The American swine breeder

Front matter

002 834 996 8 o(

IJBPtARY OF CONGRESS.

UiXITED STATES OF AMERICA, iiWV^,

Chapter I

Object of the work— Three species of Swine peculiar to the Old Continent and its Islands — Different breeds of England — Those of this country, . . - 9

CHAPTER n.

Comparative influence of male and female in impressing tlieir descendants — Modes of improving Stock — Rules for selecting breeds — Crossing — Breeding in-and-in — Class of points for Hogs — Cooper's two rules for breeders — Times of copulation — Apportioning the litters of the Sow — Treatment of young Pigs — Tendency of Sows to destroy their offspring — The operation of Spaying described — Substitutes for Spaying — Method of obtaining the weight of Swine while living, - 35

CHAPTER HI.

Cleanliness and humane treatment essential in rearing Swine — Allotment of suitable and convenient pens — The proper method of obtaining large quantities of manure from Swine, and its great value — Pastures for Hogs — Modes of constructing Styes— Proper form of Trough — Stall pens — Notice of various Piggeries — Proposed plan of Piggery. 81

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

On the comparative Advantages of rav(r and prepared Food for Swine — Interesting researches of French chemists on this subject — The necessity of some preparation evident from the experiments of M. M. Biot and Raspail — Fermented Food — Boiling and steaming Food — Results of various experiments in Europe and this country — Cuts, and descriptions of Boiling and Steaming Apparatus, - 124

CHAPTER V.

General remarks on feeding — Treatment and food of young pigs — Of growing stores — Soiling — Proper peiods for fattening and killing hogs — Treatment of fatting hogs — Food — Corn —Oats — Rye — Barley — Buckwheat — Beans — Pease — Tares — Potatoes — Carrots — Turnips — Ruta-Baga — Cabbages — Parsnips — Mangel Wurtzel — Sugar Beet — Pumpkins — Sunflower — Flax — Linseed jelly — Artichokes — Acorns — Distillers' grains— Hay-tea — Apples, - - . - 176

CHAPTER VI.

Exhibition of the modes pursued by various distinguished breeders, in the management of Swine — Diseases of Swine, and their Remedies — Manner of Killing Hogs — Curing Hams — Erection of Smoke Houses— Packing Pork, «&c. 252

AMERICAN

SWiNE BREEDER.

CHAPTER I.

Object of the work— Three species of swine peculiar to the old Continent and its islands — Difierent breeds of England — Those of this country.

The object of the following pages is to present, within narrow limits and under propei* heads, both general information and practical directions, in regard to the selection and management of SwiNfi ; and to furnish, as it were, a digest, which the reader can consult at ease, of the results attending numerous investigations and experiments on this interesting subject, whose records are now scattered too diffusely for general reference throughout the multiplied agricultural periodicals of the day.

Three species of the genus tSifs are mentioned by naturalists as peculiar to the old Continent and its islands, and are classed as follows : — *

1. Sus Babyrussa. — The Babyrussa confined to the Indian Archipelago.

* Vide Elements of practical Agriculture by David Low. Lond. Ed. 1838, p. 595. Pennant's Hisi. of Quadrupeds, Loud. Ed.j 1793, article Hog. Keeiie's Encyclopedia, article Swine.

2. Sus LaRvatus. — The African Boai*^ a very fierce and powerful creature, living in holes and never yet domesticated.

3. Sus Aper. — The wild Boar.

Of these species, the latter is the one most generally distributed, and forms the parent stock of the domestic hog and its numerous varieties.

The first mentioned species is noticed by several ancient writers, by Pliny and Aelianus,* as well as by numerous naturalists of a later date.

Pennant, in his History of (Quadrupeds, furnishes a full length portrait of the animal. He is described as coarsely made, distinguished by two tusks of about eiglit inches in length, projecting from the lower jaw and pointing towards the eyes ; also by two teeth placed in sockets on the outside of the upper jaw, about eight inches long, which bend like horns and almost touch the forehead. His ears are sharp pointed and erect, and his body covered with a species of wool, resembling that on lambs.

The second species is the " Sus Ethiopicus " of LinuEeus, and the " Sanglier de cape Verd" described by Buffon. He is armed with four tusks similar to those of the Sus Babyrussa, but differs from that animal in the total want of fore-teeth, which deficiency is remedied, to some extent, by extreme hardness of the gums. He has great size and breadth of head. His hoofs also are

SWINE BREEDER* ll

entirely undivided : beneath each eye are found hollows of loose and wrinkled skin, and under these large lobes or wattles, of such size and so placed as to prevent tlie animal from viewing any object immediately beneath him.

Great numbers of this animal are found in the hottest portions of Africa, and they occasionally wander to within short distances of the Cape. Tliey are called by the Hottentots, KatNK b(i. They are also met with in the isle of Madagascar.* Owing to their extreme wildness, little is known of their history and habits. They are described as extremely ferocious, and living generally beneath the ground, which they remove with the sam.e expedition as the mole. In a few instances, crosses between them and the Chinese or other sows have been attempted, but invariably without success ; the trial resulting in the dismemberment or great injury of the animal to which they were introduced.

There is yet another species peculiar, it is believed, to South America. We refer to the Mexicanus Moscihferus, or Mexican Musk Hog. Like the Sus Babyrussa, this animal also has four tusks, but those of the upper jaw point downwards, and are hardly apparent when the mouth is closed, while the lower tusks are always hidden. The bristles covering the body are stronger than those of the European kind, and resem_ble those of the Hedge-hog. They are in general of a dusky color, and surrounded with rings of white. They are without tails,

* Vide Flarcourt, Hist. Madagascar, p. 152.

and on the lower part of the back is a gland, open at the top, which discharges a fetid ichorous liquor.* These animals are generally found in great droves, and several instances are related of fierce encounters between them and the Jaguar or American Leopard. They are said to feed on ' roots, toads and all manner of serpents,' which they hold with the fore-feet and skin with great dexterity. If the dorsal gland is extracted as soon as the animal is killed, the flesh, according to some writers, may be eaten ; otherwise the meat becomes immediately infected. These animals are also called the P< cay Breed or American Pecay, undoubtedly a corruption of the Indian name Pnqm- 7Y/. .t Though these animals originally inhabited the hottest parts of South America, they have been by degrees scattered to a wide extent, and at the present time are occasionally met with by parties journeying west of the Mississippi, and more especially by those who cross the Rocky mountains.

To trace the origin and progress of the numerous European varieties of the domestic hog, though interesting, is foreign to the purpose of these pages. Those who are desirous of investigating the varieties referred to, and especially those of England, are referred to the first portion

* This gland has been erroneously called a navel. In Purchas's Pilgrimage vol. 3. p. 8b6 and 966, these animals are termed " Hogs with navels on their backs," and the American Edition of Moubray on Pouitry, p. 157, contains the same mistaken appellation.

f Vide Pennant's History of Quadrupeds.

of the able article on swine in Reese's Encyclopedia. The following extract from Low's Elements of Agriculture, will furnish correct and ample information, as to the most distinguished breeds of England.

^' The breeds of this country, as may be supposed, are very numerous. Those which may be referred to as illustrating the differences of size and character in the animals, are the folio wmg: —

1. The native hog of the highlands of Scotland.

2. The Chinese hog.

3. The old EngUsh hog.

4. The Berkshire hog.

5. The Suffolk hog.

The native breed of the highlands and islands of Scotland consists of a small race, of a dun color, with erect ears, rounded back, low shoulders and with coarse bristles along the spine. They resemble the wild hog in their general form. They are usually left to search for their own food ; and they will graze on the hills like sheep, and find their way to the shore on the ebbing of the tide to feed on sea weed. They are far inferior to the improved varieties of the lower country, but they fatten when supplied with proper food more readily than their rough exterior would indicate.

The Chinese hog is of the widely extended^ Siamese breed of the east, a race which extends from the continent to the island of Sumatra, New Guinea and others, and to all the islands of the South Seas. The true Siamese breed has the skin of a rich copper color, but like all domesticated animals, the color varies with the conditions of climate, food and culture. In China, the color is often white, and it is with the varieties derived from China that we are most familiar in this country. The Chinese hog is for the most part less than the common swine of Europe, but is distinguished by its peculiar aptitude to fatten. Its bones are small, its limbs short, its ears erect, its skin and bristles soft, and its general aspect delicate. The introduction of this race has insensibly produced a great change in the character of all the breeds in this country. It has been made to cross the great number of them. It has diminished the size, but removed the former coarseness of form, and increased the aptitude to fatten. The juire bn'cd is' lif/h' (ynU'tvaled^ and it is through the medium of its crosses that its value is chiefly known. In this respect, the introduction of the eastern hog into England has been singularly beneficial.

The Oh' EvgiirJi Ho-: may be held to be the type of the ancient swine of England. It is distinguished by its great size, its lank form, and its pendant ears. Remnants of this unimproved race are yet to be found, but for the most part they have given place to the more improved variety. Although of defective form and slow feeders, the females are admirable nurses of their young; and when crossed by improved males, as the Berkshire, they produce a progeny possessing the aptitude to fatten, of the male parent, with the large size of the dam.

The Berkshire was the earliest of the hn^ proved breeds of England, and is now the most generally diffused of all others. It was undoubtedly formed by a mixture of the eastern hog with the ancient swine of tlie country. The great improver of this breed was Mr. Astley of Oldstonehall. The modern Berkshire, however, is of less si2je than the older breed ; but still the animals are of the larger class of swine. Their common color is a reddish-brown with dark spots. Many of the breed are nearly black, manifesting their near approach to the Siamese character; and sometimes they are black, broken with white, indicating the effect of the cross of the white Chinese. The Berkshire are justly regarded as one of the superior breeds of England, combining good size with aptitude to fatten ; and their flesh is fitted for pork or bacon. In Yorkshire, Linconshire, and other eastern counties, there are breeds of a larger size, of a white color, and with pendent ears. They have been all, more or less, affected in their size and character by crossing. >^

A variety termed the S'/ff'J/r is so named from the county of Suffolk, which has long produced great quantities of pork, chiefly for the supply of London. The Suflblk hogs have been crossed again and again witli the Chinese, or the descendants of the Chinese crosses, ■<(> as to rcd^tai ilic size to suit the tastes of the consumers.

A breed has lately been received, termed the Neapolitan * The animals are of a small size,

* For further informaiion in regard lo these and otiier valuable breeds of England, vide Reese's Encyclopedia, article of a round and delicate form. Their skins are of a coal black color, and at the first introduction they are almost entirely destitute of bristles, but when several times bred in England the bristles come. They have a great aptitude to fatten, and have on this account been received with favor ; and they produce good crosses with the native stock. They are probably of African origin.*

Considering his extraordinary fecundity and adaptation to all climates, the ease and cheapness with which he is reared (thriving almost equally well on animal and vegetable food) and the facility with which he is conveyed from one place to another, it is indeed surprising that so little is known in this country of his history and habits, and such slight attention paid to the improvement of so valuable an animal as the Domestic Hog. To a great extent, among many of our farmers, has the hog been considered as a subordinate species of live stock — a mere consumer of the refuse of the kitchen, whose presence must be tolerated as a necessary evil. The vast improvement to be effected by the importation of new varieties, or judicious crosses among those easily procured, seems to have almost culpably escaped the attention of those with whom the improvement of all other kinds of stock has been a subject of intense and constant reflection. Natural History abounds with singularly minute details of the

Swine, and Farmer's Cabiret, Philadelphia Ed. v. 2, pp. 281 and 315.

* An importation of this excellent bleed has recently arriv« ed at Philadelphia.

habits of many rare, and in an agricultural point of view, apparently useless animals. Voltimes have been written on the breeds, the treatment and diseases of sheep. Treatise after treatise on cattle has been multiplied, exhibiting in detail the change effected by judicious and continued crossings, to so great an extent that the distinguishing characteristics of the parent stock are scarcely to be recognised in their descendants while, with perhaps a solitary exception,* little has been offered to the public, calculated to furnish practical information in regard to swine. It is true that now and then we find articles discussing different points connected with these neglected animals, scattered amid the pages of our valuable agricultural periodicals. It is also true, if enjoying froe access to books and sufficient leisure, that we can, as the result of prolonged investigations, gather at one time much of interest, regarding the origin and habits of SAvine as the subjects of Natural Histor)?-; at another many facts calculated to aid or govern our estimate of the comparative value of improved varieties; and again, sound practical directions as to the best mode of treatment to secure the utmost limit of perfection. But the attainment of knowledge by a process involving such expenditures of time and research, is impracticable to the many, and sufficiently irksome to the fcAv whose situation authorizes and whose wishes lead them to attempt it, to excite a deep regret, that instead of scattered truths, and disconnected facts, though important in themselves, no plain, prac-

* Henderson on Swine, tical. and connected treatise on a subject so important can be found.

Frequent importations and repeated crossings on them, liave produced within the last few years imuierous breeds of swine in this country, of w^hich perhaps the most important and most generally known are as follows : —

I. The Berkshire hog.

I 2. The ORIGINAL AND improved China.

3. The Bedford or Woburn hog.

I 4. The Mackay hog.

5. The Russian hog.

6. The Leicester hog.

7. The Irish grazier hog.

8. The Byfield hog.

9. The Moco hog.

10. The grass breed hog. To which more recent importations have added,

II. The Beltz hog.

' 12. The Neapolitan hog. \ Independent of these will be found many va- ' rieties, whose reputation is confined to less extended limits, the descendants of some of the above breeds intermingled with the ordinary ones of the country.

The Berkshire Hog. The merit of first introducing this valuable animal into the United States^ and more recently of procuring new varieties to cross with those already imported, is due to L. Hawes, Esq. of Albany. It is the opinion of many who have had sufficient opportunities of examining the first and second importations, that tlie latter and its crosses show an advance on the original Berkshire nearly as great as was conceded to that on the ordinary breeds of the country. For more minute investigation, we refer our readers to a plate of the • improved Berkshire given in the fourth volume of the Cultivator, and to correspondence with Messrs. L. Hawes and John Lossing of Albany, both of whom have recent importations. ,.^

The Berkshire has been crossed repeatedly) with the stock of the country, and its varieties are perhaps more generally known and sougfit for than those of any other breed. The high estimation- in which this breed is held, will readily appear from the perusal of testimonials like the following, given as the results of experiment, and by those whose statements are entitled to the utmost confidence.

The report of N. C. Bement, Esq., of the committee on swine, published in vol. 6, page 31, of the Cultivator, in assigning to the Berkshire a decided superiority both in England and America over all other breeds, continues in the following language : — " The history of the introduction of this breed among us was stated in the report upon swine made at the last meeting of this society. Since that time, the demand for this breed of pigs from almost every state in the union has greatly increased, and prices in some cases have almost exceeded credulity. Two hundred and fifty, three hundred, and even five hundred dollars a pair have been paid for them. Nor have they been found deficient in weight when they have had time to mature their growth. They have been fattened to weigh five, six, and seven hundred povmds, and one was brouglit to this market last week from Fulton county, purchased of Judge Buel, a little more than one 3^ear old, which weighed when dressed 633 pounds, the carcase of which sold in market for .f 56. B at it is not the great Aveight which this breed of hogs is brought to that gives them their great intrinsic value. They are docile, quiet, come early to maturity, have but little offal, give a large and excellent ham, one of the most valuable parts, sweet, sound, high flavored pork, and it is believed make as great if not greater returns for the food consumed than any other breed amongst us.

" In corroboration of the high opinion entertained of this breed of hogs, I will state that Col. Williams, a spirited and wealthy gentleman, residing on Long Island, desirous of procuring a superior breed of hogs, Avrote to his friend and agent in Liverpool to procure for him, irifhoift rf:i;<tid !o /'ricf-'. .v/.r /flsT'' of fh<' hrs-t breed in Eii^hnn!^ and take time and satisfy himself before purchasing. After diligent enquiry, his friend finally settled on the Berkshire, as being considered, taking all things into view, the best and most improved breed, and purchased seven, four males and three females, being the entire litter (the owner refusing to sell a part) and forwarded them to New York, where they arrived in October last."

Of similar import is the following from the Franklin Farmer, vol. 2. No. 52, pp. 412, 413. ^'' In point oi form, the Berkshire is superior, in our opinion, (editor) to any other breed we have seen, but this is only onr opinion. For thrift we deem them equal to any, and for hardness inferior to none. 'We have bred all the popular breeds but the Russian and the Irish, (which we propose yet to try) and so far as our own preferences are fixed, we prefer the Berkshire for fami- . ly pork, and for slaughtering and packing, but the Woburn or Bedford for /rt/t;.//?/^."

It is indeed true that the power of enduring travel with the least possible waste of flesh, is an object of the utmost importance to those who are raising hogs to be driven to a distant market ; and various considerations present themselves to one endeavoring to ascertain the comparative value of different breeds. The condition of the farmer, his means of raising stock, whether circumscribed or extensive, and its ultimate destination for home consumption or foreign markets, are all matters connected intimately with the estimates of different individuals. Experience has demonstrated that hogs of fine bone are most suitable for slaughtering, for pork and bacon, while those of coarse bone and long limbs are least affected by continued traveling. On the power of enduring travel^ belonging to the Berkshire breed, the following communication from A. B. Allen, Esq., of Buffalo, one of the most distinguished and indefatigable improvers of stock in the whole country, will be found at once instructive and amusing.* '' I should also add to his other good qualifications that the Berkshire carries much more muscle in his meat than other races ; is consequently leaner and therefore more desirable, and when butchered at a proper age is very succulent and tender. I have also found the offal of these superior breeds much lighter in proportion than the common hog, which again adds greatly to * Vide Franklin Farmer, vol. 3, No. 2, page 12.

their value. Possessing as the Berkshire doesF so many good quahties in so great perfection, together with his high weights, no wonder he has become so immensely popular in the south and west. And I pronounce him of all others the best adapted, in my humble opinion, to that part of our country.

^' We now^ come to a more serious objection to the improved breeds which seems to have immediately taken possession of the minds of many at first sight of their thick solid flesh and fine bones, but which I hope to show has been hastily adopted and without making fair experiment of their poAvers on this necessary point. In many parts of the country the farmer cannot kill his hogs at home because he is so far inland that the cost of transportation of the pork would equal its value when arrived in market — he is therefore under the necessity of driving them some three or five hundred miles before butchering. Well, then ! inasmuch as the Berkshire's legs are not as long as a cranes, his nose like a pick ax, and his back sharp enough to saw a white oak rail in two at a single pass, he cannot thus be driven. But gentle reader, did you ever try him ? If not, myself and others in this vicinity have, and were we sporting men, would gladly back a promiscuous drove of Berkshire shoats for one hundred miles or any distance aboVe that, against any stilted legs the country could produce. For a few miles the stilts if put to it, I grant would beat, but for a hundred or more, though carrying little else than hair, rind, gristle, offal and bone, they woidd be found in the rear. And why should not the Berkshire

SWtNE BREEDER. 23'

drive? Look at him as he stands Avith outstretched length and head erect, and notwithstanding his great tendency to fatten he has something of the noble blood horse sliape and conformation, which to a Kentuckian makes it easier to understand the wherefore of his good travehng points.

" There is the fall, deep, powerful chest that gives his heart and lungs room to play and constitutes his wind. There is tlie thicli. strong, elastic muscle, there are the fine, hard ivory bones, and there is the proud indomitable aristocracy of spirit that, when called upon in the contest, gives him the will to strive and the power to come oif victorious. I have witnessed many a battle between the Berkshire and the comioon hogs when herding together, arid though the former was often much the smallest, he almost invariably flogged his opponent by real bull dog endurance. I will also give another example. I once purchased a lot of about fifty head of Berkshires consisting from the pig of a fortnight old to tlie heavy sow of at least three motlis gone in pig. It was mid-summer, the weather excessively hot, and though the way was but a continued up hill and down, over a gravelly and stony road, they accomplished it, fifty miles in five days, without the slightest accident; not a single lagger, and without showing fatigue. Thus, at the rate of ten miles per day, which I understand is about the average of driving the common hog on the ■softer and more level roads at the south and west, making a course that is at least two or three miles a day in their favor. In fine, this is a matter which the breeders ofBerkshires will not so easily concede, and though the requisite with them is /^•>/7>•, notsi/rca'.^ still I should not be surprised to read in the spirited pages of the Franklin Farmer, within three months, a regular challenge to drive dark Berkshires against white long legs, streaked or blue, for a pair of good pork hams a side, half forfeit or half pay on a hundred mile course, loss or gain -of flesh to be considered as making or losing distance during the performance, coupled with an offer to give something in the start."

In a letter from the same source, addressed to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, from which we are kindly permitted to make extracts, we find the following: — '-You will probably, sir, have noticed from my advertisement that I have two disrifid breeds of hogs, the Berkshire and the improved China. The former if well attended to, easily weigh 600 pounds at eighteen months. Several of the progenitors of mine have overgone this weight. Sir Wilham Curtis, with whom I had the pleasure of an interview at St. Petersburgh, bred one to the enormous weight of 903 lbs., but such hogs are necessarily coarse, ivhic/i is a •.rfol fan t ir'n'li annnnLs uf any ki/ic/y in the eye of a refined and experienced breeder. I must say, that my own taste will not lead me beyond 400 pounds, but to suit western gentlemen as a general rule I am breeding to about 500 and GOO pounds. This breed is celebrated for the great quantity oi faJ-lean in their meat, are long in the body, making a ial*ge proportion of side pork, and yield large hams abounding in delicate lean, a great consideration with amateurs. They are undoubtedly the best race of hogs, kept pure, that can possibly be found for the rich corn lands of the west, and the boars will produce a marked and rapid improvement, crossed Av^ith the common hog of this country.

A writer in the Genesee Farmer, vol. 9, No. 37, p. 284, in speaking of the niunerous breeds of the domestic hog existing in the United States, thus continues — " At the head of these varieties, whether for crossing or feeding, stands the Berkshire, a breed which, if it is of comparatively recent introduction, has by its valuable qualities proved itself worthy of a more rapid dissemination than any other breed has ever received in this country. That the Berkshire pig is in equal favor abroad where he is best known is evident from the following extract which we make from that standard work, British Husbandry, and which will also exhibit the principal characteristics of the animal. ' The Berkshire hog is of a reddish-brown color with black spots,* the head well placed with large ears generally standing forward, though sometimes hanging over the eyes. He is short legged, small boned, of a rough curly coat,

* Some objections have occasionally been made as to the predominance of black in The Berkshire of this country. This was accidentally the color -of the first importation made by Mr. Hawes. Many of the animals in a more recent selection made by Mr. Hawes for J. ^ " ©rable admixture of white and black.

wearing the appearance of both skin and flesh beingof a coarse qnaUty. Nothing, however, is finer than tlie bacon, (or pork,) and the animals attain to a very large size, having not ancomnionly reached the weight of more than 100 stone, but from forty to fifty when completely fitted is the general average. This breed has indeed obtained such general approbation from the best judges that those who wish to improve their stock of swine are very generally desirous of obtaining a cross with this race, and they are consequently dispersed over the most distant parts of the country. Some of the best of these crosses are found in Stafic^rdshire, from the progeny of an animal well known to the breeders as the ' Tamworth Boar,' The native breed is also usually crossed at intervals either with the pure Chinese or Tcnquin race, and the process is found necessary to prevent deterioration.' "

( The Chixa Hog. Tliis animal is thus described by Pennant., one of the early naturalists, in his Hist, of (Quadrupeds, p. 142. " Belly hanging almost to the ground, legs short, tail very short, the body generally bare, (as is the case in general with the swine in Indiap*