SELECTING AND FITTING THE SHOW HERD 63 



through a crisis in his development; this being an age that al- 

 most invariably, if the boar is a vigorous one, finds him fretting 

 and champing more or less when in sight of other animals. The 

 sows, also of this age, are harder to properly develop and bring 

 out in their best form, as they too are passing through a period 

 of life when there is more or less restlessness and excitement than 

 when older. 



Some people greatly enjoy bringing put a pig herd, under six 

 months of age, as there are often enticing prizes offered in this 

 class, and it is a good way to show the class of pigs you are pro- 

 ducing. While this class should also be as uniform in type and 

 conformation as the others, and should be well fitted in flesh, care 

 should be taken that they are not pushed too hard and become 

 overdone, and more or less wrinkled in appearance. 



Fitting the Show Herd. We will now suppose that the herd 

 has been selected along proper lines and we are ready to start 

 the fitting process with a bunch of animals of the same type. 

 The question now is how to fit these animals to the best advantage 

 without overdoing them, so they will show when the fair season 

 opens, in the best possible bloom. 



Always remember that "bloom" is a desirable thing in a show 

 animal. When "in bloom" a hog is at its best and this "bloom" 

 only lasts for a short time, and is as easily lost as the bloom 

 of a ripe peach, hence the matter of fitting should commence in 

 time and be carried on in a manner to have the animals "in bloom" 

 when the fair season opens. 



For convenience in handling and caring for them, the show 

 animals should be kept by themselves and not allowed to roam 

 with the general herd. The four boars being fitted for the dif- 

 ferent herds should be carefully prepared and put together in 

 one lot where they can be fed and handled together so that there 

 will be no danger of their fighting should it be necessary to drive 

 them to or from show building together. The aged sows, the 

 senior and junior yearlings, should also be fed and kept in one 

 enclosure for best results during the fair circuit, when it is neces- 

 sary to exercise them mornings during the show season. The 

 over six months and under six months sows can also be kept to- 

 gether for the same reasons. 



The yards or lots, where the animals are to be fitted during the 

 next few months, should have an abundance of succulent pasture, 

 either natural grasses or other green forage crop provided and 

 each lot should have a water fountain that should be kept well sup- 

 plied with pure clean water at all times. Of course ample shade 

 should be provided either natural or artificial and no dust 

 should be allowed to accumulate where these animals lie in the 

 shade. If possible, a cement bathing pool large enough and 

 deep enough in the deepest part to practically cover them should 



