96 SWINE IN AMERICA 



service should be a satisfactory one, for the sow may be 

 a shy breeder. Service is generally considered prefer- 

 able on the second day the sow is in heat. 



THRIFT AND FEED 



The boar's condition should always be that of thrift 

 and vigorous health, not too fat, nor yet so lean that as 

 a barrow he would be considered unfit for pork. If too 

 fat he will be clumsy, slow, and in no wise sure. Discre- 

 tion must be used in the feeding of the boar, for careless- 

 ness in this respect may disqualify him for the season or 

 even make him permanently impotent. It is possible to 

 so poorly feed a boar that his progeny will be exactly the 

 kind his owner does not want. His feed should be 

 nourishing and cooling, and if corn is given it should 

 be tempered with feeds which are somewhat laxative, and 

 be used in moderation, \\hen service is severe his exer- 

 cise may be greatly lessened, and his proper feeding is the 

 means of balancing this inequality. 



Regarding feed for a young boar, N. H. Gentry says : 

 "Corn, oats and wheat ground fine and mixed in a thick 

 slop, with clover pasture, make a splendid ration. Oil 

 meal tends, I think, to make a hog too soft. It would be 

 difficult to surpass the ration of soaked shelled corn 

 (shelled corn soaked in pure water thirty-six to seventy- 

 two hours) and milk, together with clover pasture. I am 

 a firm believer in the simple, natural foods. W. A. 

 Harris used to say that he bred Shorthorns that thrived 

 on the natural foods of the farm. I would not give 

 much for a hog that would not do the same." 



