314 I0W4 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



what he is worth. By the record of his ancestry you may have 

 some idea of what he will do but }cgri do not actually know until 

 he is tried. In every breed of animals there is a certain limit 

 of perfection and when they get beyond that they go backwards 

 and this is sometimes the case with good hogs. You can raise 

 them just so far and get them to a state of perfection and then 

 they go to pieces." 



Someone asked the question as to whether you could 

 use any hog if it was properly fed and cared for. In 

 reply Mr. Browning said: "I would rather trust a rather bad 

 looking individual, not a scrub, but still if he had a fairly good 

 appearance I would go more on his pedigree than on his individ- 

 ual appearance because you can go into any stock yard and pick 

 out good hogs far beyc.id the average show hog in appearance 

 but no good as breeders. I would much rather trust a hog 

 with good ancestry than to go on individual appearance." 



Mr. Russell asked how long before show time an aged hog 

 should shed and Mr. Roberts replied : "I would like to have them 

 shed just long enough before the show to get the hair just the 

 right length. I could not tell exactly how long. There is no trouble 

 with yearlings but you have to watch it on aged hogs. You 

 can not take an aged hog ordinarily and fit him for the show 

 ring in a short time. You must watch him for a year. If 

 his hide is hard you must soften it and keep it soft, and there is 

 no way to do it but to have them kept quiet. The quieter you 

 can keep them the better. Keep him away off and if you ever 

 want to use him take him back as soon as you are through with 

 him. When we were in the show ring we were after them all the 

 time. When we went home irnm the fair we began watching for 

 the next fair. You cannot put a show herd in a yard and feed 

 them all out of the same trough. One sow will be ready soon and 

 after she gets to the top just that minute sh gos down. Another 

 will not be ready so soon, so you have to watch them and have 

 them all at their best just as near the day of the show as possible. 

 Some feed too fast and some not fast enough. With yearlings 

 or fall stufY they need no corn until the last four weeks of feed- 



