412 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



direct way my experience has convinced me that it pays handsomely as 

 an advertisement. In fact there is nothiDg that a breeder can do that 

 will push him forward as much as to raise a sweepstakes state fair win- 

 ner. 



On the other hand if a breeder is a careless sort of fellow and is hav- 

 ing his hogs looked after by a disinterested feeder I would not advise* 

 such a breeder to undertake to show at even a county fair, much less a 

 state fair. The pure-bred swine business is very much like any other 

 The person who gives it his very best attention 365 days in the yeai 

 and advertises only what he really has, and then when his orders arrive 

 delivers hogs that are exactly as he represents them to be will make a 

 pronounced success and can well afford to fit some of his best specimens 

 for exhibition. 



Davis Bros.: What pay there is in showing swine at the fall fairs 

 comes in the way of making sales. If an exhibitor is quite successful in 

 winning premiums he will generally pay his expenses, but to show for 

 premiums and not have stock for sale we would consider a poor invest 

 ment. 



H M. Sisson: Whether it will pay a beginner in the breeding of reg- 

 istered swine to go into the show business at the fall fairs will depend 

 on the intelligence, energy and honesty of the beginner. He should be 

 well informed as to pedigrees, should be intelligent, energetic and hon- 

 est, and able to tell what a first class hog or pig is. The pedigree, size, 

 form and color are essential if he expects success as an exhibitor. If 

 the beginner has the above qualifications I see no reason why he shou'd 

 not be reasonably successful as an exhibitor and this will prove very 

 beneficial to him as an advertisement if he is to be a permanent breeder. 



L. N. Bonham: The show business depends so largely on the man 

 that one cannot affirm that it will pay the inquirer to enter the contest. 

 There are many who can succeed well as breeders and feeders of pure- 

 bred swine who have little or none of the showman's talent. This is 

 illustrated in two of the most noted of the pioneer breeders of Poland- 

 China swine, viz., John Harkrader and D. M. Magee. The latter once told 

 me that when he started on his Oxford Farm he would have paid anv 

 reasonable sum if he could have mated and fed hogs as successfully as 

 John Harkrader. But Magee believed he could show hogs as well as any 

 man, and Harkrader recognized this ability, and to encourage the dis- 

 semination of good blood he often lent Magee some of his best stock tc 

 be shown during the fair season and returned after the exhibitions, they 

 dividing the premiums won. One liked to show, the other disliked it. 



It is safe to say that unless one has talent as a showman and a lik- 

 ing for the business he will do as well financially to devote his energies 

 to careful breeding and feeding. If he succeeds in producing high class 

 stock he will find purchasers ready to pay a good price for it. With the 

 modern sales ring and splendid facilities for advertising both by the 



