198 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



tried experiments in breeding, would give us the benefit of 

 their observations and practice. 



Mr. Feench, of North Andover. I would like to ask Mr. 

 Harris if he has practised inbreeding with swine ; and if so, 

 how far he has carried it ? 



Mr. Harris. I have one strain of Essex, which I call my 

 "Champion" strain. I have one boar and one sow, — "Cham- 

 pion" and "Champion's Sister." I have bred them, father 

 and grand-daughter, for five generations, thus far, and "Cham- 

 pion" and his sister are the result of these five crosses. I 

 never breed brother and sister ; but I breed father and daugh- 

 ter, father and grand-daughter, and so on. This sow — 

 "Champion's .Sister" — is one of the best breeders I have. 

 When Dr. Sturtevant came to see me last winter, I showed 

 him a sow that was from this "Champion's Sister," and she 

 had then niue'y-eight per cent, of the blood of the old 

 "Pompey" boar, as I call him. I told him she was then with 

 prigs by "Champion." I tried it as an experiment. She has 

 since proved to be without any pigs, and she is going to the 

 butcher. 



Mr. D. O. Fisk, of Shelburne. I am a little iuclined to be 

 a pig man myself, and thank Mr. Harris for his very interest- 

 ing and able lecture. It corresponds exactly with my views. 

 The matter of keeping swine for the purpose of making 

 manure is one that interests every farmer. It is of great 

 consequence that we bear in mind the valuable instruction 

 which Mr. Harris has given us in his lecture, especially with 

 regard to the benefit that comes to every farmer by keeping 

 swine. It has been a study with me for many years how to 

 make the most manure I possibly could, and I have found no 

 better way than by keeping swine. I have not been able to 

 buy, as other gentlemen have, commercial fertilizers at the 

 prices at which they are sold in the market. I have discarded 

 them entirely. Our friend has spoken about the exorbitant 

 price asked for these fertilizers, and we all know full well 

 that it is true ; but if we will stock our farms with swine, we 

 can make all the fertilizers we need. I do not agree with 

 Mr. Goodman, who said we could not possibly do it. I know 

 that the man who raises tobacco can afford to buy fertilizers, 

 but those of us who hate it, cannot raise tobacco to buy ferti- 



