H6 SWINE IN AMERICA 



out the Statement that sows from three to five and even 

 six years of age are much more profitable and satisfac- 

 tory as breeders than sows one and two years old." 



The profitable period for retaining a good brood sow 

 in the herd will depend almost entirely upon the sow 

 herself. She deserves her place as long as she can hold 

 it. It will not profit the breeder to allot her for fattening 

 so long as she evinces a motherly, kindly disposition and 

 show^s ability to produce and suckle generously litters 

 of six or more healthy pigs. Some will be valuable 

 after five years of maternity, while others will become 

 clumsy and careless or vicious before that time. The 

 experienced breeder holds fast to his best and tried ani- 

 mals, and it is through them that he makes and maintains 

 the reputation of his herd and himself. 



CONDITION AT BREEDING 



Usually, when not with pig or suckling, a sow will be 

 in heat about three days out of 21, or once in three weeks. 

 When she is to be bred she should be free from fever, 

 and her system cooled and cleansed by a variety of non- 

 heat-producing foods and loosening slops. A healthy 

 sow is the better able to produce a healthy litter. From 

 the time she is chosen as a breeder methods of feeding 

 can be made to have a large influence in attaining 

 desired results. During the growing period and in preg- 

 nancy her needs are for nitrogenous or protein-furnish- 

 ing rations, such as barley, oats, bran, and the leguminous 

 feeds — clover, alfalfa, beans and peas. Field roots, 

 such as sugar-beets, rutabagas, mangels and artichokes, 



