Pea-soup is an admirable article when given in this intention; it is prepared by boiling six pecks of peas in about sixty gallons of water, till they are well broken down and diffused in the fluid: it is then put into a tub or cistern for use. When dry food is given in combination with this, or of itself, the above writer advises oats, as being much better than any other sort of grain for young pigs, barley not answering nearly so well in this application. Oats coarsely ground have been found very useful for young hogs, both in the form of wash with water, and when made of a somewhat thicker consistence. But in cases where the sows and pigs can be supported with dairy-wash and roots, as above, there will be a considerable saving made, by avoiding the use of the expensive articles of barley-meal, peas, or bran.
Mr. Donaldson remarks, that in the usual mode, the pigs reared by the farmer are fed, for some weeks after they are weaned, on whey or buttermilk, or on bran or barley-meal mixed with water. They are afterwards maintained on other food, as potatoes, carrots, the refuse of the garden, kitchen, scullery, &c., together with such additions as they can pick up in the farmyard. Sometimes they are sent into the fields at the close of harvest, where they make a comfortable living for several weeks on the gleanings of the crop; at other times, when the farm is situated in the neighborhood of woods or forests, they are sent thither to pick up the beech-nuts and acorns in the fall of the year; and when they have arrived at a proper age for fattening, they are either put into sties fitted up for the purpose, or sold to distillers, starch-makers, dairymen, or cottagers.
Nothing tends more effectually to preserve the health and promote the growth of young pigs than the liberal use of hay tea. The tea should be thickened with corn meal and shorts. This, given lukewarm, twice a day, will quicken their growth, and give the meat a rich flavor. A few parsnips[23] or carrots (boiled) may be made use of with much success.
[23] The Sussex (Eng.) Express says, "At our farm we have been in the habit of employing parsnips for this purpose for some time. Upon reference to our books, we find that on the 11th of October, 1847, we put up two shotes of eleven weeks old, and fed them on skim milk and parsnips for three months, when they were killed, weighing 231 and 238 pounds. They were well fattened, firm in flesh, and the meat of excellent flavor. The quantity of parsnips consumed by them was nine bushels each."