432 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



looked to. While hogs do not show the strong differences of sex that 

 we look for in a cow or a mare, sex characteristics always constitute 

 a marked feature of a good brood sow. The smoother forehead and 

 lighter, finer neck are points of distinction from the signs of mascu- 

 linity in a boar. The forehead should be broad between the eyes, 

 the throat clean and trim, the neck moderately thin, and the shoul- 

 ders smooth and deep ; the back should be fairly wide and straight, 

 and ample room for the vital organs should be provided by a good 

 width and depth of chest, well-sprung ribs, and straight, deep sides 

 a deep, capacious body from end to end. Depth of chest and 

 abdomen are specially important in a brood sow. Pinched chests 

 and waists must be avoided. It is generally advised that sows with 

 much length of body should be selected for breeding purposes, 

 length of body being regarded by some as an indication of fecundity. 

 It will certainly do no harm to select sows that are especially long, 

 but care should be taken that quality goes with the increase in. 

 length. The loose- jointed, long-coupled, slow-maturing, and slow- 

 fattening type should not be selected. 



The surest means by which to select prolific sows is to keep an 

 accurate record of the herd and cull out all sows that do not yield a 

 certain percentage of pigs annually. (F. B. 205.) 



The sow should possess the same characteristics as the boar, but 

 should show more refinement, indicating femininity. The body 

 should be long, showing great digestive capacity and room for 

 carrying young. The hind quarters should be broad, to obviate 

 difficulty in parturition. Breadth between the eyes indicates good 

 disposition. (Mo. Cir. 28.) 



For breeding for pure-bred swine to be sold for breeding pur- 

 poses, it is important to have a good class of swine in the herd. In 

 breeding swine for market, so much quality and perfection of form 

 are not essential to profit. 



A brood sow should be selected to reproduce thrifty young in 

 large numbers, and rear them successfully. Experience shows that 

 a sow having the most ideal conformation for market demands does 

 not always make the best breeder. In selecting sows of the lard 

 breeds it is best to select a long-bodied, somewhat more upstanding, 

 coarser-boned sow, in preference to the compact, neater kinds. 



In breeding pure-breds it is good policy to retain a brood sow 

 that has proven a good mother, just as long as she continues to pro- 

 duce good litters. (N. D. B. 83.) 



Do not be too ready to discard a sow known to be a strong, 

 regular breeder, having large litters, for one that is yet untried ; but 

 keep her so long as she produces, regularly, large litters of strong, 

 healthy pigs. The Wisconsin Station has found that the number 

 and weight of pigs increased as the sows increased in age. With 

 stronger, more vigorous pigs at birth, more rapid and economical 

 gains can be made. (Mo. Cir. 28.) 



Mating. It is customary to mate the sows from December 1st 

 to January 15th, so that the pigs will be farrowed between March 



