414 Pork Production 



There should be no evidence of coarseness or grossness 

 of the features about the head ; the face should be clean 

 (free from coarse hair and wrinkled skin), the ears thin, 

 and the jowls neat. The bone should be clean and hard 

 looking. A little more general refinement is expected 

 in the sow than in the boar. 



Quality is desired in breeding stock because of the rela- 

 tion it bears to early maturity and killing qualities of the 

 finished market pig. Early maturity means the ability 

 to fatten and be ready for market at a comparatively 

 early age. The degree of early maturity wanted in hog 

 stock is that which is just sufficient to guarantee a fairly 

 finished condition when the pigs are from six to eight 

 months of age. The ideal is not only to have pigs which 

 possess large capacity for growth, but which at the same 

 time possess sufficient ability to fatten to satisfy market 

 requirements when sold. 



Quality must not be insisted on, however, to the point 

 where size and growthiness are sacrificed. The tendency 

 to do this has ruined many herds. It seems to be much 

 easier to secure and maintain a high degree of quality 

 than it is size. Although it is difficult to develop and 

 maintain ample size in itself, to do this and at the same 

 time retain sufficient quality is more difficult still, but 

 possible. At any rate this is the ideal which all breeders 

 are striving to produce. 



Sex characteristics and disposition. 



Strong masculinity should be as pronounced in the 

 boar as femininity is in the sow. Masculinity is shown 

 not only by normally developed sex organs, but also by 

 the tendency to be less refined about the head than is 

 characteristic of the sow, stronger in the neck, heavier 



