THE FARMER.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 223, 3 December 1896, Page 5

THE FARMER.

4 THE AMERICAN PLAN. Now, that is not tho plan adopted in America. It must not, of courso, be imagined that pigs aro never housed in the IStates, for they are both well and comfortably looked after in this way, although only so during the winter months — the period of severe frost aud snow. With a climate equal to that of Victoria, I feel sure no American farmer would ever think of erecting a close shed or pen for his pigs, Ho would let thorn run out all the time. Around Chicago and the Western States generally, the pig is considered of some real importance on the farm, and is given something liko a fair chance to pay for its keep. In America the pig is treated as a grazing animal as far as possible. And the pigs are not run among the other stock as we commonly find them here. Over there they are provided with a special pasturo all to themselves — the best on the farm — into which neither sheep, horse, nor cow is allowed to enter. Let the pig be given a chance of that kind in Victoria, and it will astonish tho owner to know how much the animal is abused by confinement in a small dirty pen. The American hogbreedor lots his pigs run out, to find their own food partly and partly to save himself the labor of attending to them. The ordinary pig's sty of dimensions like 12ft. by 4ft. was too antiquated for the Yankee, and so he enlarged it by giving them a great big paddock. THE PICi PASTUKE. The pig-breeder in America arranges that tlie pigs will be first and not last, as is the case here, and he arranges his system of cultivation so that the principal crops grown go to their benefit. The chief crops raised on a pig farm are grass and corn (maize). The rotation of the crops is, however, arranged to suit the pigs, and the first and second year's crop is always preferred aB pigs' pasture. The cattle and sheep on the farm get the old grass. The pigs like a rather high-stand-ing blade to pluck, and, consequently, the tall-growing timothy-grass and red clover seems to suit its requirements better than most other plants. One cannot overrate the value of good pasture for pigs. It requires to be really good, however, to please or satisfy their fastidious appetite, and should be reserved for their exclusive

use. The most successful farmers in the States produce most of their pork upon grass ; firstly, because it is by far the cheapest food that can be grown, and also because under the grazing system there is littlo expense incurred iv feeding the pigs. Where the animals have to be fed by hand all the time, or the food specially prepared for them, tho outlay is often greater than they are able to pay for. Tho cost of production is tho basis of profitable pig-keeping, and without grass, nnd plenty of it of the best quality, it is impossible for anyone in the country to compete against the foreigner. With the grass and clover, however, which are at his command, the Victorian farmer ought to be able to beat the world in growing pork cheaply.