Stock Keeping for Emateurs: A MANUAL ON THE VARIETIES, BREEDING, AND MANAGEMENT OF MULES, AND GOATS, AND THE TREATMENT OF THEIR DISEASES. DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF YOUNG FARMERS AND AMATEURS. BY W. H. ABLETT 66 Author of "Farming for Pleasure and Profit," Arboriculture for Amateurs,” “ English BIBLIOTHE JUL 80 BODLEIAN LONDON: "THE BAZAAR" OFFICE, 170, STRAND, W.C. Stock Keeping for Amateurs. CHAPTER I. PIGS. Introductory Recommendations-Varieties of Pigs-The Chinese Pig-The Suffolk and Norfolk-The Shropshire-The Rudgewick-The Cheshire-The Old Sussex-The HampshireThe Berkshire-The Tonquin-The Essex Half-blacks and the Essex and Hertford-The Dishley-The Old IrishNeapolitan, Maltese, &c.—Advice in Buying-Considerations in Pig Keeping-Accommodation for Pigs, the Pig StyeLabour in Superintendence-Feeding-Breeding-Improvement of Breeds-Descriptive Terms. INTRODUCTORY RECOMMENDATIONS. PIGS, as a rule, are not animals that are profitably kept by farmers, when the amount and value of the food they consume is taken into account. They, of course, under any circumstances, eat much that would be otherwise worthless of itself, and could be put to no useful purpose, which in time gets converted into so much good pork or bacon; while they make a large amount of valuable manure in the process-results that are apparent to everybody. The difficult matter, however, is to make pigs pay when there is no large amount of coarse, or half-spoiled food to resort to. This, however, can be done by those who give sufficient attention to the subject. There is no art in their management, when the farmer B thrashes out a whole stack of "tail wheat," which is expressly devoted to these animals' delectation, the art consists in finding these hearty eaters enough to enable them to subsist and leave a profit to their owner. To do this successfully, much depends upon the breed of pig selected. Some are chosen for the large size they attain, and different breeds are held in estimation by different people, for some point of excellence or other, which possesses value in their eyes, with a definite object in view. The main qualifications, however, to be regarded in the choice of a breed with a view to their paying are that they be hardy, and not sensitive to changes in the weather, that they will eat coarse rough food, and fatten quickly, when it becomes desirable to fat them, and these qualifications are to be found in the improved Berkshire. They are very hardy and will eat almost anything; changes of weather affect them less than almost any other breed, and when they are nearly ready for the butcher it takes comparatively very little to put them in first-rate condition for killing. It is true the best bred ones do not attain a large size, but it is one most suitable for porkers, and they fetch long prices from the pork butcher; and this ready means of disposing of them gives the opportunity of clearing off a good deal of the stock at times, when the supply of inexpensive food, which in ordinary seasons can be scraped together, happens to fall short from some cause or other; but with good management this seldom needs to be the case. Experience has shown that store pigs, when kept simply as store pigs, seldom pay between the ages of two months and twelve months old. Of course, the price of pigs varies at times, like everything else; but in average years a pig at two months old generally fetches a pound, and when a number of breeding sows are kept, and the pigs are sold off at that age, and at that price, a very handsome profit can be secured. Between two months and twelve months, when the pig is growing (we are speaking now when it is fed only upon food that costs very little), if the value of its food is estimated at a shilling per week (the particulars of which we will shortly allude to in detail) for the forty-two, or forty-four weeks remaining to make up the year, the nominal value of the pig would be supposed to be three pounds two or four shillings, including the first pound, its estimated value at two months; but store pigs would not be worth nearly so much as that in the condition they would then be found, from living upon hard fare; and therefore it would be a loss to keep them, unless their manure was very desirable, or there was a quantity of rough food for them that was wanted to be eaten up; standing, therefore, upon the simple merits of feeding, it is clearly the most paying plan to dispose of them at the age of two months, just after the time they have left the sow, and have become thoroughly weaned and accustomed to the separation, when they will have attained a certain value in the eyes of a purchaser as being fit for young stores. VARIETIES OF PIGS. There is a very large number of different breeds of pigs, and it would perhaps be impossible to name them all, but some species stand boldly out, being remarkable for conspicuous features, which we will briefly refer to. The Chinese Pig.-Perhaps we are more indebted to Chinese pigs than to any other variety for the improvement effected upon the original European stock of swine. There are several kinds comprised in this breed, but the most distinct are the white and the black, the white being better shaped than the black. The best are very white skinned, the hair being thin, and also white, with short head and small ears, very thick neck, and high chine, the head in a fat pig appearing buried in the fore part of the body. The legs are short, and the belly nearly touches the ground. The leading characteristic of the breed is to accumulate fat, which causes them to be bad bacon pigs, the flesh being very tender, so that a great improvement is effected by crossing the pure Chinese pig with an English breed, which results in the addition of more lean flesh. The black, which are similar to the white in their main points, are more prolific, and are quicker growers, and attain greater weights than the white Chinese. It is, however, when they are young, and eaten as porkers, that their meat is found to be |