8o SWINE IN AMERICA 



and principal requisites is that he shall be well bred ; not 

 simply good individually, but a descendant of meritorious 

 parents on the side of both sire and dam, in which pos- 

 session of the most valuable qualities is known to be 

 inherent. It is important to know well his ancestry, be- 

 cause his power of transmission and desirable l)reeding 

 qualities cannot otherwise be prejudged with any degree 

 of accuracy. The standard of quality maintained by his 

 immediate ancestry is the safest suggestion of what he 

 himself will do. If their ancestors, too, have clean rec- 

 ords in this respect, and their descendants have ecpialed or 

 improved upon them, that much is in favor of estimating 

 the boar as a probably good sire. If. on the other hand, 

 they have produced litters of varying and unprofitable 

 types, mixed lots of pigs, without uniformity, unsatis- 

 factory alike in appearance, in growth and in profit, it is 

 indeed wisdom to avoid selecting a boar likely to trans- 

 mit family tendencies of that kind. 



The pedigree is simply a certificate of ancestry, and 

 unless it shows good ancestry is of no more practical 

 value than that much waste paper. It should back up the 

 animal, but if the animal fails to back up the pedigree as 

 well there is probably something wrong in one or the 

 other, and "hands off"' would be good advice. 



THE MATTER OF CHOICE 



The average farmer cannot afford an extremely high- 

 priced boar, and, while the l)oar that will bring $5,000 

 may, in the right place, pay a profit on the investment, 

 the ordinary breeder is compelled to do the best he can 



