PIG FARMING.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 99, 25 April 1885, Page 7

PIG FARMING.

Thehh is no class of farm stock in w.iivh breed has a more direct influence m tsiii financial results than pigs ; and no class of farm stock in ri»ard to \v:iicu breeding is more neglected. In recognition of this fact, a National Pig Association has been started in En^lan*', the objects of tlie Association being the development of the impioved races of British pigs, and the general cultivation of what, >i:i«* hitherto been a neglected branch cf agri ultore. A writer in the burner on the subject of pig-breeding states that though England is the home of the best pigs in the world, animals of the highest type are comparatively scarce and difficult to obtain. The small number of breeders who have made reputations are enabled to obtain prices beyond the reach of small fanners, ' and the Show system in vogue also leads to the pigs being brought out in such condit.ons as to render them unserviceable for breeding purposes. What is wanted is a more plentiful supply of pigs of a liiyh character, which may be obtained in healthy bre< - ing condition. An ordiuary farmer it. j be willing to pay for type an 1 ehaivici „ but he is not prepaied to purchase a pampered mass of flesh, when that flesh must be wasted away before the animal can serve the purpose for which he wants it. The writer already alluded to states that the difficulty of obtaining useful representatives of the breed is not so great in the case of the Berkshire as with the white sorts ; but it is hoped that the efforts of the National Pig Association will lead to the more general diffusion of good blood, and thus tend to increase the profits and the popularity of pig farming. The same writer very truly remarks that few faimers have any idea ol what their pigs cost them to feed. He finds, i upon enquiry, ihat the system of feeding j in almost eveiy district in England depends upon mere custom, and in very rare cases does he find that the matter has been intelligently worked out. The pig, In fact, 's an unknown quantity on the farm in respect to the food he consumes, and the net result obtained from it. When in the sty his comfort is seldom considered so much as it should be either in the interests of humanity or of his'bwiiers' finances, and 1 when he is at liberty and takes his walks. abroad his hereditary ' instinct an I well-known' ingenuity are n'pt to render him 1 unpopular. Few farms cad boast of pig- proof fences, and the pig when- at liberty is, therefore, seldom, found .where he should be. But it does not pay to keep breeding pigs styed up throughout t.te year, and still less does it pay to let them have the range of the whole farm. . In the Unitad States, where there are » some 45,000,000 pigs kept, pasture is recognised as an essential part of the system ; and In France, too, it is the custom to have wuat i& culled a "pig-

then tha sforo pigs come in for the stubbles and tailing corn diving* the auUimn and winter. The winter quasiers of the j»ii>'« should bo \wivi -mil comf«>rtrtblv> , ; tv nothing appreciates comfort more than a pi*-, ov gives a better return ; 'f,cjr tv ji.fctle care and; outlay ,, in -,tj;mt ivspot'f. The natur.il covering of u pig affords him'.veivjh little -protection »<fmm ' rrom the cold, and ho iuttens on much leßfc'FoT>d If, he has plenty of wnruifch. 1 here is no comparison m economic) value lielweeu a well-bred pig and a j mongrel.* 'A large j proportion of the pi^s in ti)is cou'ntr/ 'a^e liion^rols, and mongrels of i\ peculiarly aggravated yy t n\ The Gr&t step in pi^ fanning Should be':o' procure a good sort, but this frequently involves considerable difficulty.- In the United States, pigs of medium siae are considered the most profitable, and the Americans must be accepted as? nuihori- | ties in this department of agriculture. The farms in the Uuited States are of park" in connection with every large piggery. It is difficult, but not impossible, to enclose a piece of ground with a fence capable of restraining the marauding instincts of the procine immates. Barbed wir^, with very small spaces hetween the wires is said to be effective, at least it is said to be so up to date, but the pig, as is well known to all who have had occasion to study his nature, i? a progressive animal, and it is not impossibla that is ingenuity may keep pace with modern invention A fence of that description is expensive, but it is durable. There is nothing b tter than n nice piece of swamp land, witii plenty of clover in it, as a summer run for pigs ; but, of course, on numbers of farms this is not obtainable. SiuTk'iont green stuff, however, to help the pigs through the summer may bo grown at little expense on any farm, and very small acreage on an average, and if they sold their total grain produce in a raw condition the farmers co»ld not make a living, and it' it were not for their enormous stock of pigs we do not see how they could keep goiusj. But they have a well established curing and export trade of colossal proportions, an-1 when a farmer therefore grows a pig he knows^whal he is going to do with it. In this country we have no well-organised industrial sy*tem, we have only isolated industries, and although much has been done during the hist few yeu'sin supplying the links wanting in the chain, there is still much remaining to be done. Production, manufacture, and commerce must go hand in hand. Effective cooperation of capital a-nd labour is difficult in a new and .sparsely populated country, but the necessity of this cooperation must be kept steadily in view if we are to develope our resouicts according to our needs. The producer stun is at tlii foundation of all other industries. Manufacturing skill and commercial j enterpiise are helpleos unless the, raw material is forthcoming in good quality, ! and with regularity of suppiy. Pig rearing, in. this countiy has 2 never been, taken up iv anything but a spasmodic Fort of a way ; sometimes /igs are plentiful, and sometimes thy are scarce, just as if the supply depended on the character of the season, like potatoes or any other annual crop, but tlie production must be reliable and steady in order to lead up to a successful curing and export tia.e. — Cant«rbu r y Times.