THE BOAR ; SELECTION AND ^MANAGEMENT lOI 



services the boar is always on edge. We very seldom 

 have to breed him to the same sow a second time." 



AGE FOR RETIREMENT 



As long- as the boar shows vigor and his get are satis- 

 factory he may be profitably kept in the herd. When 

 that time has passed he should be castrated, pastured 

 through the sitmmer and fattened in the fall. Such an 

 animal is known to the trade as a "stag," and usually 

 sells at a price much lower than a barrow of the same 

 weight and apparent quality. If castrated early in the 

 season and kept on grass during the summer the fiesh, 

 when he is made fat, will be far less rank than it would 

 be otherwise. Kept with other hogs, if quarrelsome, 

 there is danger that a stag may do them injury with his 

 tusks, if he has them, hence it is desirable to fatten such 

 a hog by himself. It is at this period that the old boar's 

 true proportions will show themselves, as he will take on 

 fat very rapidly and generally present a greatly improved 

 appearance. When slaughtered, the strong taste that 

 might otherwise appear in his meat may be avoided, it is 

 said, by removing the sheath at once after killing and 

 without waiting for dressing. In case the animal slaugli- 

 tered is a boar the testicles should also be immediately 

 removed. 



REMOA^ING THE TUSKS 



A reader of the Homestead gives a practical method 

 of removing tusks from a boar, reported in that paper as 

 follows : "He prefers tying up by the upper jaw and put- 

 ting a slipknot back of the upper tusks. The hog will pull 



