SELECTING BROOD SOWS 31 



course this trouble will not come up about those whose color is 

 solid, such as the Chester Whites, etc., but in the Berkshires, Poland- 

 Chinas and Hampshires, one often meets a man, who is more par- 

 ticular about fancy markings than he need be. I do not believe that 

 a perfectly marked Berkshire sow, bred to a perfectly marked Berk- 

 shire boar, would ever produce a litter that was perfectly marked, 

 nor do I believe that a sow or boar with one black foot, black switch, 

 or a white splash on the jowl or arm would ever produce a litter that 

 was all marked like the sire or dam. Of course the nearer the lit- 

 ters come to being perfectly marked the more we are pleased, but 

 we should look more to conformation, size and quality, than to the 

 markings. 



We once paid $225 for a son of old Longfellow that had a splash 

 that nearly covered his entire left jowl and face and I cannot recall 

 that he ever sired a pig with the same marking. This rule will 

 apply to the Poland- China breed, and to the Hampshire when the 

 white belt varies in width and shape as well as some of the feet 

 having white part way up the leg. First look for quality and size, 

 then let the markings be a secondary consideration. 



See also, in selecting your brood sows, that there is a mellow- 

 ness to the touch, which shows feeding quality. Avoid one that is 

 hard and coarse to the touch. 



In selecting a herd of brood sows, it is my judgment that the 

 more uniform in type, size and conformation the sows are, the bet- 

 ter, and I would even go so far, if I were selecting but a few, to 

 have them all from one or two litters if possible, rather than take 

 the risk of getting such a great variety of types by the selection of 

 individuals from different families, and I would have them from 

 reasonably large litters. 



While we all like good-sized litters, I am not a crank on this 

 subject. I prefer litters running from seven to nine rather than 

 from ten to twelve pigs each, and believe I could make more pounds 

 of meat and obtain better growth for breeding purposes, than I 

 could from extremely large litters. Of course we occasionally find 

 a good sow that can grow a litter of twelve or more, but the pigs 

 are not apt to be as thrifty and as growthly as those of a litter of 

 eight or nine. It is better to have pigs of a litter of medium size 

 that are very thrifty, than those from a larger litter that cannot 

 get enough nourishment to develop as they should. 



