James Henry Greene

“ Sunshine is a very important agent in disinfecting and warming the hog house. The well-established breeder may have a colony house, but for the beginner the individual house of the A or square type is to be recommended.
During the summer a good pasture will provide cheap, [41] clean feed, exercise and a clean bed. It may be necessary, however, to provide a shelter from the direct rays of the sun. This may be furnished by a frame of poles covered with straw or corn stalks.
Sanitation. It is much easier to keep a pig healthy than it is to cure him after he becomes sick. ”

“ Feeding and care of the sow. In starting in the swine industry with one or more gilts, it should be borne in mind that a sow should not be bred until she is eight or ten months of age. Every hog raiser should aim to have his sows produce two litters a year, farrowing in April and October.
Not more than two-thirds of the grain ration should be corn. Some feeders prefer to use ground oats and [45] middlings exclusively. In any event, heating and fattening foods should be avoided. In addition to the grain ration, roots and clover or alfalfa hay or skim-milk should be fed. ”

“ In project work boys do not generally feel that they can afford to purchase platform scales, but since the weighing is a very important part of the work, some means should be provided, and steelyards are suggested for the purpose. These are not expensive, costing about $3.00, and with proper arrangement can be used very satisfactorily. For weighing feed they can usually be suspended from joists in granaries, but for weighing the pig it will probably be necessary to construct a horse from which to suspend them. A crate also will be needed for holding the pig while being weighed. ”

“ The ribs should be well sprung, the sides deep and even between the shoulders and ham. The ham should be broad, deep, plump, and heavily fleshed well down toward the hocks. The rump should be as wide as the back. The legs should be short, straight, set well apart and squarely under the body. The above brief description is general for all breeds of the lard hog. The Poland China, Chester White, Berkshire, and Duroc-Jersey are the popular breeds of this type of hog.
Breeds. The selection of a good breed by a pig club member is an important matter. ”

“ What breed shall I buy? 5. Do I know the points of a good pig? IV. Can I give breeding animals proper management? 1. Do I know how to manage the boar and sow at breeding time? 2. Can I give a brood sow the proper care? 3. Can I manage sow and pigs properly at farrowing time? V. How shall I care for young pigs? 1. What attention do they need before weaning? 2. What care and feed shall I give them after weaning? 3. What is the best method of weaning? 4. Shall I allow my pigs to run in a pasture, or shall I feed them in a pen? 5. What crops shall I raise for my growing pigs? ”

“ Cleanliness, proper feed, disinfection of houses and animals, together with plenty of sunlight, ventilation and dryness of quarters, will help to keep a pig in good health.
If care is taken that there are no unnecessary cracks or corners in which filth may accumulate, it will be easy to keep houses, troughs and feeding floors sanitary. A good disinfectant should be used regularly in the pens. Five parts of crude carbolic acid in one hundred parts of water is recommended. All filth should be removed before the disinfectant is applied. Once a year all buildings should be whitewashed. ”

“ The pig is not naturally a filthy animal, and if given an opportunity will keep fairly clean. During the extreme heat of summer the pig suffers, owing to the fact that he perspires but little. He seeks the shelter of a cool mud wallow to get relief from heat and parasites. The intelligent hog raiser will provide a concrete wallow and keep it filled with eight or ten inches of water. Coal-tar or crude oil added to the water helps to rid the animal of lice. ”

“ A good pasture is always an excellent supplement to any ration and lessens the amount of other feeds required. Pasture-fed pigs are thriftier and make cheaper gains than those fed in dry lots. In general feed from 3 to 5 pounds of concentrates, [2] such as corn, other grains, meals, tankage, etc., per 100 pounds live weight, according to age. For pigs in a dry lot at weaning time (weighing about 40 pounds) feed 5 pounds concentrates per 100 pounds live weight, or 4 pounds concentrates per day per 100 pounds live weight in access to forage or pasture. No two herds of hogs feed just alike ”

“ In one corner of the pen place a small trough for the pigs and fence it off from the sow. At least twice a day give the pigs as much sweet skim-milk as they will clean up. Do not leave any milk to sour in the trough. Then a few days after they begin to nibble grass and drink milk, a gruel of oats and wheat middlings may be made with the milk. Later a small amount of corn soaked for twenty-four hours may be placed in the trough. Do not feed more than they will clean up. Young pigs may be weaned at from eight to ten weeks. ”

“ A club will be far more successful if it succeeds in stimulating its own members to take part in club meetings, than if it merely fills up its programs with outside speakers.
In connection with the club meetings, visits should be made to places where actual club work can be observed. The corn plat, the pig pen, and the garden should be utilized in this connection. Observation trips and “hikes” should be taken to observe ideal conditions on farms or in homes. ”

“ Teachers of agriculture are beginning to realize that the swine industry may be utilized to advantage in the training of young farmers. Pig raising makes a good home project. Most boys in the country, and some girls, will find a way to keep one or more pigs if their interest is aroused. The class work may be centered around the project, or the project may supplement and furnish the practical work in connection with a text-book study of general agriculture. ”

“ An excess of food nutrients, especially fats and carbohydrates, is stored in the body as fat. The mineral matter goes into the production of bone.
All feeds do not contain these nutrients in the same proportions. Some feeds, like corn, are deficient in protein, while others, like tankage, contain a large percentage of protein.
15. A Self-Feeder
From the foregoing it is easily seen that the problem of the hog raiser is to use a combination of feeds which will provide the proper proportions of the various nutrients. ”

“ The Tamworths are good rustlers and produce bacon which can be used for export purposes at a comparatively early age. They are sometimes criticized for their inability to compete with the lard breeds in the production of fat carcasses. It should be borne in mind, however, that they are distinctly a bacon breed.
The Large Yorkshire and the Tamworth are the only two bacon breeds in this country. Other minor breeds, both lard and bacon, which might be mentioned are the Mule-Foot, Small Yorkshire, Essex, Cheshire, Victoria and Large Black.
Lard Breeds
7. Poland China
Poland China. ”

“ With one or two class-room recitations a week based upon reports of the progress and problems of the project, upon the practical exercises herein given, and upon the subject-matter and project outline study presented in Part IV; including also some Friday afternoon club programs as suggested, and with the actual work being done at home, a course in agriculture of real, practical worth may be given in any school. Pig raising enables a boy to enter in a small way into the live-stock business. Comparatively little capital is required and quick returns are secured. ”

“ A concrete hog wallow provided with a drain will enable the hog raiser to give his hogs a cool, clean refuge from the heat. If a small amount of crude oil is poured on the surface of the water, it will serve to rid the animals of lice and keep the skin in good condition. If possible, the wallow should be located near the water supply, either a tank or spring. The following sectional view of a wallow is taken from the Cement News published by the Universal Portland Cement Co.
1. Sectional View of a Concrete Wallow
It is recommended that the pool be made rectangular with rounded corners. ”

“ The germs of hog cholera may be carried on the boots of visitors, by pigeons or dogs. It can only be combatted by vaccination of healthy hogs, quarantining of all sick hogs, burning of all dead hogs and disinfection of premises. ”

“ With good management a small beginning will soon result in a herd of good size. The teacher should make use of the studies connected with the pig raising project to bring out the essentials of general animal production. Much that is learned regarding the feeding and breeding of swine may be applied to raising other animals. ”

“ After the pig has been properly groomed he should be kept in a dry stall that is bedded deep with clean straw. If he shows an inclination to root down into the dirt and soil himself by digging beneath his bedding, rings should be placed in his nose. ”

“ Summer feeding and pasture. An acre of cow peas or soy beans sown in May will furnish excellent pasture for the spring pigs, especially when the pods are formed about September. Rape is a good pasture crop for hogs. It may be sown from April to June and will be ready for pasture in about six weeks. Six to eight pounds of seed will suffice for an acre when sown broadcast. An acre of rape should pasture a sow and her October and spring litters. Corn and shorts may be used to supplement rape pasture. ”

“ The programs for club meetings will depend largely on the type of project, the time to be devoted to meetings, and the originality of the leader. There should be something for everyone to do; each individual should have some share in each club meeting. ”

“ If a crate is constructed it should be 4 or 41⁄2 feet long, 21⁄2 feet high, and 20 inches wide. The slats on one end of the crate should be securely nailed, and on the other they should be arranged to slide into place, so that they can be removed easily after each weighing.
5. Arrangement for Weighing Pigs
The pig to be weighed is securely fastened in the crate and the horse placed over it so that the ring or hook of steelyards is nearly over the center. ”

“ Parents, patrons, members of the advisory committee, and outside speakers should have a place on certain programs, but it should ever be borne in mind that the club is for boys and girls, and care should be exercised that the adults do not crowd them off the programs. ”

“ The hog should have short upright pasterns. The snout should be fine, the face wide between the eyes, and the space between the ears wide and full. Width between the eyes and fullness and width between the ears indicate a good feeder. The neck should be short and deep and should blend smoothly into the shoulder. The shoulder should be well developed, blending smoothly into the body and covered evenly with flesh over all parts. ”

“ They are inferior to butcher hogs and are cut up, cured, and packed in boxes and barrels. Mixed packing hogs are those marketed without grading. Speculators often buy them up and grade them.
The meat of pigs is unsuitable for curing and supplies part of the demand for cheap, fresh meat. ”

“ The various grades of hogs in the several classes indicate the degree to which they have attained to the standard of perfection, prime being the highest grade, and common and inferior the lowest grades. ”

“ It is one of the oldest breeds [36] of swine, originating in Berkshire, a county of England. The early Berkshire was a bacon, not a lard hog. It was large, rough, and late maturing. Numerous crosses with Chinese and Neopolitan pigs of fine quality have been instrumental in producing the modern, medium sized, compact animal.
This breed has a broad back, a good spring of rib and thick rump and hams. Berkshires are early maturing and breeders claim that the meat is second in quality to none. Like the Poland China, it has white on the feet, face and tip of tail.
9. Duroc-Jersey ”

“ It is more upstanding than the lard-type breeds, and has a broad and fairly deep body. A narrow head with close set ears extending forward but not breaking are other marks of distinction. The Hampshire matures early, has good sized litters, and is a good grazer. The proportion of fat to lean meat is very desirable. ”

“ THE HOME PROJECT NOTEBOOK Pig Raising Project Record Pig Project Study Outline [9]
The following outline may serve as a guide to each pupil in the study of his project, or it may be used by the class as a whole in their discussion of the subject: (Each pupil should write the answers to the questions.)
[58]
I. Shall I raise pigs for my project? 1. Do I like pigs? 2. Is this section suited to the profitable production of pork? 3. Do pigs fit in well with our farm management plan? 4. Is cholera or any other disease likely to prevent profits? II. What shall be my aim in raising pigs? 1. ”

“ To prevent the sow from lying against the wall of the pen and thus injuring any little pigs which may be lying there, it is a good plan to provide a guard rail made of two by eight-inch planks fastened with their edges against the sides of the pen a little above the bed. ”

“ This breed is classed as between the fat and bacon-types. This is due to a lighter shoulder and ham and a longer side with less depth than those of the breeds previously described. Although it will not meet the demands of the “Wiltshire side” for the English market, it will provide bacon which meets the demands of the American market.
11. Hampshire
The Hampshire is a black hog with a belt of white from 4 to 12 inches in width encircling the body and including the forelegs. ”

“ This large white breed, too, originated in England. White spots are not desirable and black hairs disqualify animals. The Large Yorkshire possesses the typical bacon conformation: light hams and shoulders, long legs and a long, narrow and deep body. On account of its size, strong bone, and ability to produce large litters, Yorkshire boars have been used for crossing with breeds which are lacking in these respects.
13. Tamworth ”