MANAGEMENT OF TIIOnOUGH-BRED PIGS. 205 



portant, yet the real skill of the breeder of thorough-bre<l 

 pigs consists, in great part, in his ability to keep his 

 young pigs growing to their utmost capacity, and, at the 

 same time, keep them in perfect health, and in good con- 

 dition for breeding at the proper age. Let no farmer ex- 

 pect to succeed as a breeder of thorough-bred pigs if he 

 leaves them to the care of an ordinary hired man. He 

 must give them his own personal attention. If he objects 

 to this, if he has no liking for a refined, well-bred, well- 

 behaved, well-formed pig, let him turn his attention to 

 some other business. It is, of course, not necessary that 

 the owner should clean out the sties, or cook the food, or 

 wash the pigs, and feed them. But he will find it of 

 great advantage to know how to perform all these opera- 

 tions. Ordinary farm men have been so accustomed to 

 let pigs wallow in the mire, and take care of themselves, 

 that it is very difficult to get them to realize the import- 

 ance of cleanliness, regularity in feeding, general kind- 

 ness, and constant attention. It is not an easy matter to 

 induce a common farm man to groom a horse thoroughly, 

 and it is still more difficult to get such a man to clean a 

 pig. And yet a breeder of thorough-bred pigs will find 

 few things more important for health and for rapid 

 growth, and for the development of the best points, than 

 washing in summer, and cleaning them with a brush in 

 winter. 



An extensive range is almost as important for thorough- 

 bred pigs as it is for poultry, and we think it a mistake 

 for a breeder to keep more than one breed on the same 

 farm. It is not only convenient and economical to let the 

 pigs run out in a pasture during the spring, summer, and 

 autumn, and in the barn-yard during the winter, but it 

 is desirable for their health and vigor. It is not always 

 easy to accomplish this object, even when one breed only 

 is kept, and it must be still more difficult when two or 

 three breeds are kept. 



