Page:The Hog.djvu/184

182 as may be seen on comparing the relative increase of weight obtained from the various kinds of food, viz.:—55 decalitres of peas gave an increase of 22 stone 7 lbs., or nearly 6 lbs. of increase of pork from 1 decalitre of peas; whereas from boiled carrots only 28 stone 2 lbs. of increase were obtained from 175 decalitres, or about 2 lbs. from 1 decalitre, giving the advantage over the peas in the ratio of 2:1. The next most nourishing food is buckwheat, which nearly gives 4 1bs. of pork from 1 decalitre. Boiled potatoes are next, giving nearly 3 lbs. of pork from 1 decalitre; and the lowest quantity of pork is that obtained from the balls of wheat, which is as low as 1 lb. from 1 decalitre. Flour would no doubt fatten better than wheat, especially if the feeds were made into small dry balls of dough, and frequently administered.

With the exception of the acorn we have seldom a sufficiently abundant crop of fruit of any kind to admit of our making it an article of food for swine. When England was rich in forest land, the mastage or pannage of swine in these localities was a valuable privilege, for if the animals did not absolutely get fat, they were kept in fair condition at no expense to the owner beyond that of paying a person to look after them.

Hogs will eat the acorns and beech-mast greedily, and certainly thrive to a certain extent on this food, so far that it is an easy matter to fatten them afterwards. Parkinson says:—" When I lived with my father, acorns were so plentiful in the woods one year, that they made the pigs sufficiently fat for bacon without any other food. The flesh was equally as good and as well-flavored as that of other animals that had been fed on beans and peas." Acorns that have become dry in the sun and air are far more profitable than those which are fresh fallen and green; but the way in which they may be most advantageously employed is to bake or roast them, and then crush them, and either boil them to a pulp, or pour boiling water upon them and let it stand until cool; the addition of a little salt makes an exceedingly palatable food, which the animals greedily suck up, and which tends far more to fatten them than the raw acorn would.

Beech-mast eaten alone makes the fat oily and impoverishes the lean, but when taken in conjunction with acorns the one fruit qualifies the other, and the combined effect is good.

In many parts of the Continent where chestnuts are grown in large quantities they constitute a considerable item in the feeding of swine, and are exceedingly nutritious, especially when given at the latter part of the fattening process. They impart firmness and a delicate flavor to the meat. Few persons give chestnuts in a raw