among his contemporaries. In fact, most of the top 

 notch swine breeders began in a small way. 



RETAIN THE WORTHY SOW 



A foundation herd ordinarily will be started with 

 young sows, and, whether they possess the most aristo- 

 cratic blood or are a "poor man's" pigs, those which 

 prove worthy should be retained as long as they are sat- 

 isfactory producers. Many will sell a young sow which 

 has produced less than the most prohtal)le litter of pigs at 

 her first farrowing without really having given her op- 

 portunity to show her capabilities; they will repeat this 

 practice, and cheat themselves in so doing. A sow's re- 

 productix'e ability should increase each year to her ma- 

 turity, and at that period she may have not only large 

 litters, but such as wnll prove superior in both growth 

 and quality. As a mother a sow is called upon to fur- 

 nish double power — for her own sustenance and for 

 giving a family of pigs a start in life. If she has not 

 reached an age where the demands of her own structural 

 growth are but moderate it follows that bone-making and 

 muscle-building foods which ought to go into pig manu- 

 facture must be diverted, at least in some measure, to 

 the sow. The constitution and size of her pigs will be 

 inferior, in consequence, to what they might otherwise 

 prove. This plan, if followed, must eventually give the 

 owner an unsatisfactory herd, and in time he becomes 

 convinced that the breed is wrong, and endeavors to re- 

 n-ain lost ground by changing breeds, or by cross-breed- 

 ine. Undesirable traits once established are difficult to 



