Wherever there are cows and a garden, _pigs_ should be kept; as skim-milk and buttermilk, with the refuse of a garden, are almost sufficient to maintain a pig. Pigs are unlike most other animals, as they fatten soonest on sour food; they should, however, be kept clean, and in many places, I am told, the cottagers rub them with a broom. Sows are very apt to destroy their young when they are littered with long straw, as the pigs sometimes hide themselves in it for warmth, and are trodden upon accidentally or smothered by their mother. A sow ought, therefore, to be littered with short straw when she is expected to produce young. Pigs are greedy creatures, and, when there are several together, the master pig generally puts his foot in the trough while feeding, so as to prevent any other pig coming near him till he has done. Young pigs are generally weaned when they are six or seven weeks old; and, when they are killed at this age or sooner, they are termed sucking-pigs, and are generally roasted whole. After they are taken from their mother they are generally fed three times a day on a food composed of the washing of dishes, skim-milk, buttermilk, whey, potatoes, grains, cabbage leaves, pea-shells, and any refuse from the garden. While pigs are growing they should be allowed as much liberty as they can have without doing injury; but pigs are very troublesome creatures to turn into a field, as they will dig up the roots of the grass wherever they can with their noses, and on this account young pigs are frequently ringed; that is, a slender iron ring is passed through the cartilage of the nose, or the cartilage itself is slit open with a knife. When they are about five or six months old they will have attained their full growth; and, if they are intended to be killed and eaten for pork, they are put up in a sty, and fed with boiled potatoes, milk, and a little barley meal. When a pig is intended for bacon, he is called a store-pig till he is about eight months old, when he is put up to be fed, and is fattened on peas, meal, potatoes, and milk, always adding a sack or two of ground oats, or crushed barley, a short time before he is killed, to make the fat firm. Opinions differ very much as to what kind of pig should be preferred, but those are generally considered the best which have large deep bodies, short legs, and small heads.