38 



bear in mind that a boar which is not good enough to command a fair price is 

 seldom good enough to put at the head of a pure-bred herd. The importance of 

 the herd will determine the price which the owner can afford to pay for a boar, 

 but a few extra dollars on the price of a boar is a small matter when it is the means 

 of securing something that the breeder really needs. The mere size of the price, 

 however, is not a safe criterion of the merit of the hoar, but it rests with the man 

 who makes the selection to see that he gets value for his money. It is right here 

 that a wide experience and a seasoned judgment count for so much in stock 

 breeding. Sometimes aged boars, which have proved their excellence as stock 

 getters, are to be had at a very reasonahle price, and if they are still active they 

 are much safer to buy than young, untried boars. There is much unreasonable 

 prejudice against aged boars, and many an excellent aged hoar is sent to the 

 butcher long before his usefulness is past merely because no person would buy him 

 for breeding purposes; and young boars, many of which should have gone to the 

 butcher before being used at all, are taken in preference. These things are matters 

 of judgment, and to select wisely the breeder must know what he requires. 



Fig. 6. — Large Yorkshire boar; an English Royal Show winner. 



When huying a young boar, it will be found safer to buy one from eight to 

 twelve months old than a pig two or three months old. The reason for this recom- 

 mendation is plain, it being impossible to foretell just how the very young pig is 

 going to develop. Highly-fitted show boars had better be avoided. It is more 

 satisfactory to select by personal inspection than to buy through correspondence. 

 A visit to the herd which produced the hoar enables one to judge the general 

 quality of the hogs produced in the herd, and one can pick up information regarding 

 the sire and dam that could not otherwise be obtained. 



If the boar is shipped some distance and arrives excited and tired, he should 

 be fed very lightly at first, and not used for several weeks after his arrival. 



The desirable conformation of the boar will depend upon whether he belongs 

 to the fat type or the bacon type, and will also be influenced, more or less, by the 

 breed to which he belongs. The general type of the fat hog and the bacon hog is 

 discussed in another place, but it may he said that we expect a boar to be stronger 

 in the head and to possess a more muscular neck, more massive shoulders, and 

 heavier bone, than a sow or barrow. He should conform to the best type of the 



