A Handbook of Agriculture

THE STORY OF A PIG.

Prof. W. L. Carlyle.

The accompanying photographs il-, mates did not survive the first night, lustrating a very interesting "side" ex- the other three lingering for some time, periment conducted at the Wisconsin were kept warm in a box by a stove Experiment Station will interest the and fed carefully on warm sweet cow's younger readers of the Institute Bulle-milk every few hours. At last only

tin, if it does not add materially to the this cue lonely little piggy was left in knowledge of their elders. the box.

One of the photographs shows my small daughter, Helen, two years old feeding her pet pig his ration of milk from a nursing bottle. The pig is a pure bred Chester White, that with seven brothers and sisters were left orphans at birth. Four of his little

He was early given the name of "Ikey" and as he appeared to be well and bright and the litle girl Helen very attentive in caring for him, the herdsman Mr. George Little, a true lover of stock as well as of children, asked to be allowed to care for him

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would seem perfectly happy until an- came in contact with the shoes or other two hours rolled by when his clothing. He never failed to recogvoice might be heard in the night with nize the working shoes of the herdsa persistence and volume that would man or the stockings and dress of the doubly discount an "intermittent" baby girl as only those two were alalarm clock. He scon grew very lowed to feed him. knowing and exhibited an intelligence that was perfectly astonishing in an animal so young. When about two weeks old he could recognize the herdsman and the baby girl from among a number of visitors. This he nid mostly by his senses of smell and hearing. He was allowed to run about

His feed for the first month consisted of cow's milk procured fresh each morning and evening and always fed sweet and carefully warmed while he was very young. An ordinary nursing bottle supplied with a rubber nipple was the means resorted to in feeding this milk and Ikey soon came to

The second photograph shows Ikey when he was about six months old and weighing 180 pounds. Shortly after this photograph was taken he became very crcss and fretful, did not enjoy visitors and was frequently quite surly to his two old friends. No good reason could be found for this condition of affairs until some little time later he began to refuse his feed, then grew quite sick and finally died very quietly

recognize the bottle and manifested | visiting the University on their annual great interest in the preparation of his picnic excursion. numerous "dinners." He very early learned to recognize his name and would respond with a cordial grunt and come running briskly when it was called. At four weeks of age he began to nibble at whole oats or ground corn that were occasionally scattered about the floor so that at this age his feed was changed to a thin slop made of oil meal, wheat shorts and skim-milk; to this in a few days were added finely ground peas and corn. When four-one evening. teen weeks of age he weighed fortysix pounds having gained as much as nine pounds in a single week. age he had consumed of new pounds; shorts 10 pounds; oil meal 10 pounds; ground peas 10 pounds; ground corn 10 pounds; skim-milk 91 pounds. From this time forward his growth and development were very rapid yet he always seemed to remember his early friends and they appeared equally fond of him.

An autopsy disclosed

the fact that he had been suffering from chronic digestive troubles. At this In conclusion let me say for the milk, 50 | benefit of all swine raisers that Ikey's

career was a convincing demonstration to all who knew him that hogs, both old and young, are possessed of a surprising amount of intelligence and it was a perfect demonstration of the further fact that may be a surprise to some, but is well known to many, namely, that hogs are naturally one of The herdsman never grow impatient the most cleanly of animals in their at the mischief Ikey did, though he be- personal habits. No matter how filthy came a veritable genius at getting into quarters may be, the hog's bed will places that he should not be, while always be found surprisingly clean and Helen came several times daily to rub dry. This we found to be markedly his back and feed him a few kernels true of Ikey, no small household pet of corn. That he had perfect con- could be more immaculate in its habits fidence in them I had ample proof. of cleanliness than this small orphan One day when he was about four pig. It is true as he grew older and months old on going into the hog- the weather warm he longed for some house I found Ikey in a large tub of means of cooling his heated body and water, he was resting his fore feet since nature had denied to him as to and chin on the edge of the tub, while all others of his kind any sweat glands the rear portions of his body were sub- in his skin so that the temperature of merged in the water, his attendants his body might be lowered by evapomeanwhile giving him a vigorous ration he would enjoy a roll in a dirty scrubbing with soap and brush. pool of water and the more muddy the seemed perfectly content and appar- better as the coating of mud served to ently enjoyed his bath quite as much retain the moisture on his body for as he did the reception he held the some time. Hogs do not frequent following day when attired with a nice stagnant pools and filthy mud baths silk cardinal ribbon and bow about his because they enjoy the filth and dirt, neck, and a smaller green ribbon but only as a means of keeping their with bow at his tail he grunted a bodily temperature reduced by the welcome to several hundreds of evaporation of moisture from the farmers and their wives, who were surface of their bodies.