium would be far better bestowed upon the most useful and profitable animal, the one most likely to make good bacon or pork, than on these huge masses of obesity, whose superabundance of fat is fit for little else but the melting-pot. As much money is often wasted on one of these monsters as would purchase food for half a dozen really profitable animals. And to what purpose? Simply to test the elastic power of a pig's skin? "No," reply the advocates of this species of monomania, "but to discover which breeds can be fattened to the greatest size in the shortest time, and on the smallest amount of food." And to this plea we can only reply, that while we admit the value of such knowledge, we think it might be attained without the sacrifice of a fine animal, at much less expense, and far more satisfactorily. Let the animals be fat, but do not let them be a mere bladder of lard, "of shape undefined," every point lost and buried. It is fine and profitable breeds we require, not monstrosities. The grand aim of agricultural societies is to promote the improvement, of the breeds, and consequently the profit of the breeder, and general advantage. We trust that this will shortly be fully understood and carried out, and the cattle-shows become, as it were, model-rooms, instead of mere exhibitions of over-fed, panting, unshapely beasts. But it is not our feeble voice alone which is raised against this unnatural stuffing: public attention has latterly been much called to this point; and among others, our merry critic Punch, who fails not to lash each passing folly of the age, has, as will be seen by the following epitaph, not been unmindful of this one:—
"Epitaph on a Prize Pig.
HERE LIES
ALL THAT WAS EATABLE
OF A PRIZE PIG.
HE WAS BORN
ON FEBRUARY 1, 1845:
HE WAS FED
ON MILK, POTATOES, AND
BARLEY-MEAL:
HE WAS SLAUGHTERED
ON DECEMBER 24, 1846,
WEIGHING 80st. 9lbs.
STOP, TRAVELLER!
AND REFLECT HOW SMALL A PORTION
OF THIS VAST PIG
WAS PORK SUITABLE
FOR HUMAN FOOD
Hurtrel D'Arboval, treating of Obesity, says, "There is, however no animal so liable to become over-fat, as the pig, and especially the Chinese and Siamese swine. Naturally inclined to corpulence and gluttony, they easily acquire an enormous bulk; and when fat has once begun to accumulate, the animal eats little, breathes with difficulty, becomes inert, unable to sustain his own weight, and deficient in sensation. We have seen wretched pigs so fat that they were obliged to be lifted or dragged out of the sty whenever it was necessary to move them. We have also made incisions in their buttocks and even taken off portions of skin from their backs, without their betraying any sense of pain. We saw one hog that had lain for a considerable period on one side, too powerless or too inert even to shift its position, and when it was raised, a large hole was perceived in that part of the back which had been undermost. This had been made by rats feeding and gnawing into the fat of the beast, evidently without its being in the least conscious of their proceedings.
"Animals that have been castrated are always more disposed to obesity."
We will now proceed to consider the various modes of keeping and feeding swine and their relative value, and the other incidental matters which may develop themselves as we proceed.
Swine are generally fattened for pork at from six to nine months old, and for bacon at from a twelvemonth to two years. Eighteen months is generally considered to be the proper age for a good bacon hog.
The feeding of pigs will always, in a great measure, depend upon the circumstances of the owner, upon the kind of food which he has at his disposal and can best spare, and the purpose for which he intends the animals. It will also be in some degree regulated by the season, it being possible to feed pigs very differently in the summer to what they are fed in the winter. During the former they can either be sty-fed or pastured, or both; and there is also a greater variety of vegetables and green food for them, as well as of dairy refuse; while in the winter they must be home-fed, and in most cases their diet limited to roots, peas, beans, or other such dried food, and wash composed of the scanty residue of the dairy, or supplied from the house or brewery.
WHEY, MILK, AND DAIRY REFUSE.
For sty-fed pigs the washings of the dairy, as butter and skim-milk, whey, &c., are excellent, and especially whey thickened with barley, or oat, or pea-meal, whey being more nourishing than skim-milk; the animals thrive and make flesh so well on it, that many farmers are of opinion that this mode of employing their sour milk is more profitable than making cheese. But when the swine have once become habituated to this kind of diet it must be continued, as they would fall off if put upon any other. There was a beautiful lot of Coleshill pigs exhibited at the last Smithfield Club Cattle-Show, belonging to the Earl of Radnor, aged twenty-one weeks, which had been fattened on forty-eight bushels of barley-meal and six bushels of potatoes, with an adequate quantity of whey. Wherever, therefore, there are large dairies, swine may be most advantageously kept, the excellence of dairy-fed pork being incontestable.
WASH, GRAINS, AND REFUSE OF BREWERIES AND DISTILLERIES.
The refuse wash and grains, and other residue of breweries and distilleries, may also be given to swine with advantage, and seem to induce a tendency to lay on flesh, but not in too large quantities, or unmixed with other and more substantial food; as, although they gain flesh rapidly when fed on it, the meat is not firm, and never makes good bacon.
Thäer advises that the refuse of brandy-distilleries should always be diluted with water at first, otherwise the animals will reject it, or, if they take it, become giddy, and be unable to keep their feet, afterwards, the quantity of this food may be gradually increased till they are completely accustomed to it. Neuenhahn says that the refuse of the brandy-distillery cannot be given to the pigs too warm, or too soon after its removal from the still, and that it never heats their blood; but that, if it be allowed to get cold and stale, it is rather injurious than beneficial to them. On the other hand, many experienced distillers, who fatten large numbers of hogs, assure us that it requires great attention, and the employment of a man on whose care we can rely, to prevent this residue from being given to the animals while too warm, for it is then that it injures and materially retards their growth. It should be sometimes thick, sometimes diluted with water, and at others mixed with meal or pollard, in order, by thus varying the food, to keep up the appetite of the animals.
RESIDUE OF STARCH MANUFACTORIES.
The residue of the manufacture of starch, the products of the various washings which this precaution involves, and the refuse of wheat, are far superior to brewers' and distillers' refuse. Hogs fed upon these articles fatten more quickly, produce firmer flesh, more substantial bacon, and a greater quantity of lard. At first the animals will often eat these matters with great avidity, and even to excess, and when this is the case they, invariably become disgusted and refuse them after a time. The quantity must therefore be carefully regulated, and the troughs kept very clean. If this kind of food be used alternately with one of a different nature, the fattening will be effected with greater certainty. The quantity of this refuse collected at once is often greater than can be consumed at the time, and it is difficult to store it up, because its animal portions so soon putrefy. The only mode of preservation is to dry it, make it into cakes, and bake it.
VEGETABLES AND ROOTS.
Cabbage and lettuce-leaves, turnip-greens, and bean and pea-hauln. may be given to pigs in moderate quantities with advantage, but these substances should be chopped up small and mingled in the wash, as the animals, being very fond of such food, will otherwise devour it too ravenously to be able properly to masticate it. Almost all our common roots are well adapted for feeding pigs; carrots, turnips, parsnips, beet-root, and last, but not least, the potato, are all exceedingly nutritive, even when given in a raw state, but that cooking tends materially to increase their nourishing powers is a fact well attested by numerous experiments and general experience. Potatoes should be steamed, the other roots boiled. In Guernsey the parsnip is extensively used in the feeding of pigs, especially from September to Christmas, and eight perches of land, each producing on the average 250 lbs. of this root, are considered as the general allowance for fattening a pig in store order. But the flesh of animals thus fed is not so firm as that of pigs fed on pea or barley-meal with a slight addition of corn, and shrinks when boiled, instead of plumping. Carrots are considered by some persons to fatten swine more rapidly than any other root, and to impart a particularly delicate flavor to the flesh; they may be given raw. Potatoes are, however, the staple food in by far the greater part of England, and the whole of Ireland. They should be steamed, and then mashed with meal or pea-flour in whey or sour milk (where it can be had,) or in wash or clear water, and made of the consistence of porridge. The water in which the potatoes have been cooked should always be thrown away. This root should, however, only be given for a short time, as it is by no means a rapid fattener, and does not make firm good fat, and never alone if it can be avoided. Turnips should never be given while any other kind of food can be obtained, as their effects are far from beneficial, and often quite the contrary. Beans and peas, both green, dried, and ground, or bruised and macerated, form excellent food. Peas are considered to produce firmer flesh, and to fatten quicker than beans. The gray pea is generally allowed to be the best adapted for swine, and to contain most nutrition. Experiments have been made with the blue pea, but hogs fed on it had always a tendency to diarrhœa. Every part of the pea, the haulm, the cods, and the peas themselves, may be used in feeding pigs. Sir John Sinclair found green beans also very advantageous food for swine; he gives preference to the Windsor bean, and advises that two or three successive crops of them should be sown in order to secure a constant supply from July until September.
In the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture" we find an account of some experiments made with the view of testing the relative fattening powers of carrots, potatoes, peas, wheat, and buckwheat.
Five couples of pigs were separately put up to fatten:—
| Increase of Weight. | ||||||
| To couple | 1 | was given | 55 | decalitres of | peas | 315 lbs. |
| " | 2 | " | 283 | " | balls of wheat | 339 lbs. |
| " | 2 | " | 96 | " | buckwheat | 374 lbs. |
| " | 4 | " | 98 | " | boiled potatoes | 284 lbs. |
| " | 5 | " | 175 | " | carrots | 394 lbs. |
These results of the experiment are, however, unsatisfactory, because it is not mentioned whether the pigs were all of the same age and weight, nor is it stated whether the quantity of food marked in the table was as much as the pigs could consume.
We have always believed that peas were the most nutritious food that could be given to pigs, and this experiment confirms the belief, as may be seen on comparing the relative increase of weight obtained from the various kinds of food, viz.:—55 decalitres of peas gave an increase of 22 stone 7 lbs., or nearly 6 lbs. of increase of pork from 1 decalitre of peas; whereas from boiled carrots only 28 stone 2 lbs. of increase were obtained from 175 decalitres, or about 212 lbs. from 1 decalitre, giving the advantage over the peas in the ratio of 212:1. The next most nourishing food is buckwheat, which nearly gives 4 1bs. of pork from 1 decalitre. Boiled potatoes are next, giving nearly 3 lbs. of pork from 1 decalitre; and the lowest quantity of pork is that obtained from the balls of wheat, which is as low as 1 lb. from 1 decalitre. Flour would no doubt fatten better than wheat, especially if the feeds were made into small dry balls of dough, and frequently administered.
FRUITS.
With the exception of the acorn we have seldom a sufficiently abundant crop of fruit of any kind to admit of our making it an article of food for swine. When England was rich in forest land, the mastage or pannage of swine in these localities was a valuable privilege, for if the animals did not absolutely get fat, they were kept in fair condition at no expense to the owner beyond that of paying a person to look after them.
Hogs will eat the acorns and beech-mast greedily, and certainly thrive to a certain extent on this food, so far that it is an easy matter to fatten them afterwards. Parkinson says:—" When I lived with my father, acorns were so plentiful in the woods one year, that they made the pigs sufficiently fat for bacon without any other food. The flesh was equally as good and as well-flavored as that of other animals that had been fed on beans and peas." Acorns that have become dry in the sun and air are far more profitable than those which are fresh fallen and green; but the way in which they may be most advantageously employed is to bake or roast them, and then crush them, and either boil them to a pulp, or pour boiling water upon them and let it stand until cool; the addition of a little salt makes an exceedingly palatable food, which the animals greedily suck up, and which tends far more to fatten them than the raw acorn would.
Beech-mast eaten alone makes the fat oily and impoverishes the lean, but when taken in conjunction with acorns the one fruit qualifies the other, and the combined effect is good.
In many parts of the Continent where chestnuts are grown in large quantities they constitute a considerable item in the feeding of swine, and are exceedingly nutritious, especially when given at the latter part of the fattening process. They impart firmness and a delicate flavor to the meat. Few persons give chestnuts in a raw state; they are either roasted in an oven or macerated in boiling water. The same reason may be given here as will apply to all kinds of roots and fruits, not only when used as food for swine, but also for other animals, and even for the human being; they are rendered more digestible by cooking, divested of their crudeness, and thus better calculated to nourish the system without fatiguing or disordering its powers. Besides which there is a decided saving effected. Some even go so far as to calculate that cooked, or ground, or bruised food, goes as far again as that which is given in its natural state or merely cut up.
In America, where there is an abundance of apples and pumpkins, these fruits are given to swine: we quote an account related by a great breeder of these animals, who attaches much value to these two articles of food, which seems to testify their utility:—
"On the 10th of October twenty swine were put up to fatten, all of which were only in middling store order, in consequence of the scarcity of feed. The cows producing very little wash from the dairy, and the crop of apples being scanty this season, nothing had been given them during summer but a small orchard containing one acre and a-half of land (with the premature apples which fell,) in which was a pond of water, a very essential requisite to hogs, and one to which, under the powerful influence of the sun, they will resort for their chief comfort.
"The above twenty swine were divided into three lots and closely confined; we proceeded to fatten them by steaming 4 bushels of small potatoes, 12 bushels of apple pomace, 4 bushels of pumpkins, and 1 cwt. of buckwheat cornel, adding a little salt, the whole being well incorporated together while hot from the steamer, with a wooden pounder, and suffered to undergo fermentation before it was used as food: they were at the same time supplied with plenty of charcoal and pure water. While feeding them with the first steamer of the compound, a more than ordinary moisture was observed on their litter, which was occasioned by urine: a knowledge of animal nature convinced the owner that any more than an ordinary flow would weaken the system, and retard the progress of fattening; and he attributed this evil to the steamed pumpkins acting as a diuretic, stimulating the kidneys and increasing the evacuation of urine.
In the next steamer, therefore, 4 bushels of ruta-baga were substituted for the pumpkins, which had the desired effect. This experiment afforded proof that a mixture thus compounded contains a large mass of nutritive material ready prepared for the action of the stomach, and therefore producing flesh more rapidly than any other combination of food made use of. All the waste apples being used up, and there being a greater quantity of soft corn on hand than usual, that was given to the hogs, but instead of their condition improving they fell off, and the owner was under the necessity of procuring two loads of apple pomace from his neighbors, and commencing the steaming and feeding again; it was continued with the same good effect until eight days before the animals were killed, during which latter period they were fed with sound corn; they were slaughtered on the 1st of December. The expense of fattening and the produce of pork were as follows:—
| Dr. | Dolls. | Cts. | ||
| 32 bushels of small potatoes, at 25 cts. | 8 | 00 | ||
| 32 bushels of ruta-baga, including pumpkins, at 25 cts. | 8 | 00 | ||
| 10 bushels of soft corn, at 50 cts. | 5 | 00 | ||
| 10 cwt. of buckwheat* at $1 per cwt. | 10 | 00 | ||
| 20 bushels of sound corn, at 80 cts. | 16 | 00 | ||
| 47 | 25 | |||
| Cr. | Dolls. | Cts. | ||
| By 40 cwt. of pork, at $712 per cwt. | 300 | 00 | ||
| Deduct expense, | 47 | 00 | ||
| Balance, | 252 | 75." |
It is true that we have not often a superabundance of apples; but still in years when the crop is plentiful, the windfalls, diseased or injured apples, and the refuse left after the making of cider, may be given to the pigs, and will prove a fair substitute for more expensive food, if not in itself peculiarly advantageous; especially when economy in the keep is more studied than a rapid system of fattening.
Nuts should never be given to swine; they make the fat soft and greasy, and impart a sweet, unpleasant flavor to the flesh. Pigs are, however, exceedingly fond of them; so much so, that when they can get nuts they care little to touch any other kind of food.
GRAIN.
There is nothing so nutritious, so eminently and in every way adapted for the purpose of fattening, as are the various kinds of grain; the only drawback is that they are too expensive to be used to any great extent for this purpose, otherwise no animal should be considered as properly fattened unless some kind of grain had been given during the latter part of the time; as nothing tends more to create a firmness as well as delicacy in the flesh. It has been calculated that for every bushel, half of peas, and half of barley, that a hog eats, it gains from nine to ten or eleven pounds of flesh.
Two pigs of about eight months old, were purchased and put up to fatten on the 23d of December, 1834; they then weighed 316 lbs. They were put into a warm sty and fed on rye and corn-meal, having three regular feeds per diem, of two quarts each, up to the following October, when they received three quarts at each feed, or nine quarts a-day for about a month. From that time until the 7th of December, 1835, a period of five weeks, their feeds were raised another quart, making now twelve quarts a-day. Besides this they had the refuse of the milk of two cows, and occasionally a very little green meat. When slaughtered, they weighed 1134 lbs., which, allowing for one-third of offal, will amount to the gain of about 312 lbs. of live weight per day. They ate in the whole, fifty bushels of rye and corn ground; in cold weather it was scalded and given to them warm, and in the summer, put into the trough and milk poured upon it. (The Cultivator, vol. ii.)
There are also repeated instances in which the animals have increased in weight 2 lbs., 212 lbs., and even 3 lbs. a day, while fed on barley-meal only, or barley-meal and peas, or potatoes; the relative prices, however, of grain and pork will always decide the question of the advantage of this mode of feeding far better than volumes of experiments or comments.
Barley and oats are considered to be best adapted for fattening swine. Some persons give the preference to oats, and where the grain is given whole they certainly are more digestible and less heating; but ground barley or barley meal is universally allowed to be the most nutritious of all food.
There are various ways of giving grain to swine:—Raw and dry, roasted or malted, bruised and macerated, boiled, green, and growey or germinating wheat; and, lastly, ground to meal or farina. Of these the first two are the least advantageous, as the grain is then often but imperfectly masticated, and consequently produces indigestion. Wherever it is thus given the animals must be well supplied with water. A little whole grain given once a-day, or every other day, to pigs fed on barleymeal, is considered to be beneficial and add to the firmness of the flesh.
Macerated grain is better, or rather would be if the animals would eat it freely, which they seldom will do. Its fattening properties are increased if, after maceration, it is suffered to lie and germinate, and then dried or malted; or left to stand in the water until the whole turns sour.
Many persons consider that grain boiled until the husk bursts is better adapted for feeding swine in this form than when ground, and is likewise more economical; the only difference, however, in this latter respect, will depend upon whether the expense of having it ground be greater or less than that of the fuel necessary to boil it.
It is our opinion that the best, most economical and advantageous form in which grain can be used, is that of meal moistened with water, whey or sour or skim-milk, into a kind of soup or porridge. The fluid, whatever it may be, which is in the first place poured upon it, should never be more than lukewarm, and had better be quite cold; hot or boiling liquid will cause the meal to conglomerate into lumps of paste, not easily dissolved, and very likely to bring on indigestion. The Rev. Arthur Young, in his work on fattening cattle and swine, gives the following directions as to the best method of employing this kind of food:—"The most profitable method of converting corn of any kind into food for hogs, is to grind it into meal, and mix this with water in cisterns, in the proportion of five bushels of meal to one hundred gallons of water; stir it well several times a-day, for three weeks in cold weather, or for a fortnight in a warmer season, by which it will have fermented well and become acid, till which time it is not ready to give. It should be stirred immediately before feeding. Two or three cisterns should be kept fermenting in succession, that no necessity may occur of giving it not duly prepared. The difference in profit between feeding in this manner, and giving the grain whole, is very great, so great that whoever tries it once will not be apt to change it for the common method."
Thäer informs us that ground corn or coarse meal made into sour dough (by mixing the farina or meal with warm water and a little yeast, and then suffering it to stand in a high temperature until it turns sour, which it will do in the course of a day,) is a better and more profitable mode of feeding swine on grain than any other. A portion of the sour dough is then softened with water and given to the pigs, with a small portion of ground corn or barley meal stirred up in it. The animals relish this food exceedingly, and thrive rapidly upon it; but if the dough is given alone, although they seem to make flesh as quickly, the meat is flabby and the fat porous. Peas might be added instead of the farina or meal, or a little whole barley or oats.
The same author likewise says:—"Some persons appears to be exceedingly successful in fattening their pigs on bread made of coarse rye or barleymeal. They cut this bread in pieces, dry it in an oven, then soak it in water, mash it, and give it to the animals in the form of porridge. Where sour milk or whey can be substituted for water, this food is said to surpass all others for quickness and efficacy in fattening, and for the goodness of the flesh and fat it produces."
Indian corn has latterly been employed in England with great success in feeding swine, and that it is highly nutritive and well adapted for the purpose there can be no question; here, as in most cases, the price will in a great measure decide the advantage or non-advantage of using it.
Maize is equal if not superior to any kind of grain for fattening, and is extensively used on the Continent, in Europe, and in America, where this article can readily be obtained. The best way is to give it quite at the latter end of the fattening period in small quantities as a handful or a few ears. It may be given in its natural state, as pigs are so fond of it that they will eat up every seed. The pork and bacon of animals that have been thus fed is peculiarly firm and solid.
Rice is another valuable adjunct in fattening swine; we will quote in support of its properties the following account, given by an amateur pig-breeder:—
"We purchased from the government stores several tons of damaged rice at a very cheap rate; with this we fattened our pigs, and such pork I never saw before or since; the fat was as firm and solid as the lean, and the flavor of the meat very superior.
"The way in which the rice was prepared for food was as follows: My copper held forty gallons; in the afternoon it was filled or nearly so, with water; as soon as the water boiled, the fire was raked out, two pails of rice immersed in the water, and the whole covered closely down and left to stand until the morning. On the following day the copper was emptied of its contents, which consisted of a thick jelly, so firm as only to be taken out with a shovel; and on these contents the pigs were fed. The effect was perfect.
"As to the economy of the plan, that of course must be a matter dependent upon circumstances; we found it more profitable than almost any other kind of food we could have given, from the price at which we were able to purchase the rice, and its goodness. From some slight experiments, I am induced to think that equal parts of rice jelly and mashed potatoes would constitute an excellent food."
Another person who tried rice as a food for pigs put up two weighing 70 lbs. each, and fed them entirely on equal parts of boiled rice and steamed potatoes. At first they progressed but slowly, but eventually attained the weight of 210 lbs. each. Their flesh was fine and delicate, the fat white and firm, and the flavor of both was excellent.
Under the head of grain some writers consider beans, peas, and tares; we have already spoken of the first two when treating of vegetables, and given it as our opinion that pea-meal is little if at all inferior to barley and oatmeal. The addition of a few dry peas to the porridge made of barleymeal and whey is advantageous; and many persons consider good pea-soup to be equal to any thing in its fattening powers.
Bran or pollard, unmixed with any farinaceous particles, conduces but little to fatten an animal; it has been considered that fermentation will increase and develop their nutritive properties, but we should be sorry to be compelled to rely solely on either of these two substances.
SOILING AND PASTURING SWINE.
We have already spoken of the advantage of a run at grass to swine of all ages, and permanent pastures are those best adapted to this purpose. Soiling, or feeding pigs on cut green meat, has also its advantages, and is very much practised wherever there are crops and facilities for so doing. The best artificial grasses and green meat for swine are clover, lucerne, chicory, sainfoin, vetches, tares, and bean and pea-haulm. Some persons feed their swine on these matters in the fields; but it is a far better practice to turn them into yards or small enclosures, and there have the green meat brought to them, as by this means the animals are not able to wander about so much, exhausting their strength, and feeding in a desultory manner, but are kept quiet, and their dung more concentrated, especially if good litter or earth is laid down to receive and absorb it.
This feeding on green meat for awhile cools and purifies the blood, and keeps the animals in fair store condition, though it tends but very little to fatten them: where it is intended that it shall perform that office as well, it must not be simply cut green from the field and thrown to them, but chopped up small and salted, and mixed with the screenings of corn, or pollard, or meal, or roots, and moistened with some kind of wash and left to ferment.
Clover, hay, or dried vetches may be also given to swine, chopped up small, and in wash; the former with undoubted advantage, for clover and lucerne are allowed to be exceedingly nutritive to swine; but many persons consider vetches, whether green or dried, as heating.
ANIMAL SUBSTANCES.
There cannot be a doubt but that these are highly fattening in their nature, and also that swine, being somewhat allied to the carnivora, will greedily devour them; but the question is, Do they not tend to make the flesh strong and rank, to inflame the blood, to create in the animals a longing for more of such food, and thus lead them to destroy fowls, rabbits, ducks, and even the litters of their companions? Many will give blood, entrails, scraps of refuse meat, horse-flesh, and such like, to swine, but we should decidedly discourage such practices; the nearest approach to animal food we would admit should be pot-liquor, and dairy refuse. Animal food is bad for every kind of swine; and tends to make them savage and feverish, and often lays the foundation of serious inflammation of the intestines.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR FEEDING AND FATTENING.
Regular hours of feeding rank among the first of the rules which ought to be observed; the pigs will soon learn to expect their meals at certain times, and the stomach will be ready for it; irregularity will therefore irritate the digestive powers, and prevent so much benefit being derived from the meal when it does come.
Small meals, and many of them, are preferable to few and large ones, for swine are very apt to gorge and over-eat themselves, or, if any be left in the trough, to return to it by fits and starts until it is all gone; in both cases the digestive functions are impaired, and the process is not fully and beneficially performed. The best remedy for indigestion is to let the animals fast for four-and-twenty hours, and then to give them a small quantity of dry food, as barley or peas, whole and salted, and let them fast four or five hours more before resuming their usual food.
Pigs always eat more when first put up to fatten than they do afterwards; therefore the most nutritious food should be reserved until they are getting pretty fat. And at that period the food must be varied, for the appetite being diminished, it becomes necessary to excite it by variety; and, besides, the same aliment constantly given palls upon the stomach, and is incapable of supplying in itself all the various kinds of nutriment required by the increased and altered state of the body.
It will be found advantageous occasionally to mingle a little sulphur or powdered antimony with the food of swine put up to fatten; about half an ounce once in ten days will usually be sufficient. These medicines tend to purify the blood, facilitate digestion, and maintain the appetite.
An American writer states that he has found gall-nuts, bruised and mingled with charcoal, to act most beneficially on the health of swine while being fattened; and also recommends that they should always be allowed to root in the earth of a small yard attached to the sty each day, and, if they will, eat some of the earth, which will be good for them. An intelligent writer in the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture" states, that on the Duke of Montrose's estate, the pigs have ashes and cinders given them occasionally to correct the acidity of the stomach; and that they are frequently turned out to a piece of ground sprinkled with lime, which they root in and eat; or else, if this is not possible on account of the weather, a little magnesia is now and then mingled in the milk. These simple precautions are always more or less necessary to animals that are highly fed and have little or no exercise, and we should recommend them to the attention of all owners of pigs.
Cleanliness is another indispensable requisite. There is no idea so utterly without foundation as the common one "that pigs love dirt," and that these animals thrive best in the midst of filth. We will quote one anecdote out of the many which have come to our knowledge, in refutation of this absurd opinion:—"A gentleman in Norfolk put up six pigs of almost exactly equal weight, and all in equal health, to fatten; treated them, with one exception, all exactly the same, and fed them on similar food, given in equal quantities, to each, for seven weeks. Three of these pigs were left to shift for themselves so far as cleanliness went, and the other three were carefully curried, brushed, and washed. These latter consumed in the seven weeks less food by five bushels than the other three, and yet, when killed, weighed more by 32 lbs. on the average."
It should be the duty of some one person to keep the skins of the pigs put up to fatten—indeed we would rather say, of all the pigs kept—perfectly free from mud, dust, or filth of any kind; and this will best be done by taking care that they always have clear water to bathe in within their reach, clean litter to lie upon, are occasionally combed and brushed, and that the sty is always kept free from filth. Nothing is so likely to engender lice and diseases of the skin as for it to be suffered to remain in a dirty state. It is true that the maintenance of cleanliness will cost some trouble and expense, but every owner of pigs will best consult his own interests by attention to this point.
The best period for fattening pigs is the autumn; then almost every kind of food is to be had in plenty, as well as in perfection; the weather is neither too hot nor too cold; and the humidity generally prevalent at this season acts beneficially upon the skin and tissues, and as it were lubricates the whole animal economy. Besides, they are ready to be slaughtered at the period when this can be done with most advantage; when the lowness of the temperature allows more time, and consequently enables the owner to turn the flesh to the greatest advantage; whereas in hot weather the meat must be salted or pickled, eaten or disposed of immediately, or it turns off and is spoiled. In the immediate neighborhood of large towns alone will it be found advantageous to fatten pigs so as to have them ready to kill in the summer; there the prices which can often be obtained may compensate the dealer for the difficulty and risk he undergoes; but even the facilities afforded by railways will hardly do this to those who reside in remote localities, as here the expense of the transit has to be added to the other items, and the risk is increased by close packing.
The best kinds of food for fattening pigs are:—
Milk or whey mixed with barley, oat, corn, or pea-meal, or with boiled and mashed potatoes.
Potatoes and rice; potatoes and meal of any of the above kinds, or mashed potatoes and whole grain.
Peas given whole, or crushed, or in the form of soup, and either alone or mixed with barley-meal or potatoes.
Carrots and parsnips; and especially boiled carrots, which some persons consider to be the most nutritious and fattening food that can be giver to swine.
Pasturage on clover, lucerne, or sainfoin, or a run in the stubble of corn-fields immediately after the crop has been cut and got in.
Beet-root and ruta baga are good; but should only be given when other roots cannot be easily obtained.
And lastly, grain itself, as corn, barley, and oats, but not rye.
An American correspondent gives the following recipe for "an exceeding nutritious food for hogs;" but it is one which circumstances will not often permit us to make use of: "Boil Irish potatoes, pumpkins, and apples until they are soft; mash them all together, taking care thoroughly to mix and incorporate them, and add a little salt to the compound; swine will be found to relish this food highly, and thrive uncommonly well upon it."
A small portion of salt should always be mingled in whatever food is given, as it tends to stimulate the appetite as well as the digestive functions; and an ample supply of good water for drinking be kept within the reach of every animal.
Indian corn, buckwheat, rice and maize, may doubtless be given with advantage, and are in themselves highly nutritious; but they cannot be reckoned as among the kinds of food generally in use, as, unless under peculiar circumstances, they are too expensive, and not always to be obtained at all.
Turnips, cabbage, lettuce, and beans, are not so much adapted for fattening as the kinds of food above enumerated, although these matters often form valuable additions to the keep of store-pigs.
THE REFUSE OF THE SLAUGHTER-HOUSE.
Martin says: "The hog is an omnivorous animal, and will even greedily devour flesh and garbage; and butchers, and even others, are in the habit of feeding their hogs upon blood, entrails, offal meat, and similar matters. It is a disgusting practice, but, besides this, it is essentially wrong; such diet renders the animal savage and dangerous,—a child accidentally straying within the reach of a hog thus fed, would be by no means safe from a ferocious assault; moreover, it keeps the animal in a state of feverish excitement, and leads to inflammatory diseases.
"Again, as it respects the meat, it is rank, coarse, and scarcely wholesome. Hogs are often kept in knackers' yards, where they revel in corruption. What must their flesh be!
THE REFUSE OF THE KITCHEN.
"The same objections do not apply to pot-liquor or kitchen refuse, for although there is a good portion of fat, bits of meat and skin, and the liquor in which meat has been boiled, still it has been cooked, and is mixed with the peelings of potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage-leaves, bread, milk, &c., &c., and forms an acceptable mess.
THE REFUSE OF THE DAIRY.
"The refuse of the dairy is noted for its importance, both in the fattening of porkers and bacon-hogs. The very term of 'dairy-fed pork' conveys an idea of delicacy; it has a pleasant sound. We associate it with the idea of meat pleasant to look upon and delicious to the taste, and not without cause: true dairy-fed pork is indeed a luxury; it causes no indigestion and sits easily on the stomach.
"The refuse of the dairy consists of butter-milk, whey, and skim-milk; and these, mixed with the flour of steamed potatoes, Indian-corn, pea-meal, barley-meal, &c., constitute a diet of the most nutritious quality for fattening. Such food, however, should not be administered to store hogs; it is decidedly a fattening diet, and hogs accustomed to it do not thrive well when it is withheld and inferior food substituted. No one indeed would think of supplying mere store hogs with such luxurious food. On this diet some of the fattest porkers of thirteen, fifteen, or twenty weeks old, have been reared, as well as bacon-hogs under the age of one year.
THE REFUSE OF THE CORN-MILL.
"The large miller finds swine a profitable stock. The very sweepings of the mill are thus made by the miller to return a profit; he may not have to purchase whey, or butter-milk, or skim-milk, from the farmer, but the latter has to purchase barley-meal, &c., from the miller, or at least to pay him for grinding it.
THE REFUSE OF THE STARCH MANUFACTORY.
"Among other substances available for swine is the refuse of the starch manufactory, that is, of the grain or potatoes used in the production. It is said to be extremely nutritious, the animals fattening on it with great rapidity, and yielding very firm and substantial bacon. It is apt to cloy the appetite, and should be given alternately with food of a different quality; indeed, in all cases, alternation of food is highly desirable, as the stomach palls upon one exclusive kind. The best method of preserving the paste deprived of the starch is to dry it. As is evident, it can only be employed locally and not generally; it is said to be far superior to the refuse grains and wash of the brewery or distillery.
THE REFUSE OF THE BREWERY AND DISTILLERY.
"Hogs are usually kept in considerable numbers by the proprietors of large breweries and distilleries; nevertheless these refuse grains and wash are not well adapted for sound fattening, unless mixed or alternated with other food, as pollard, barley-meal, &c. It is true that the animals become in good apparent condition, but their fat is flabby, and does not swell on being boiled, as the fat of good bacon ought to do.
"With respect to the refuse of the distilleries, especially the wash, it ought to be very cautiously given; if allowed too liberally, the animals reel from intoxication, until they are accustomed to it, and we cannot but think its influence upon the healthy condition of the animals to be injurious.
"This wash is not a natural food; it is not one which they will at first take willingly, nor can we regard it as beneficial; the pigs may indeed become bloated, but not covered with firm solid fat; it must impair their digestive powers, and render the liver torpid and perhaps swollen; mixed with water and barley-meal, or other farinaceous food, it may be admissible, but this is the best that can be said of it.
GREEN AND DRIED VEGETABLES.
"There are many vegetables used in the feeding of pigs, amongst which may be enumerated clover, sainfoin, lucern, chicory, tares, vetches, pea-haulm, cabbages, turnip-tops, &c.; it is desirable that these, when given, should be cut up small, and mixed with the wash, indeed, simply cut up, with a little salt scattered among it, and occasionally mixed with a little pollard, it constitutes a good diet for store pigs, where the aim is not to fatten them, but to keep them in fair condition. Indeed, it is not advisable to render store pigs too fat or high in flesh ; they grow larger, and their symmetry is better developed, by moderate diet than by full feeding, and afterwards, when put up to fatten for bacon, they thrive rapidly on the increased quantity and quality of the nutriment.
"Clover or lucern hay, cut up small and mixed with the wash, is also recommended, and, where it is practicable, an occasional or indeed a frequent run on good grass lands tends to the advantage of the animals. There are some wild plants, as the sow-thistle (sonchus) and others, of which swine are very fond; yet it would appear that these animals, omnivorous as they are, are choice in the selection of their vegetable fare, rejecting many plants on which the horse, ox, sheep, and goat will feed with avidity. It is remarkable that, although the hog will champ the fresh green shells of peas, it does not swallow the tough inner lining, and only drains away the saccharine juice, rejecting the rest.
BOOTS.
"Among the roots given to hogs in our island, potatoes take the first place. These should always be steamed and mashed, and mixed with whey or skimmed milk, with the addition of middlings, barley meal, peas, &c. Hogs, as we have previously intimated, however apparently well fed on potatoes, do not produce firm bacon which swells greatly in boiling. Hence potatoes ought to form a portion only of their diet, nor indeed are they essentially necessary. In the Channel Islands the store hogs are fattened almost entirely upon boiled parsnips, and they attain to an enormous size, yielding good bacon. Among other roots we may mention carrots, turnips, especially Swedish turnips, and beet-root. All these roots should be boiled, but may be given raw, though not so advantageously. Carrots are highly esteemed by many, and no doubt contain a considerable quantity of nutriment, and in addition to meal may be used with advantage, especially when potatoes are dear and scarce, in consequence of a general failure in the crops. They might, even when given alone, with the addition of whey, or butter-milk, or skim-milk, make the animal reasonably fat, as in the instance of parsnip feeding, but we should doubt whether the quality of the bacon would prove first-rate.
"The same observations apply to Swedish turnips, which are extolled by some as superior to potatoes.
"What will be the character of the bacon produced by such diet is another thing; an animal may be made fat, but the fat may be soft, oily, and waste in boiling.
"No roots, without a due admixture of farinaceous food, as pollard, barley-meal, peas, &c., will produce first-rate bacon, and indeed in the finishing-off, or last stage of feeding, it is better to omit the roots altogether, and give only peas, barley-meal, whey, &c. The same observations apply to pork; even young delicate dairy-fed pork requires to be finished off on a mixture of farinaceous food with the refuse of the dairy, in order that the meat may acquire a due degree of firmness. In this respect, as well as in age, pork differs from the sucking-pig; in the latter, tenderness and succulency are in the extreme; they render the young creature, when well cooked, one of the most delicate of 'all the delicacies.'
GRAIN AND BEANS AND PEAS.
"To dwell upon the nutritive qualities of grain in general would be useless. The value of barley-meal, middlings, mill-sweepings, &c., in the feeding of hogs, is well known. It is true that this food is expensive, but then it is not used exclusively till the time for finishing off, or need not be; and, what is more, the expense is repaid by the gain of the animal in weight, and by the great superiority of the meat, which will command its price in the market. The rapid increase in the weight of hogs fed upon barley-meal, peas, steamed potatoes, with whey or butter-milk, is astonishing. They have been known to increase at the rate of 312 lbs. (live weight) per day, and often at the rate of 2 or 112 lbs. Here is some remuneration certainly for extra expense, even if the finishing off be entirely on meal and skim-milk.
"There is only one legitimate way of giving barley and that is in the form of meal made into porridge with lukewarm milk, whey, or water, to which potato-meal may be added or not, as is deemed desirable. To give the grain in a raw state, or even bruised, or infused in water till it begins to swell and germinate, is, we consider, very disadvantageous; it is, in fact, attended by two evils—in the first place, the greedy animal does not sufficiently grind down the food for the complete extraction of all its nutriment; and, secondly, semi-champed grain is liable to produce indigestion, loss of appetite, and fever. The same effects are produced by mixing the meal with boiling fluid, which converts it into a sort of dough or paste, very unfit for being taken into the stomach.
"Some recommend that the meal be mixed with cold water in large cisterns, the proportion being five bushels of meal to a hundred gallons of water. This mixture must be stirred several times a-day, for a fortnight or three weeks, until an imperfect fermentation takes place, and it becomes acescent. In this state its fattening powers are said to be greatly increased; but the ordinary way is to mix the meal with lukewarm water, or whey, or butter-milk (pea-meal or potato-flour being added or not), and give it in the form of a thick soup to the animals. Next to barley-meal, oat-meal may be ranked in order, and in some counties it is largely given. It may be made into a sort of thick gruel with wash or whey, &c., or it may be mixed with water, set to leaven, and given in an acescent state.
"Maize takes a high rank among the grains used for feeding hogs. It is little, if at all, inferior to barley, and the animals are very fond of it. It may be ground into meal, or given in its natural state, after being soaked for some time in water, either alene, or in a wash, or in gruel. In many parts of Europe, and in America especially, where many varieties of maize or Indian corn are extensively cultivated, the flesh of hogs, and also poultry, fed upon Indian corn, has a peculiarly fine flavor.
"Occasionally rice has been used for fattening hogs. One great objection to this article would be its expense, and we should not think it equal to barley-meal, although it abounds in nutriment. The proper way to prepare it is to put the rice into boiling water (two ordinary pailsful to about forty gallons of water), and let the whole stand for several hours till it is cold. The rice will then be found to have swelled amazingly, and to be compacted into a mass so firm as to admit of being taken out by means of a shovel. In this state it may be given to the hogs, either with whey, milk, &c., or by itself; a certain portion of potatoes mashed after steaming may be added. The flesh of hogs fed on rice is said to have proved very superior. Peas and beans, either in their green state, or dried and bruised, or ground into meal, are among the best articles of food for fattening swine. Pea-meal, or the meal of the gray pea, or gray peas bruised, are in the highest esteem. Pea-meal may be given alone, or added to the barley-meal, or to the steamed potatoes.
"Buckwheat is excellent for fattening hogs. With respect to rye little need be said; occasionally hogs are fed upon rye-meal.
SEEDS OF VARIOUS VEGETABLES, FRUITS, &C. .
"Linseed cake, or oil-cake as it is called, is occasionally given to hogs, and sometimes linseed meal, or steeped linseed, but only in small quantities, and in addition to food destitute of oil, as potatoes, pea-meal, &c. Oil-cake is used largely in the fattening of horned cattle, but whether it is equally advantageous in the fattening of hogs is not very clear.
"Beechmast is eagerly devoured by hogs, and in places where this is abundant, it will be well to turn store hogs into it, or collect it for their use. It ie an article of diet not to be despised, but as an adjunct and not a principal article. But though hogs thrive on this food, it will not make firm fat, unless largely mixed with acorns.
"A run in oak copses ought not to be neglected at the time of the fall, by a farmer who has the opportunity of sending his store hogs into the wood.
"In England, chestnuts, as food for hogs, are out of the question. This is not the case, however, in many parts of the Continent, where these are abundant, and indeed where they form portions of woods. There the chestnut tree affords an abundant supply, both for men and swine, and the latter are bountifully supplied with it; it is seldom given raw, but roasted or steamed, or parboiled into a pulp, then crushed and divested of the outer shell. By the conversion of it into a potato-like meal, the nutritive qualities of this fruit are greatly improved, and it is thereby better fitted for the digestive action of the stomach.
"With respect to apples, pumpkins, and even peaches, which in some parts of America are lavishly given to swine, we have little to say. Boiled apples mixed with potatoes, Indian-corn flour, or buck-wheat, will no doubt prove nutritious, and in America constitute a cheap diet, but the case is different in England. In North Africa the wild-boar makes incursions into the melon-grounds, and we can conceive that melons, abounding with saccharine matter, are grateful to the palate of the wild hog, and so no doubt are apples, pumpkins, and peaches, but they do not enter into the English bill of fare for hogs. At the same time, we object not to the plan of turning hogs into apple orchards in order that they may pick up the fallen fruit.
"We may here notice a few other articles which do not come under any precise head. One of these is hay-tea, or rather an infusion of clover, sainfoin, or lucern hay, which is by many recommended as an excellent vehicle for mixing with other food. It may be thickened with potato-flour, steamed carrots, boiled cabbages, barley or oat-meal, and for store hogs, in particular, it is said to be excellent, not only as keeping the animals in first-rate condition, but as saving more expensive kinds of food which must otherwise be given.
"Another article is salt. Salt is almost essential to health; it stimulates the appetite, it aids the operation of digestion, and all cattle are partial to it. A little salt should, therefore, be scattered into the food before it is given to the animal.
"We must not here exclude earth or calcareous matters from our consideration. With the roots which a hog ploughs up in the ground and devours, a small quantity of earth is necessarily swallowed, the calcareous particles of which act beneficially by correcting any acidity in the stomach. Hogs put up to fatten, highly fed, and taking little or no exercise, are very liable to acidity of the stomach, and loss of appetite as a consequence. Many breeders, aware of this, give the animals occasionally ashes or cinders, which they champ and swallow; or turn them out now and then upon a patch of ground, over which lime or chalk has been freely sprinkled, in which they root and pick up morsels, which, with the lime and particles of earth, are swallowed. It is not a bad plan to mix occasionally a little magnesia or chalk in the wash or milk; this will very effectually correct acidity. Here then, we have another reason why a run, from time to time, in the field given to hogs is advisable; with every root, every pig-nut that they swallow, they take in a portion of earth."