PIGS,

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 386, 26 August 1884, Page 5

PIGS,

. M !:iO.i •.!-,"■.■ (From the ' North New Zealand Settler/

"When you starfc?6fft6ikeep pigs your first care must be to select well-bred ones; let no^'corisideration whatever] induce you to do with 'any but firstclass pigs. >li T^erey^.ro^jpi^''w'li&h I do believe must nave descended: from thSse" iiito ff whJfcH 1 the devils entered

after .t s hey s w,e^e ! ariyen u out of a riian,! Bolecting tnenk,>np r ,^ubi}. as .the next! most, appropriate place of abode ; ana tlh?ere n are"btfieVs ! ftia't are 'nojt Jiuite sq bad ; but,hfc ; advi.s^d[>and haye J nothing to do'wibh -any inedi.um<qualities-T-fha^{ the very best or Hone.. Toii> will that a Really; good pig wilt thrive ; ant grow fat upon,, very <, little f00d,,, Ml fatten at "any 'age, and make excellent bacon, whereas the 1 inferior sorts' eat their /beads,; off , while growing, ani| fatten but slowly even at an advanced age, and wrrtti they are rtursiiig , the cost of feeding 'will far exceed the profit of their young pigs. *At the presenjt time first-class pigs' are not difflcuVt to procure^.at hio'clerate prices ; : ilong ogo it was not so easy. I ihin£! it must be going on ; for twenty*fivp years ago. wheii afriend of niirie bough;t a fine white sow in pi g to si : pure ,bred boir, from one of the Mr Grahams, an jiL paid. L2O for 'tier. ■ It/Wiis thought ap enormous price at the /time (they, werje Hampshire pigs), but; it. .paid him weij. She littered eleven young ones, a|l 'winch, but wha f t,.l)e wanted.. to ,^-keep, ,^golcUQtX^eaah_ftt t^the_weaning., . JE boiigh;t r ,th|-ePf of r them,,,whipb, aftdr getting' stock from, 'I resold -at an average of lilty.each. ,, .Pigs of course vary in some respects according to the , -breed j tome. have the ears hanging \ downwards arid forwards',- some ihave % 'shoV^^i'ick'earsfsbme'.are 1 iarilobth an;d Others hairy, and jihe colors v diffp^. ... usually called the Chinese p?g 'here (although there are . in reality <* '>< cighbor nine 1 different varieties),- is ja blac^pig with a slight tinge of blue or slaty 1 ' cbltir,- [ yei^y smoptH; l;! witll . T sliort ears j it is "not a large animal, ' is 1 yefy itVfat is too; yidh or oily, and,' especially when fed upon retfeWeryistaptjto' shave; ra rancid;/ or .fishy, taste' * ! iiidfeed, I .^ayheTe 'remark Vaitii although red clover is mu^h relished byipi|Bi.<and they are quip killable on it, it-is- very apt to impart r tha T f flav'Ol 1 to itbenr.:. / iA.t one ."iimejl 1 haff some of ; hal'f-bred Chi£ese^pigs "fed' on^cip^er, ap<ji , tlie butcheirs were, sq. much dpappointed with them ' thaVfer Bucklfed- declined to sellany more in<his miarket,iand .procured; me customers privately s amongst the brewers and dairymen: for!* them. Fed pn milk, and finished dff with grainy hojwfireveir (ppiiQuiaily'wJiien killed young), they make, first-rate bacon' and hams. In Australia, .^here the dairy, seaspn may tbe said tQ ;last only ; six or s^vjen months, these pigs used to be favorites. They, were putito rfatten. from i 6he weaning, on milk mixed; with sharps or boiled' potatoes, and finished with grain or peas. When killed they. seldom- exceeded lOOlbs, 1 and sent [up , 4p,the 4iggi'ngi ; >n 'those days, (abput ' iSS2)-t\^ejr. fetched 4a .'a, pound. The pTfifiti ipf t Cb^sei pigs .in vogue .when I was a boyMiwaa -a^pure .white animal v i;^^ %erfpiT tiij&^ ! atfdf I thinfe mijichf ' ■ buw bihek Jand wHite, Ire large at^ls, v • Sometimes *he Chinesefblaobpi fe > -when, crossed w,ith a Berkshire' or othb^ lar |?- b^ eed ' J. 1 : ? 4tti& a#eaii weight. ;. The Berkshire, is the belt .breed ft? ! n^ost purposes, : eite' pure .or, with a ci;oss of jtheChinesl.;:; .The; ; ;pld', fcgß aßed generally to be a rusty cplor, Witn black* spptEj,, and, haye large ears, hanging: ove^ their eyes and. a good deal! pt : ! -hair'br bristled l The newer i breeds hre now considered^ most" eh ¥ese when ' biack : '('arid care hlaa : bee'n : knojwn to -Make .^hem^o, pn ( ,.oc6asions) ; sojne-iimes-tlfeyiar.e ? b,lacX, ; apd white, pnd the eara are -.shorter, rf Borne of jthe „M4f;Pigsi^cfe'f a h ,gr£at, weight. jMr Culley, an old writer,onf live stock, meatibn^ ail iHsttfnce of a pure Berkbe^gLOTer^le^W and '% fee^6 X® te&V ItUs 'i&tofflbti, Mo wejrer, andnbtmine. The Hampshire is also ■i^he t: b^eaVbr -large $$ i iW'Rrdper r tJkKzm^? v% Jong.bbdied ■ : '' weitzftfc r- J 'flDhw© arer also < many.i oilier - r varied p£,pigß, ( but they are not proany better, lf,8»/gpod r as^the three J, "Xi fKaW'Mbntibnedi ?• Ihere- is^a furious ; V.^llent&ah,,and is .espqrbd, -<^r^4ked,"idrt"st)ia down :to the. IJow--1 - Ltka pigl&.Britain. ..There is, a(jo a ' curious red pig.very bristly, and^with a 1 1 - tfiwk'coatdfsblt hair under the Wles -^ecb!i^e^in Ji a 3 similar wajr;^ Whe > .rtQcJt^^andr.is ,by no i<p,»M M \jiitot. its surrp.unamgs, „ But of all b. "■>■ ths horriblepigs^ and the one I, rejilly- ;- do believed be' tne- lineal 5 descend,ant ;' i[ -'U^oneyaUtideitpjia the beginning hound pig," is the wor*t. ; 'This ani- ■ ..mmrdekta (6r- infested) Ireland gene' •■"' rail^a^" sd.mel /parts of' Scotland, *"& other plaflMv..^ well ; fodeed, J , w«> jieeff same rery- Uke it even h^ere. Mammal, with' a l<Jng wjout, - Ztll^^ '^ng *Mck : jail,,big fh^ 9^J%ve*3: % OTer with.; long :?X^Smoul quantity ««..<do4, ij l^gfnW and nev^at re^^nd u-^^uwUsacfflSr^Vlfgir' yonng. -After, Value

and. her husband looking on at their Scotch gardener whils he was pouring hot water from the spout of a kettle on one of these pigs and trying in vain to get the bristles off his lean carcase, which was ultimately given up and deoenbly>i buried in their „■ villa .gar* den. '

To return to New Zealand. There are plenty ot good pigs to choose from ; j if ygu. ; mu.st f have, pure, blood choose un- | doulit^dly' pure f-Berkehire, lut better ! crossed with Chinese ; perhaps the best lis to raise a boar between the two and cross him into pure Berkshire ; but whatever breed you, decide upon pay e attention to j;the points—^hort nose, smooth skip, few if any hairs, no long bristles, :^BmaU ears, short legs, above all things, small bones, small feet,3in:ill tail, straight wide back, short neck, ! compact body, large round hams swellj ing well down to the hocks, long baok best for yp wing heavy bacon. Whwii your beet-ding pigs are all served, and their \ovng ones are getting old enough to breed, you must castrate tho boar or sell him and get another, unless .indeed you esteem him sufficiently to keep him shut up for the use of the old sows only, for breeding in and in, in any form, will never do. The sow goes sixteen weeks, and with proper management you will easily get two litters a year. This is one reason why pigs ought to be so proStable — they are so very prolific that you can easily supply yourself with stores. When the young are about a month old you ought to have them castrated or spayed. The latter is a severe operation at any time, but they get over it much easier when young and sucking the mother. Two or three weeks after this they ought to be weaned. Never allow the sow to go to the boar till after the piga are weaned, and regulate matters so that she will not litter in the winlpr months. If you wish to kill a breeding sow you will find the best time is about eight weeks after she is in pig. When a sow is going to litter never let her be with the others; as they are very apt to kill and eat, or lie on and smother the young ones. Put her in a roomy place or turn her into a field loose. ' Don't give too much litter to lie on, but let her have a dry. bed of short stuff. You ninst feed her very well when nursing, or she will get miserably thin, and not only ruin the young pigs but be unable to do justice to the next litter during her pregnancy It is very ■ expensive work feeding a sow with eight or ten young pigs sucking her ; but it is.still much worse so to stint her, and you .must remember she is rearing you so many, arid that it will only be lor six or seven weeks. The better you feed her the sooner can you wean the pigs, but whatever you do, do not on any account • let the young ones run with her month after month, neglecting both weaning and castrating. That style of pig farming ;will never pay. If you have no separate sty, make one ; if you have no feed good enough to wean on, sell them as suckers ; any way don't let them run with her.

;; , ,When you castrate your young pigs do nut use more force than what is necessary. The stomach should be empiy y use two knives, a sharp one for :the\^^t J4 pgtt;;pf i,the 4 .operation, and a bliint bragged ; one]f or; -the la.st;";- Out where the- blood vessels are severe!* Never ! be longer 'performing the operation than you. possibly can, because not only is it keeping the poor animal in -pain but the continued struggle and shock, to' the system is injurious. Three cuts ! are sufficient, and they can be dqne easily in a less number of seconds The dog suffers jless. and heals sooner after this operation than probably any other animal, and next to him the pig ; still, in all cases of this nature pare should be taken to avoid unnecessary struggling, and the more quickly and gently an animal is released after the operation the better.