lo April 191^] The Pig Indusiry. 



]5acon Type of Sow. 

 The head, neck, shoulder and bone should be liner than in the boar, 

 ^Tud except for these points the description of the boar will apply to the 

 sow. Extremes should be avoided. A long, scrawny neck, narrow chest, 

 iind long coarse legs indicate a slow feeder and an undesirable quality of 

 bacon. The carcase of such an animal contains too much bone, is deficient 

 in muscle, or lean meat. The thick short type is also undesirable, the best 

 bacon type being between the two extremes. Weak bones which tend to 

 break down at the pasterns should not be tolerated. The bone should be 

 ■clean and strong, not coarse, there should be enough of it to insure a 

 good sized animal. An overgown or clumsy sow should not be used, and 

 a savage animal should be got rid of, for often it is necessary to be in 

 the sty with her for various purposes, and if she is bad tempered there 

 is risk of loss of young, and she will not milk so well. 



Management of the Sow. 

 Having chosen the young sow^, she must be well reared to develop her 

 into the best frame possible. Many people breed the young sow at six 

 months old, but this is not advisable, as it is more than likely that her 

 growth will be checked to such an extent as to materially lessen her value 

 as a brood sow. If she is put to the boar at eight or ten months old the 

 result will be more satisfactory. If the first service is not successful, she 

 will return in three weeks. The period of gestation is sixteen weeks. 

 The variation being comparatively slight. Old or weakly sows frequently 

 ])ig a few days before, but those in fair condition usually pig on the 112th 

 day. A strong and vigorous sow may go a day or two over. She mav run out 

 in a grass, clover or lucerne paddock until w-ithin a few days of farrow-ing, 

 when she may be put in a sty. The sows are more healthy running in a 

 paddock than kept in a sty, getting plenty of exercise and green food, and 

 it is the cheapest way of working them. Care must be taken that the sow 

 Jias plenty of food to enable her to keep up her own condition, and at 

 the same time to develop her young. In the paddock she must be pro- 

 vided with shade, shelter, and water, especially shade and water in the 

 summer. The approaching parturition is generally preceded by enlargement 

 of the vulva, the distension of the udder, and the giving way of the 

 muscles on either side of the tail. As soon as the udder becomes smooth 

 and heated, and milk can be drawn from the teats by the pressure of the 

 thum and forefinger, the arrival of the pigs may be confidently looked for 

 within the next twelve hours, unless it be a first litter, when the rule will 

 not hold good. 



A few days before she is due to farrow she may be put into a roomy 

 sty, 10 feet square, with a yard for exercise, will be sufficiently large, 

 with a guard rail all round 9 inches from the floor and 9 inches from the 

 wall, and provided with a limited quantity of short litter. An hour or 

 two before farrowing she will begin to prepare her nest, and she should 

 then be continually watched to prevent overlaying any of the little ones 

 • — which may be taken away as they appear, first being rubbed with .a 

 cloth, put to the teat to get a taste of the milk, and then placed in a box 

 in which some dry straw has been laid. If the weather is cold, cover the 

 box with a bag. If any of the pigs get a chill and turn cold, limp and 

 damp, a teaspoonful of spirit will help to revive them, and a suck at the 

 teat will complete the cure. The little pig will often give a peculiar 



