were it properly offered them. Probably it is not practicable that every farmer should butcher his own swine, but in nearly every neighborhood one or two farmers could do this and make good profits. The first to do so, the first to be known as having home cured pork to sell, and the first to make a reputation on it, will be the one to secure the most profit.

In the farm census of live stock, hogs are given a very important place. According to the United States census of 1890 there were on farms in this country 57,409,583 hogs. Returns covering later years place the farm census of hogs, according to compilations of American Agriculturist and Orange Judd Farmer, recognized authorities, at 47,061,000 in 1895, 46,302,000 in 1896, and 48,934,000 in 1899. According to these authorities the average farm value of all hogs in 1899 was $4.19 per head. The government report placed the average farm price in 1894 at $5.98, in ’93, $6.41, and in 1892, $4.60.

A TRAVELING PIGPEN.

It is often desirable to change the location of a pigpen, especially where a single pig is kept. It may be placed in the garden at the time when there are waste vegetables to be disposed of, or it may be penned in a grass lot. A portable pen, with an open yard attached, is seen in the accompanying illustrations. Figure 1 presents the pen, the engraving showing it so clearly that no description is needed. The yard, seen in Fig. 2, is placed with the open space next to the door of the pen, so that the pig can go in and out freely. The yard is attached to the pen by hooks and staples, and both of them are provided with handles, by which they can be lifted and carried from place to place. Both the yard and pen should be floored, to prevent the pig from tearing up the ground. The floors should be raised a few inches from the ground, that they may be kept dry and made durable.

FIG. 1. PORTABLE PEN.

FIG. 2. YARD ATTACHMENT.

CHAPTER II.

FINISHING OFF HOGS FOR BACON.

The general subject of feeding and fattening hogs it is not necessary here to discuss. It will suffice to point out the advisability of using such rations as will finish off the swine in a manner best fitted to produce a good bacon hog. An important point is to feed a proper proportion of flesh-forming ration rather than one which will serve to develop fat at the expense of lean. The proper proportion of these will best subserve the interest of the farmer, whether he is finishing off swine for family use or for supplying the market with home cured bacon. A diet composed largely of protein (albuminoids) results in an increased proportion of lean meat in the carcass. On the other hand, a ration made up chiefly of feeds which are high in starchy elements, known as carbohydrates, yields very largely in fat (lard). A most comprehensive chart showing the relative values of various fodders and feeding stuffs has been prepared by Herbert Myrick, editor of American Agriculturist, and will afford a good many valuable hints to the farmer who wishes to feed his swine intelligently. This points out the fact that such feeds as oats, barley, cowpea hay, shorts, red clover hay and whole cottonseed are especially rich in flesh-forming properties.

Corn, which is rich in starch, is a great fat producer and should not be fed too freely in finishing off hogs for the best class of bacon. In addition to the important muscle-producing feeds noted above, there are others rich in protein, such as bran, skim milk, buttermilk, etc. While corn is naturally the standby of all swine growers, the rations for bacon purposes should include these muscle-producing feeds in order to bring the best results. If lean, juicy meat is desired, these muscle forming foods should be continued to the close. In order to get

JUST THE QUALITY OF BACON THAT IS WANTED,

feeders must so arrange the ration that it will contain a maximum of muscle and a minimum of fat. This gives the sweet flavor and streaked meat which is the secret of the popularity of the Irish and Danish bacon. Our American meats are as a rule heavy, rich in fat and in marked contrast with the light, mild, sweet flavored pork well streaked with lean, found so generally in the English market and cured primarily in Ireland and Denmark. What is wanted is a long, lean, smooth, bacon hog something after the Irish hog. Here is a hint for our American farmers.

England can justly boast of her hams and bacon, but for sweet, tender, lean pork the Normandy hogs probably have no superior in the world. They are fed largely on meat-producing food, as milk, peas, barley, rye and wheat bran. They are not fed on corn meal alone. They are slaughtered at about six months. The bristles are burned off by laying the carcass on straw and setting it on fire. Though the carcasses come out black, they are scraped white and clean, and dressed perfectly while warm. It is believed that hogs thus dressed keep better and that the meat is sweeter.

SELF-CLOSING DOOR FOR PIGPEN.

Neither winter snows nor the spring and summer rains should be allowed to beat into a pigpen. But the difficulty is to have a door that will shut itself and can be opened by the animals whenever they desire. The engraving, Fig. 3, shows a door of this kind that can be applied to any pen, at least any to which a door can be affixed at all. It is hung on hooks and staples to the lintel of the doorway, and swinging either way allows the inmates of the pen to go out or in, as they please,—closing automatically. If the door is intended to fit closely, leather strips two inches wide should be nailed around the frame of the doorway, then as the door closes it presses tightly against these strips.

FIG. 3. AUTOMATIC DOOR.

A HOG-FEEDING CONVENIENCE.

The usual hog’s trough and the usual method of getting food into it are conducive to a perturbed state of mind on the part of the feeder, because the hog is accustomed to get bodily into the trough, where he is likely to receive a goodly portion of his breakfast or dinner upon the top of his head. The ordinary trough too, is difficult to clean out for a similar reason—the pig usually standing in it. The diagram shown herewith, Fig. 4 gives a suggestion for a trough that overcomes some of the difficulties mentioned, as it is easily accessible from the