THE SOW : SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT I I 5 



importance to justify repetition. Pigs from large, old 

 sows will be more in number and frequently double the 

 size at a month old of those from the young sows, and 

 with equal care they will usually be much the heavier 

 when nine or twelve months old. 



The Wisconsin station has made interesting tests to 

 prove relative sizes and weights in litters from young 

 and old sows, with astonishing results. In these tests 

 sows weighing an average of 482 pounds at farrowing 

 time produced an average of 9.2 pigs per litter, with a 

 weight per litter of 2^ pounds. From sows weighing 

 307 pounds tlie average numl)er in the litter was 6.7 

 pigs, and the weight of the litter was 16 pounds. Where 

 the average weight per sow was 238 pounds the average 

 number in a litter was 5.5 pigs and the average weight 

 of a litter 14 pounds. Sows between the ages of four 

 and live years averaged nine pigs to a litter and a weight 

 per litter of 26 pounds; sows between two and three 

 years old had an average litter of 7.5 pigs, and a litter 

 a\eraged 19.7 pounds in weight, and sows a year old 

 produced litters of 7.8 pigs, witli an average weight of 

 14.2 pounds per litter. The station report on the tests 

 says : "It is A-ery evident that the older and larger 

 sows are much better motliers than the younger and 

 smaller ones, and that the common practice of many 

 farmers in disposing of their old brood sows each year 

 and reser^•ing young and immature animals for breed- 

 ing purposes is not to be commended. Our farrowing 

 records for several years, where each litter was weighed 

 at birth, as well as the practices of leading breeders, bear 



