Page:The Hog.djvu/183

181 especially from September to Christmas, and eight perches of land, each producing on the average 250 lbs. of this root, are considered as the general allowance for fattening a pig in store order. But the flesh of animals thus fed is not so firm as that of pigs fed on pea or barley-meal with a slight addition of corn, and shrinks when boiled, instead of plumping. Carrots are considered by some persons to fatten swine more rapidly than any other root, and to impart a particularly delicate flavor to the flesh; they may be given raw. Potatoes are, however, the staple food in by far the greater part of England, and the whole of Ireland. They should be steamed, and then mashed with meal or pea-flour in whey or sour milk (where it can be had,) or in wash or clear water, and made of the consistence of porridge. The water in which the potatoes have been cooked should always be thrown away. This root should, however, only be given for a short time, as it is by no means a rapid fattener, and does not make firm good fat, and never alone if it can be avoided. Turnips should never be given while any other kind of food can be obtained, as their effects are far from beneficial, and often quite the contrary. Beans and peas, both green, dried, and ground, or bruised and macerated, form excellent food. Peas are considered to produce firmer flesh, and to fatten quicker than beans. The gray pea is generally allowed to be the best adapted for swine, and to contain most nutrition. Experiments have been made with the blue pea, but hogs fed on it had always a tendency to diarrhœa. Every part of the pea, the haulm, the cods, and the peas themselves, may be used in feeding pigs. Sir John Sinclair found green beans also very advantageous food for swine; he gives preference to the Windsor bean, and advises that two or three successive crops of them should be sown in order to secure a constant supply from July until September.

In the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture" we find an account of some experiments made with the view of testing the relative fattening powers of carrots, potatoes, peas, wheat, and buckwheat.

Five couples of pigs were separately put up to fatten:—

These results of the experiment are, however, unsatisfactory, because it is not mentioned whether the pigs were all of the same age and weight, nor is it stated whether the quantity of food marked in the table was as much as the pigs could consume.

We have always believed that peas were the most nutritious food that could be given to pigs, and this experiment confirms the belief,