30 FOETY YEARS' EXPERIENCE OP A PRACTICAL HOG MAN 



a reasonably full jowl but not heavy and hanging especially not 

 flabby. This should connect with the shoulders smoothly ; the crest 

 should be reasonably short without crease or deep wrinkle laying 

 both on top and sides smoothly to the shoulders. Shoulders should 

 be well filled but not too broad on top to give flat appearance, but 

 should be round and smooth without crease back of them at the 

 heart girth. It is better always to select a sow that is strong in the 

 back, somewhat arched, so that even when carrying a heavy litter 

 her back would show no sign of sagging. From the loin coupling, 

 to what is known as the tail head, or where the tail sets, should 

 not be too steep or drooping, giving the top line a bad appearance, 

 but should on the other hand, be well up or nearly on a line with 

 the loin at least but slightly drooping. 



It is common with some farmers and even with breeders who 

 have had years of experience, to select a brood sow that is too short 

 and thick throughout; such an animal is not apt to be as good a 

 producer as one with more length, more depth and mellowness in 

 her general make-up. One should look well to the bone, pasterns 

 and feet. It is not necessary that the bone should be extremely 

 large in diameter, like that of a Clydesdale or Shire horse, for often 

 an extremely large bone in a hog does not have as much firmness 

 and strength as a bone that is not so large. The pasterns should 

 be as short and upright as possible. This is surely one of the im- 

 portant things that we should look after in all of our present-day 

 breeds. If the pastern is short and the bone of good quality there 

 will never be any trouble with broken-down feet. 



When it comes to the foot proper, the toes should be short and 

 not too sprawling, or in other words they should set rather close 

 together. The legs should be straight from a side view of the 

 animal, as well as from an end or front view. Often one finds a 

 hog with a front leg as crooked as a "fist" dog, with the knees close 

 together and feet wide apart, giving a very bad appearance to the 

 animal. Regarding the hind legs, they should be as straight and 

 upright as those of the Shorthorn, rather than being what is known 

 as "sickle hocked" and should stand square under the body. 



The Coat of Hair. The coat of hair should be ample, yet 

 not curly or coarse, and the smoother it lays on the body the bet- 

 ter; all appearance of what is known as "swirls" should be avoided, 

 especially if the animals are intended for breeding purposes, and 

 the boar should not be considered if he has a "swirl." For the 

 benefit of the beginner, I will explain that a * ' swirl ' ' is what would 

 be called in the human race, a cowlick. In some hogs these are quite 

 small and hardly noticeable, while in others they appear as large as 

 a saucer and are generally located near the loin and some times near 

 the tail head. 



A Crank on Markings. In selecting brood sows of any breed, 

 it is not so much how they are marked as it is whether or not they 

 are good sows of the right type, quality and conformation. Of 



