SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI. 211 



A young man with little money can make more money than a man 

 with a good deal who will pay large prices, because he will not pay over 

 $15 or $20 or $25, and if the cholera strikes them he doesn't lose so 

 much. But if he pays $100 or $150 he is gone. He can soon sell out the 

 pigs for $15, $20 and $25, and there is money in it. They don't buy pigs 

 as early as they used to. They wait for the fairs and fall sales. In a 

 way it is a good plan and in another it is not. They don't take the 

 chances of cholera. They pay more money, but the pig is more developed 

 and you can seew hat is is going to be. 



I never found a hired man that was all right to take care of hogs. 

 In the first place, may be I have not hired good ones, and in the next 

 place they don't take the interest in it that I do. It is hard to get your 

 own boys to take the interest in it that you do. A person pretty nearly 

 has to have an interest and watch the crop if he is going to take much 

 interest and see if everything is right all the time. If you don't like to 

 work then you have no business to try to raise fine hogs. A lazy man 

 can't raise fine hogs. They have to be watched closely to see that every- 

 thing is gotten that they need. There is quite a differnce in the feeding 

 qualities and growthlness, and you must be watchful about it. Some 

 sows feed heavily and suckle their pigs to death. You have to watch 

 closely and net feed heavy, and keep their beds dry. A sow that doesn't 

 suckle well and has a big litter must be fed more. 



I have had lots of experience with pigs in little houses and big houses 

 and with stoves. Now I use no stoves and no big houses. I did not 

 find any advantage in farrowing houses. They always get too cold. It is 

 hard to keep artificial heat even. Where you keep five or six sows and 

 litters together it is hard to keep them all warm and not get them 

 stirred up. One in a place is a good deal better than the other way. 

 With a small house covered with straw, except a door on the south 

 side, with wings on each side of it so that when the door is open 

 the breeze can not get in, you will have better luck and the heat of the 

 sow will be warmth enough in the house. They will get plenty of air 

 and sunshine from the door. With houses like this I have had sows 

 farrow seven and eight pigs in the cold weather and be all right. They 

 are cheaper than the big houses. A nice house will cost about $7 or $8 

 now. 



In 1895 we had our first expert judge, Coburn, of Kansas. He had 

 them all get their hogs out in front of the pens. He walked right around 

 through and out (some said he went on a trot), and that was all there 

 was to it. Every class was the same way. They called that judging 

 horseback. It was not at all satisfactory. The next judge after that 

 took quite a bit of time. He scored them all, and it took three days to 

 score them. The scoring gave better satisfaction, but it took too long. 

 We wanted every pig scored just to see what he scored, no difference if 

 it took the man a week. We kept that up for two or three years and 

 then did away with the score card and did more like we do now. Judges 

 have been of varying merit, but most of them have expressed honest opin- 

 ions. A single instance in which a judge of unquestioned ability placed 

 ribbons in particular classes without reference to the quality of the hog, 



