CHAPTER VII. 



The Sow: Selection and Management 



The breeder's judgment may possibly yield him great- 

 est profit through his judicious selection of a boar, but 

 skill in handling and management may be demon- 

 strated to a greater extent with the brood sow. His 

 intelligence — not to say genius — is tested not merely in 

 selection and mating, but e\-en more in feeding and care 

 during pregnancy and at and after farrowing. In all 

 this the sow is not alone the object of concern; the life 

 and development of the pigs, and the returns in conse- 

 quence, good or bad, are largely dependent on the breed- 

 er's skill in selecting the sow and in her proper treat- 

 ment throughout her career, and especially from mating 

 to the time of weaning her pigs. 



In managing the brood sow a breeder is dealing with 

 nature, and so far as he possesses knowledge and ability 

 his methods should be in compliance with nature's laws. 

 It does not follow that his work must be crude or conflict 

 with science, for, on the contrar_y, it is his business to 

 apply the laws of nature under the most favorable condi- 

 tions he is able to command. Neither is it necessarily to 

 be inferred that elaborate shelter or other expensive 

 equipment and thousand-dollar stock are essential. A 

 breeder may begin his enterprise in a very modest way. 

 and yet by good management achieve a foremost place 



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