We wash them and brush them with a stiff brush, and they think
it great fun."
"Do they eat anything but scraps from the kitchen?" was Robert's next
question.
"Of course," said James. "They have milk, beets, potatoes, a little
grain, with plenty of hay, and green or dry clover. I don't give them
much corn because it makes them too fat. In those small troughs I keep a
mixture of clay, salt, ashes, and charcoal so that the pigs can reach it
easily. In winter I always warm their food for them and take great pains
to keep their bedding warm and dry. I am not allowed to give them any
food which isn't sweet and fresh. If I were careless about it I should
lose my place directly. Mr. Spencer made me understand that when I came.
He said that a dirty pig-pen was a disgrace to a farmer and a danger to
the neighborhood."
"These pigs look as if they knew you," said Robert. "Do you think they
do?"
"I know they do," said James. "They are as bright as any of the other
animals I take care of. Don't you know the old Welsh saying, 'Happy is
the man who is as wise as a pig'? When they are stupid it is because
they have been ill-treated. If we lived in a dark, damp hole under a
barn we might look a little dull, sometimes. Don't you think so,
Robert?"
A MORNING'S DRIVE.
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