SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV. 133 



were learned at the lantern light discussions that took place in the old 

 dormitory or at the pen side after the day's business was closed and 

 none but the exhibitors remained. 



It was the State Fair that made plain the need of a uniform setting 

 forth of the proper proportions of an ideal hog. The scale of points as 

 given by the score card perfected and used by the National Association 

 of Expert Swine Judges was the outgrowth of this demand, and today 

 the decisions of all competitive shows are based upon its provisions. 

 Perhaps I should have said that they should be based upon them, as 

 occasionally a fair is judged' by a man whose knowledge is limited, and 

 whose decisions do not represent the true type. But the general trend 

 of the judging is in the right direction and may be depended upon as a 

 guide. If I may be pardoned from the digression from my subject, I 

 will say that the occasional inefficient or dishonest judge is a most aggra- 

 vating fellow, whose power to harm the industry is a matter for serious 

 consideration. Its misleading influence is far reaching and may be a 

 means of damage and disappointment to innocent men who depend upon 

 it. An instance of this came under my observation at the International 

 Live Stock Exposition at Chicago last week. In one class a prize was 

 awarded purely^ because of a personal opinion of a judge who absolutely 

 ignored breed characteristics, and failed to give consideration to the 

 objects of the show, or to comparisons that should have entered into the 

 cornpetition. As a result of that decision breeders who did not attend the 

 show will be misled in the idea as to what is the popular and profitable 

 type. In another class a decision was said to have been influenced by the 

 breed preferences of an official high in the management of the exposition. 

 I am glad to say that the Iowa State Fair has had very few instances of 

 this kind, and I believe this is one of the reasons why it has so justly 

 gained its enviable position as the greatest hog show on earth. 



The excellent standard established in the leading breeding herds has 

 only been reached after a long and troublesome siege at the State fairs, 

 and was only possible because of the lessons the owners learned there. 



I say to the young man who wishes to take up the work of swine 

 breeding, go to the State Fair, take along a few pigs, keep your eyes 

 and ears open, and do not hesitate to ask a question when there is a 

 chance to learn something by doing so. Learn to see every point. Learn to 

 compare hogs and to note what differences there are between them. Learn 

 to look at an animal of your own breeding just as critically as at that of 

 your competitor. There is no royal road to success, nor one that does 

 not call for hard work and close observation seven days in the week. I 

 am inclined to think that the young man who begins now, without 

 experience, has a much more difficult work ahead of him than did the 

 beginner of forty years ago. Of course he today has the advantage of 

 being able to start with stock having quality as good as the breed 

 affords. But he must be a most excellent judge of the individual merit 

 of the animal, and after that the matter of proper strains and correct 

 matings follow with a bearing on his future success that demands the 

 exercise of more wisdom than he has probably ev«r thought of in con- 

 nection with the business. He must know that success depends upon 



