CHAPTER XXIV 

 PEDIGREES 



This is a matter that does not greatly interest the farmer or 

 feeder who is growing hogs simply for the open market, but must 

 be understood, and thoroughly so, by the breeder of registered hogs 

 who expects to sell a large portion of his produce, to other breeders. 

 A pedigree amounts to nothing unless it is a correct record of the 

 different blood lines in the sire, and dam taken from the established 

 records for the breed. The pedigree in itself adds no value to the 

 individuality of the animal but it is a means of noting the various 

 blood lines that has produced the animal. Neither is a pedigree 

 of any value unless it is made by a man who would under no cir- 

 cumstance write in other than the correct names of animals, with 

 their herd book numbers. A man who would make a false pedi- 

 gree would do anything else false that came to his mind and should 

 not last long as a breeder of pure-bred hogs of any breed. In 

 other words the pedigree should be a guarantee that only such 

 animals were used in producing the particular individual as really 

 were used. 



Study Blood Lines. One who is well versed in the principles of 

 breeding pure-bred animals, and familiar with the value of the 

 different blood lines of the breed, can by studying the pedigree of 

 the animal he purchases to head his herd, know practically what 

 the results will be from using him. The more animals that ap- 

 pear in the pedigree that have made good as producers of superior 

 stock, the better the pedigree, and the more valuable it becomes 

 as a guarantee for future quality in the herd ; hence it is of great 

 importance that the owner of a high class breeding herd, who 

 wishes to continually improve the quality of his herd, study care- 

 fully the pedigree of any new animal that he wishes to introduce 

 as the head of his herd. It is a well known fact, however, that 

 there are few outstanding sires that are worthy of special note 

 in any breed of pure-bred hogs, and buyers of boars, when they 

 order a boar for use, should not expect him to be "one in a 

 thousand," unless he has investigated the animal's get and has 

 proof of the fact that he is "one in a thousand," and if such a boar 

 is found he, the buyer, must expect to pay a very large price to 

 secure him, for the owner can ill afford to part with this kind. 



Correspondence. The breeder of pure-bred hogs, after he is 

 established, will have a large amount of daily correspondence to 

 look after. He should make a rule to be prompt in his replies, 

 answering all questions carefully, describing the animal he offers 

 so that the man will not be disappointed, should be order. He 

 should keep a carbon copy of each letter written. He should always 

 keep a letter file of some kind, whereby he can keep each man's 



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