280 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



possessing tlic good foediiig qualities of the Englisli breeds, docility and early 

 niaturity, it is largo and fine, strong in bone, and more quiet and of better dis- 

 })osition than the Berkshire — quite an item in the corn-crib account. It is 

 inoro hardy, requiring less persistent care than the more delicate little Suffolk 

 and Essex, and when fattened none excelled its admirable shipping qualities, 

 which make it a favorite with the packer. 



The question of breeds aside, no individual hog can be most profitable un- 

 less it has (1) a strong constitution, (2) well developed digestive powers, (3) 

 strength of bone. If we have such stock we want to keep it; if we haven't, 

 we want to produce it right away. Il is well known that radical clianges iu 

 the general a))pearance of animals of any breed may be made in a few years, 

 by making selection with reference to some definite purpose. This method was 

 formerly in much more common use than now in this country, with Berk- 

 shires; the liking of one )nan or county of men leading them to select for 

 size. The Poland China having been originated in this country, all the ani- 

 mals of whatever fancy in breeding are to be found, hence different parts of 

 the country have developed differences in color, size, etc., more marked than 

 we would expect from animals of a single imported stock. The leading breed- 

 ers are united in regard to the points of the Poland China, but the inferior 

 specimens are as earnestly advocated by their owners as in case of the genuine 

 Poland China. This circumstance, which is no objection against the breed, 

 has created a necesity for a record or pedigree book, so that any one may know 

 just how and in what lines and families the different stocks have been bred. 

 Mr. L. N. Bonham, of Ohio, is secretary of one record published in Ohio, the 

 second volume of which, now in press, contains the best Poland China history 

 ever printed. '' The American Poland China Eecord" is published at Cedar 

 Kapids, Iowa. The Berkshire breeders have a record of which three volumes 

 are already out; Phil. M. Springer, of Springfield, 111., is their Secretary. 

 The small Yorkshire breeders have been moving in reference to a record. 



THE CAEE AND FEED OF STOCK. 



What I say here will be in the line of caution, and my first caution is this: 

 corn, our great pork feed, is mainly a fat forming food, and hence should not 

 be fed exclusively; in particular it should not be the sole feed of pigs in which 

 you are trying to secure growth. If fed to pigs it should be steamed or soaked 

 for 24 hours. A very popular food with us for young stock is mill feed. It 

 contains more of the elements necessary for the building up of bone and 

 muscle than does corn. It is well known that the only food that combines all 

 the elements necessary for healthy growth in the young is milk. With this in 

 mind, we have found a fair substitute for milk by scalding equal parts, by 

 measure, of mill feed and a mixture of ground corn and oats, equal parts also. 

 It is a good, healthy food. Messrs. Laws and Gilbert, of England, who have 

 made the most famous and careful experiments in feeeding pigs on record, 

 said, when speaking of one of their experiments: ''It was obvious that the 

 Indian corn meal, alone, was in some way a defective diet; and it occurred to 

 us that it was comparatively poor, both in nitrogen and in mineral matter, 

 though we were inclined to suspect that it was a deficiency in the latter. We 

 were, at any rate, unwilling so far to disturb the plan of the experiment as to 

 increase the supply of the nitrogenous constituents in the food, and accord- 

 ingly determined to continue the food, but at least to try the effect of putting 

 vritbin reach of the pigs a trough of some mineral substance, of which they 



