but when pressed by hunger they will eat snakes, worms, and even higher

animals, like birds, fowls, and fish.






Man captured some of these wild animals, fed them abundant and

nutritious food, accustomed them to domestic life, selected the best of

them to raise from, and in the course of generations developed our

present breeds of hogs. The main changes brought about in hogs were

these: the legs became shorter, the snout and neck likewise shortened,

the shoulders and hams increased their power to take on flesh, and the

frame was strengthened to carry the added burden of flesh. As the animal

grew heavier it roamed less widely, and as it grew accustomed to man its

temper became less fierce.






Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs than from any other animal.

When a hog is properly fed and cared for it will make the farmer more

money in proportion to cost than any other animal on the farm.



The most profitable type of hog has short legs, small bones, straight

back and under line, heavy hams, small well-dished head, and heavy

shoulders. The scrub and "razorback" hogs are very unprofitable, and

require an undue amount of food to produce a pound of gain. It requires

two years to get the scrub to weigh what a well-bred pig will weigh

when nine months old. Scrub hogs can be quickly changed in form and type

by the use of a pure-bred sire.



A boy whose parents were too poor to send him to college once decided to

make his own money and get an education. He bought a sow and began to

raise pigs. He earned the food for the mother and her pigs. His hogs

increased so rapidly that he had to work hard to keep them in food. By

saving the money he received from the sale of his hogs he had enough to

keep him two years in college. Suppose you try his plan, and let the hog

show you how fast it can make money.






We have several breeds of swine. The important ones are:



I. _Large Breeds_



1. Chester White.

2. Improved Yorkshire.

3. Tamworth.



II. _Medium Breeds_



1. Berkshire.

2. Poland-China.

3. Duroc-Jersey.

4. Cheshire.



III. _Small Breeds_



1. Victoria.

2. Suffolk.

3. Essex.

4. Small Yorkshire.



Hogs will be most successfully raised when kept as little as possible in

pens. They like the fields and the pasture grass, the open air and the

sunshine. Almost any kind of food can be given them. Unlike other stock,

they will devour greedily and tirelessly the richest feeding-stuffs.



The most desirable hog to raise is one that will produce a more or less

even mixture of fat and lean. Where only corn is fed, the body becomes

very fat and is not so desirable for food as when middlings, tankage,

cowpeas, or soy beans are added as a part of the ration.






When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most important, for only by

cleanliness can disease be avoided.