SC - Pigs-Lard production/usage

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/3/00 2:39:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
jenne at mail.browser.net writes:

<< My reading led me to believe that many pigs in period would have been
 free-range scavengers, not generally tended by people who fed them but
 allowed to range around the woods and eat what they could find. Obviously
 those pigs who were kept outside of towns wouldn't have much chance for
 kitchen scraps! >>

Our pigs were  what I consider free range. they were confined to a field that 
had both open and wooded areas. We still fed them  or 'slopped the hogs' 
(slop dates from the 15th century) with 'pig swill' which was  excess milk 
that had been allowed to soiur. A bucket or so of this was dumped in the  pig 
trough by the  fence at the corner of the pig lot every day. The pigs pretty 
much got used to the feeding schedule  and showed up on time. I would venture 
the opinion that  free range period pigs were  not  roaming about the coutry 
side at will but rather confined in larger areas that included oak trees as 
well as  meadow and that they were  most likely fed  on a regular basis with 
slop and/or swill. Often times we think that everything we have  or do in the 
modern world is somehow changed or different from the middle ages. While this 
is true of  many things, it is ludicrous , imo, to  see such basic  
agricultural and animal husbandry practices changing all that drastically 
over the years. Indeed, there is absolutely no reason to think so. What 
changes have occured have been  mostly technological or commercial farming 
oriented and have occured well within my life time.

Ras