ole cottonseed are especially rich in flesh-forming
properties.

Corn, which is rich in starch, is a great fat producer and should not be
fed too freely in finishing off hogs for the best class of bacon. In
addition to the important muscle-producing feeds noted above, there are
others rich in protein, such as bran, skim milk, buttermilk, etc. While
corn is naturally the standby of all swine growers, the rations for bacon
purposes should include these muscle-producing feeds in order to bring the
best results. If lean, juicy meat is desired, these muscle forming foods
should be continued to the close. In order to get

JUST THE QUALITY OF BACON THAT IS WANTED,

feeders must so arrange the ration that it will contain a maximum of
muscle and a minimum of fat. This gives the sweet flavor and streaked meat
which is the secret of the popularity of the Irish and Danish bacon. Our
American meats are as a rule heavy, rich in fat and in marked contrast
with the light, mild, sweet flavored pork well streaked with lean, found
so generally in the English market and cured primarily in Ireland and
Denmark. What is wanted is a long, lean, smooth, bacon hog something after
the Irish hog. Here is a hint for our American farmers.

England can justly boast of her hams and bacon, but for sweet, tender,
lean pork the Normandy hogs probably have no superior in the world. They
are fed largely on meat-producing food, as milk, peas, barley, rye and
wheat bran. They are not fed on corn meal alone. They are slaughtered at
about six months. The bristles are burned off by laying the carcass on
straw and setting it on fire. Though the carcasses come out black, they
are scraped white and clean, and dressed perfectly while warm. It is
believed that hogs thus dressed keep better and that the meat is sweeter.

SELF-CLOSING DOOR FOR PIGPEN.

Neither winter snows nor the spring and summer rains should be allowed to
beat into a pigpen. But the difficulty is to have a door that will shut
itself and can be opened by the animals whenever they desire. The
engraving, Fig. 3, shows a door of this kind that can be applied to any
pen, at least any to which a door can be affixed at all. It is hung on
hooks and staples to the lintel of the doorway, and swinging either way
allows the inmates of the pen to go out or in, as they please,--closing
automatically. If the door is intended to fit closely, leather strips two
inches wide should be nailed around the frame