BBEEDING OF SWINE. 117 



should like to know if the experience of other gentlemen has 

 been similar to my own. 



Mr. Perkins. I wish to inquire of Mr. Thompson in relation 

 to the number of the litter in the case of swine. 



Mr. Thompson. I never have thought anything about that ; 

 but I know that one young boar that I carried over from North- 

 ampton last year was coupled with a sow, very large and old, 

 when she first came in heat, and there was no impregnation ; 

 she did not conceive. The next time we waited eight and forty 

 hours before copulation, and she had sixteen pigs. 



Mr. Slade. It has always been a very desirable point with 

 us to produce male pigs. In our part of the country a great 

 many pigs are raised to sell to the Irish, and they have quite an 

 aversion to buying a sow pig. It was stated, some two or three 

 years ago, I don't now remember where, that in order to produce 

 a preponderance of male offspring, the mother should remain in 

 heat some time before she was covered by the male. Three 

 years ago last spring I had a very likely sow that was in heat, 

 and I let her remain thirty-six hours before taking her to the 

 boar. The result was, she had seventeen pigs. Eleven of them 

 were males and the others females. Four of the latter died, 

 leaving eleven male and two female pigs. At the next litter she 

 remained about the same length of time in heat before taking 

 the boar, and had nine male and two female pigs, all of which 

 lived. I was making this statement to a friend of mine, and he 

 said he had always observed the same thing from boyhood. He 

 was always told by his father that if he wanted to raise bull 

 calves, he should keep the bull from the cow as long as possible. 



Mr. Dodge. I will state that I have had a little experience 

 in one direction in regard to cows. For a period of twelve 

 years I kept, on an average, fifteen cows, and invariably kept a 

 bull to run with them. I never had a farrow cow. If I wanted 

 one to fatten I had to buy it. I don't know that there was any 

 difference between the number of bull calves and heifer calves ; 

 but I am inclined to think, on looking back, that there were 

 more bull calves than heifer calves. I never observed such a 

 marked difference as has been stated here. 



Dr. Loring. I think the question Mr. Thompson has asked 

 is a very difficult one to answer. I don't think we have facts 

 enough to indicate at what time in the course of the heat we 



