THE SOW : SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 1 47 



SOWS about 24 months old averaged nine and six-tenths 

 jjigs per Htter, and aged sows averaged ten and six- 

 tenths per htter. Pigs from the younger sows weighed 

 on an average 2.39 pounds per pig; from the two-year- 

 old sows 2.6;^, and from the aged sows 2.61 pounds. 

 When about six weeks old the pigs from the young sows 

 made an axerage daily gain of .32 pounds, while the pigs 

 from the two-year-old sows gained .40 pounds. No data 

 is given on the gain of the pigs from the aged sows. 



Stated in another way it was found that the two-year- 

 old sows farrowed 24 per cent more pigs than the young 

 sows, while the old sows farrowed 30 per cent more. The 

 weight of the pigs from the two-year-old sows was nine 

 per cent larger than that of the young sows, while the 

 ])igs from the old sows were 12 per cent larger than from 

 the young sows. The pigs from the two-year-old sows 

 made a more rapid gain than those from the young sows, 

 amounting to 26 per cent. In each instance the older 

 sows farrowed more pigs per litter, heavier pigs at birth, 

 and their pigs made the most rapid growth after birth. 



A BREEDING CRATE 



AVhere large heavy boars are to be bred to small sows 

 or small or short-legged boars to large sows what is 

 known as a breeding crate is extremely useful and al- 

 most a necessity for insuring a successful service. This 

 crate is a simple affair. The accompanying illustration 

 shows how it looks. It is a stout frame made of, say, 

 2x4-inch scantlings, closed in front and open behind, 

 with a bar adjusted to slip behind the sow above the 

 hecks, and a 2x4-inch strip attached to the forward end 



