166 SOUTHERN PORK PRODUCTION 



will never make as good a mother as she would have had 

 she been more nearly mature. It must be remembered 

 that this extra drain on the gilt does not come only dur- 

 ing pregnancy, but it exists all the time she is suckling 

 the pigs. Under no circumstances should a gilt be bred 

 so that she will farrow under one year of age 



The time to breed. Perhaps the most favorable time 

 for a litter of pigs to come is in the early spring, when 

 they can feed on the newly starting grass. A second 

 litter, coming in September or October, should be pro- 

 vided for. Our southern climate will permit of this, and 

 especially do they seem to do well where a good swamp 

 pasture is accessible. 



The breeding season. Sows will usually come in heat 

 a short time after the pigs are weaned and about every 

 twenty-one days thereafter. The pigs should suckle for 

 about eight weeks. When the sow comes in heat she 

 should be taken to a boar, and after a single uninter- 

 rupted service she may just as well be taken back to her 

 lot. The sow, when in heat, usually indicates it by 

 swelling of the vulva and by a change in voice. Instead 

 of a squeal there is a rather long-drawn-out roar. When 

 a sow fails to come into heat there is something physio- 

 logically wrong. Of course, they will not come in heat 

 if too old or if they have been bred. If the pigs are not yet 

 weaned they need not be expected to come in heat, and if 

 excessively fat they are not so apt to come in. The 

 period may sometimes be hastened by placing the sow in 

 the same lot with the boar. If a sow comes in heat but 

 will not catch, the best thing that can generally be 

 done is to fatten her for pork, unless she is an ex- 



