66 The Bulletin. 



bad or mixed colors. Another familiar example with the cattle dealers of 

 to-day is the objection raised immediately upon finding one or two horned 

 steers in the bunch. A few years ago the reverse was true; no dealer would 

 give you as much for a muley steer, as he was then called, and did not like 

 to take him at all. 



Just to give you an example of a poor selection of sire, I will cite a case 

 I observed in one of the counties of your good Old North State. It was a 

 herd of swine numbering over two hundred and owned by one of the leading 

 cotton growers of the State. 



There were ten brood sows — no two alike in any respect, color not ex- 

 cepted, as black, blue, red, white and black spotted, as well as some red 

 and white spotted. Let us look at the sire. He was of the nondescript 

 class — neither a bacon nor a lard hog, but a genuine razor-back with the char- 

 acteristic long nose, long legs, rainbow back and elephant ears, and if 

 slaughtered when fat, I do not believe his sides (middlings) would be as thick 

 as good sole-leather. Now, what do you think the pigs from such an animal 

 as that would be worth on a good market? What would you be willing 

 to pay for such pigs, and if you bought them what would you expect to do 

 with them? How much corn do you suppose would be necessary to fatten one 

 of these pigs? Well, I can give you the sizes, as I saw several six-months-old 

 pigs weighed by a butcher who had purchased them. 



Think of only 53 pounds! One weighed 61 pounds. It was not the lack 

 of feed, for they were well fed twice a day. 



This shows the influence the sire has on the herd. Had this gentleman 

 kept a good sire, having a good top line, a good belly line, a good deep body, 

 with plenty of length, and short legs, you would have seen an entirely different 

 lot of pigs and some in which a profit could be anticipated over and above 

 the expense of raising. 



Show me the head of a breeder's herd and I can tell you what kind of a 

 herd he keeps. 



IMPROVED FARM IMPLEMENTS. 



By THOMAS B. WILDER, of Franklin County. 



As the science of farming advances the necessity for improved farm ma- 

 chinery becomes more and more imperative. The fact is that the success of 

 the modern farm is largely indicated by the number of the farm implements 

 used on it. It has been relatively but a few years since one old Buckeye 

 mower was the only mowing machine used in the country, whereas now 

 there are hundreds of mowers. And yet the mere possession of farm ma- 

 chinery is not the only thing needed; but first get the machinery, then make 

 an intelligent study of its mechanical construction and then you are in a 

 position to get efficient service from it. 



Generally speaking, all farm machinery is shipped "knocked down" in order 

 to save freight charges, and is set up either at the station where received or 

 on the farm. Unless you are going to do the setting up it is a good plan 

 to see the machine put together. By this means you get a more comprehensive 

 idea of its construction than by any other plan. Of course, some people 

 have more of a knack with machinery than others ; but if you do not have this 

 knack remember these few suggestions : Be sure that all bolts are kept tight, 

 that all broken, missing or weakened parts are replaced, and that plenty of 

 oil is used. Another thing, when the machine is working properly do not 

 tinker with it. Many a bolt is stripped of its threads and the machine 

 damaged simply on account of the desire of some one to be eternally using 

 a monkey-wrench when the bolt is already tight. 



Perhaps a few words on the use and care of a mowing machine — used more 



