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Feb 08

This Little Piggie Went to Market: Hogs in Kansas, 1922

Posted on February 8, 2022 at 2:31 PM by Bill Sowers

Hogs in Kansas pic

THIS LITTLE PIGGIE WENT TO MARKET: HOGS IN KANSAS, 1922


View the book online at the State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library here:
HOGS IN KANSAS, 1922

The farm/rural life experience ended on my family tree with my parents, who both grew up in small towns.  My Dad spent the first part of his childhood on a farm near Lucas, Kansas, then moved into town. My Mom grew up in a small town, New Berlin, New York. Both towns were primarily farm communities do they were acquainted with rural life.

I grew up in a large urban area... a city boy.  I've lived in Kansas for many years but all of that time has been spent in larger towns.  So I had an eye opener when we added the 1922 tome, "Hogs in Kansas," to the State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library, this week.

Published by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture in 1923, this 426 page volume is a basic handbook for those who raise, slaughter and market swine (pigs and hogs).  It covers everything from birth to death in great detail... with photographs!  After going through it, inputting the table of contents I gained a new understanding.  Bacon does NOT arrive on this planet in plastic packages ready for the supermarket!  Looking at some of the photos I was strongly convinced that perhaps, like our oldest daughter, I should consider vegetarianism.  But... Bacon!  Mmmmmmm!

But back to the book.  Here's the table of contents so you can see what went into bringing that little piggie to market:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The  Pig  Crop -- Feeds and Feeding -- Feeds: Value and Popularity -- Kinds  of  Feed  Fed  Different  Classes  of  Hogs,  and  When -- Weight  of  Hogs  at  Different  Ages -- Feeding  Runts -- Hogging  Down  Corn -- Other  Crops  Hogged  Down  or  Stubble  Gleaned -- Self-feed  or  Cafeteria  System  of  Hog  Feeding -- Where  Feeding  is  Done -- Supplying  Water -- Shelter and Conveniences -- Length  of  Life  of  Hog  Houses -- Construction  of  a  Central  Hog  House -- Where  to  Place  Windows  in  Hog  Houses -- Hog Fences -- Feeding Troughs -- Dipping  Tanks -- Artificial  Hog  Wallow -- Open  Sheds  and  Shelters -- Portable  Fence  Panels -- Creeps -- Sunshades -- Sanitation and Disease -- Castrating  Boar  Pigs -- Ringing  and  Snouting -- Marketing -- Butchering and Curing -- Classification  of  Swine -- Proper  Feeding  of  Herd -- Other  Things  Necessary  Besides  Feed -- Exercise  on  the  Show  Circuit -- Handling  Show  Herd  While  in  the  Ring -- Be  Careful  About  the  Feeding  While  on  the  Show  Circuit -- A  Word  to  the  Exhibitor  and  Fair  Manager -- Balanced  Ration -- Per  Cent  of  Feed  Consumed -- Effect  of  Exercise  on  Gains -- Influence  of  Palatability  of  Feed -- Comfort -- Good  Breeding -- Pasture Feeding -- Prevention  and  Control  of  Disease -- Abortion -- Indigestion in Swine -- Rickets, Jaundice, Rupture, Lung-worm, Diarrhoea, Scours, Rheumatism, Intestinal Worms, Paralysis, Hog Cholera -- Shipping  in  Stock  Hogs -- Pork Packing -- Cooperative Livestock Shipping Associations -- Terminal  Costs  of  Marketing  Hogs,  1921 -- Local  Expenses  of  Cooperative  Shipping  Associations -- Cost of Cooperative Marketing of Hogs in the Corn Belt -- Shrinkage and Fill of Hogs in Marketing / H.T. Morgan, hog specialist.