258 PROSPECTS OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



and bought his entire herd of thoroughbred Berkshire swine. A. 

 few pounds of potatoes have been sold for $500, and the seed of a 

 well-bred tomato for a much higher sum. In England the offspring 

 of a Yorkshire sow was sold for money enough to build a church, 

 and in this country a breeder of Essex pigs has done nearly as 

 well. The purchaser of a single pair of pure bred Essex swine 

 has sold pigs for over $10,000, and has a large herd left. And 

 there is a real, substantial basis to all this. A good, pure bred 

 boar, when put to common sows will get pigs that at five weeks 

 old are certainly well worth one dollar a head more than common 

 pigs; and such a boar as can be often purchased for $20 or $25 

 can directly increase this additional value to at least a thousand 

 pigs. The breeder who sells him for $20 gets pay for his skill and 

 labor, and the purchaser and his neighbors obtain even still fur- 

 ther profits. There are, therefore, prizes — grand prizes in agricul- 

 ture, and they are obtained, not at the loss of some one else, but 

 to the benefit of all concerned. 



