Who Knows About Pig Feed?

I am just about done reading through, "Harris on the Pig" and I have to say that it has been quite the read. The depth and detail of the study of different breeds, raising techniques, on farm research, and even more has been very enjoyable. Plus, you have to add in the fact that this is good historical knowledge that that has been tested over time (not saying we need to go back to all of it). What I'm trying to say is that it is a good book for the small-scale pig farmer. It may not have all the practical applications of other books, but the tidbits that you can glean are pretty cool.

But, there has been one thing that has been running though my mind as I read through this book. Often the book talks about boiling or cooking the feed. In fact in the chapter about piggeries and pig pens almost all of the buildings included a boiler. I know that boiling the swill/house waste is was a practice used to kill germs and what not, but that is not the only application Joseph Harris talks about.

The book also mentions many different times about boiling the feed, whether it been peas or oats or corn or what ever. I understand how they would do it, but I am wondering why the would do it? Can anyone enlighten me on the story behind this and if there are many people doing it today? I would love to hear about it!

A Few Thoughts on "Harris on the Pig"

Whenever my wife sees this book she has to make some comment about "Harris" and why he shouldn't be on a pig ... but, I digress! This really is a book that I have throughly enjoyed reading, probably because it was originally published in 1883. Old books in my opinion are great, and in many cases better than things that are being written now ... of course we are still learning lots of great stuff these days that is being written about when it comes to agriculture... What I'm trying to say though is that it is a really good book, and if you haven't checked it out yet you should.

Here are a few things I have especially enjoyed in the last couple weeks of reading:

• There is a great chapter discussing the construction and design of pig pens and piggeries. Although I may not be up to building anything like the book suggests for our pastured pigs I do love the suggestions about construction, layout, and even materials. It is also great to see the images they have included of the different layouts and the reasons for the designs.
• The various discussions and dissections of the different feeding experiments is priceless information. Although the scientific procedures of the day may not be quite as stringent as today the various feeding trials reported on in the book are great and gave me a lot to think about when it comes to feeding. I would have to say that it really made me want to look beyond the "normal" pig ration to see what else is available in my area.
• One last thing that has been especially informational were the chapters on different breeds. Mr. Harris broke the chapters down into sections on American Breeds and British Breeds. I think it was very helpful to read a little bit about the development of certain breeds and what specific things they were going for in those breeds. This is great information to have today when you are selecting pigs.

I know a few others who read this blog have read the book, so I would be interested in hearing some other thoughts on the book as well. Are there anythings in particular that you really took away from the book or enjoyed?

Harris on the Pig: A Partial Book Report

For the past couple of months I have been reading the book, "Harris on the Pig: Practical Hints for the Pig Farmer", by Joseph Harris. I have really enjoyed everything I have read, but the first eleven chapters or so didn't really lend themselves to the chapter reports that I have commonly done with other books. That is partially because they were really just historical perspective/informational chapters and partially because this book was originally published in 1883. Some (I'm not really sure who, but I'm sure they exist) would think that the age of this book disqualifies it as an important book to read for the beginning farmer, but I think the age of the book totally qualifies it and practically makes it a "must read".

One of the things I enjoy most about this book is the real opportunity to learn from the farmers who have come before us and succeeded. Much of the first eleven chapters deals with the historical aspects of where pigs came from, different breeds of the time, and what constituted a nicely formed pig at the time. Of course what consumers desire today is different that over a hundred years ago, but the basic principles still can apply ... and they probably should apply in many cases.

Also, I have really enjoyed reading about the various breeds of the time that Mr. Harris wrote the book and the origins of those breeds. Since he was a contemporary to many of the breeders building up some of the breeds we know today, or he at least was able to contact people that knew other people, he is able to provide an interesting perspective of what was popular and fashionable at the time. It is also really neat to read the words of a man who was very passionate about pigs and their breeding.

Event though the book may seem outdated and the writing style may be different than some are used to I think anyone interested in raising pigs, already raising pigs, or even with an interest in agricultural history should check out this book. Hopefully in the days to come I'll have time to highlight some of the other cool things from what I have read so far ... but, for now I'll just have to leave it at this short introduction.

I hope that I can soon update you on some building progress ... because we have so crazy and pretty cool stuff going on!