The Fat of the Land: The Story of an American FarmStreeter, John Williams
Science
The Fat of the Land: The Story of an American Farm
Streeter, John Williams
Agriculture
In color one could choose between black, black and white, and white and
red. I wanted white swine; not because they are better than swine of
other colors, for I do not think they are, but for aesthetic reasons. My
poultry was to be white, and white predominated in my cows; why should
not my swine be white also,--or as white as their habits would permit? I
am told on all sides that the black hog is the hardiest, that it fattens
easier, and that for these reasons it is a better all-round hog. This
may be true, but I am content with my white ones. When some neighbor
takes a better bunch of hogs to market, or gets a better price for them,
than I do, I may be persuaded to think as he talks. Thus far I have sold
close to the top of the market, and my hogs are never left over.
Perhaps my hogs eat more than those of my neighbors. I hope they do, for
they weigh more, on a "weight for age" scale, and I do not think they
are "air crammed," for "you cannot fatten capons so." I am more than
satisfied with my Chester Whites. They have given me a fine profit each
year, and I should be ungrateful if I did not speak them fair.
I wished to get the hog industry started on a liberal scale, and scoured
the country, by letter, for the necessary animals. I found it difficult
to get just what I wanted. Perhaps I wanted too much. This is what I
asked for: A registered young sow due to farrow her second litter in
March or April. By dint of much correspondence and a considerable outlay
of money, I finally secured nineteen animals that answered the
requirements. I got them in twos and threes from scattered sources, and
they cost an average price of $31 per head delivered at Four Oaks. A
young boar, bred in the purple, cost $27. My foundation herd of Chester
Whites thus cost me $614,--too much for an economical start; but, again,
I was in a hurry.
The hogs began to arrive in February, and were put into temporary
quarters pending the building of the house for the brood sows, which
house must now be described.
It was a low building, 150 by 30 feet, divided by a six-foot alley-way
into halves, each 150 by 12 feet. Each of these halves was again divided
into fifteen pens 10 by 12 feet, with a 10 by 30 run for each pen. This
was the general plan for the brood-house for thirty sows. At the east
end of this house was a room 15 by 30 feet for cooking food and storing
supplies for a few days. The building was of wood with plank floors. It
stands there yet, and has answered its purpose; but it was never quite
satisfactory. I wanted cement floors and a more sightly building. I
shall probably replace it next year. When it was built the weather was
unfavorable for laying cement, and I did not wish to wait for a more
clement season. The house and the fences for the runs cost $2100.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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