446 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



justly pride ourselves on Iowa as a state, as an agricultural state, and 

 especially as a swine producing state. 



The subject assigned to me by your worthy secretary for presentation 

 at this time is one in which I am deeply interested. No man can be suc- 

 cessful as a swine breeder who is not a critical student of animal form. 

 More than 100 years ago Robert Bakewell, one of the greatest live stock 

 improvers the world ever saw. said that it was easier to find twelve men 

 for cabinet positions than one good judge of live stock. "We are a pro- 

 gressive people and have made great strides along many lines, but if Bake- 

 well were to return at the present day he would not find things very much 

 different from what they were in his day. Has it ever occurred to you that 

 the ability to judge live stock correctly and well is of a rarer degree if not 

 of a higher order than that which interprets the laws of the nation? The 

 men who pass judgment on the stock which goes to our large markets, men 

 who are required to know one thing only, command higher salaries than 

 the judges at the bar of justice in the highest courts of our land. This ts 

 due to the fact that there are one hundred men qualified to preside 

 at the bar of justice for one that is qualified to be head buyer 

 for Swift & Company or Armour & Co. 



A famous artist was once asked what was the first essential to suc- 

 cess in his work. He replied, "To see right." Just so in the judging of live 

 stock. The man who does not see right can never be a good judge. In 

 the judging of stock observation and judgment are the factors which de- 

 termine whether or not the man is successful. The man must be a close 

 observer in order that he may detect at a glance the desirable and the 

 undesirable points in an animal. He must always see the animal as it is. 

 Too many would-be good judges see things that are not there and fail 

 to see things that are before them. Good judgment is indispensable, as in 

 exposition judging the decisions are nearly always made by the balancing 

 of points. Seldom it is that any animal excels all the others in every re- 

 spect. Right here is where skill is required. Most men can pick a good hog 

 over a poor one, but it takes a critical judge to select the winner in good 

 company. 



Much has been said in favor of and against the score card. Some 

 men condemn the score card and claim that is has no place. Others 

 idolize the score card to such an extent that it is always to be found in 

 their hand or inside coat pocket. I am firmly convinced that the score 

 has done a great deal for the improvement of our domestic animals. Per- 

 haps no other factor has been so instrumental in the perfecting of our 

 swine. That is has a place no man can very well dispute, but like all 

 other good things, it should be kept in its proper sphere, else it .will be 

 looked upon with disfavor. 



The score card is supposed to describe the ideal animal, thus every 

 man should have the score card definitely fixed in his eye, not in his 

 hand or his coat pocket. It teaches the man to analyze and look for the 

 little things which are so essential to success. It emphasizes the fact that 

 some parts are more valuable than others, as indicated by the higher score 

 given for the same. The score card, however, as an educator, is simply a 



