loS SWINE IN AMERICA 



eradicate, and it is far better to avoid them in the begin 

 ning. For that reason it is sane procedure to retain the 

 tried and true sow until she shows herself too clumsy 

 and lubberly to make a good mother, or for some other 

 decided reason should yield her place to a better animal. 



Progress in swine improvement, especially in the corn 

 belt of the United States, has made it easy for the man 

 of small means to buy good sows, even if he feels that 

 he cannot afford pure-bred stock. Good blood is far 

 more widely distributed than formerly, and the buyer 

 can much more readily procure a high class of founda- 

 tion stock than was the case some decades earlier. Where 

 possible it is preferable to start with pure-breds, but 

 when this is not feasible the purchaser should be alert 

 to secure sows of such high quality as he may, guarding 

 against defects in their offspring by the use of none but 

 high class pure-bred boars. 



SELECTION 



Even though it may iuA'olve some inconvenience, it 

 is by far the best plan to make a personal selection, and 

 to do this at the farm of their owner. There they may 

 be seen in their everyday life and form; opportunity 

 is afforded to study their family characteristics and 

 details of their feeding and management, which often 

 may be wisely continued by the new owner. If the sows 

 are purchased from a man who has a reputation for fair 

 dealing- and for maintaining a high standard of excel- 

 lence among his stock, the beginner in swine husbandry 

 should be able to gather from his experience much that 



