100 SOUTHERN PORK PRODUCTION 



process. By no means should swine be permitted to 

 exercise their breeding powers as soon as they are mani- 

 fested. Gilts should not be bred before they are eight 

 months of age, for before that time they have not reached 

 the age of sufficient sexual maturity, and the age of 

 somatic maturity is not reached for some months after 

 this age. Boars should likewise not be used to any extent 

 before this age, and they should then be used only very 

 lightly until after they are one year of age. 



Early maturity in breeding swine. In the selection of 

 our boars and sows the early-maturing qualities must be 

 sought so that they can be transmitted to the offspring, 

 for it is of the greatest importance from the standpoint 

 of the grower and butcher that the hogs mature and 

 fatten at the earliest possible age. Especially should 

 boars be selected largely on the basis of their early 

 fattening propensities. 



Conformation. The conformation of breeding swine 

 must therefore be similar to that of the ideal pork animal, 

 and must give the indications of being able to produce 

 the ideal market animal, either through feeding or 

 through a process of reproduction and feeding. To be 

 sure, the condition of breeding swine and the ideal mar- 

 ket animal are different. In the conformation of the 

 breeding swine, as compared with the ideal porker, there 

 are other considerations. In the breeding animals sex 

 character will cause variations in boars and sows that 

 will not be found in the ideal market animal. The body 

 of the sow will be longer, with a greater development in 

 the hindquarters, and the boar will have a seemingly 

 surplus development of the forequarters, head and neck. 



