208 BARKIS ON THE PIG. 



Usually, it is more profitable to alter and fatten a boar 

 when three years old than to keep him longer. But, of 

 course, much depends on his value and on our ability to 

 replace him. Fisher Hobbs' celebrated Essex boar, 

 " Emperor," of which we have given a portrait on 

 page 79, was eight years old when his picture was taken. 

 An animal of extraordinary merit may be kept as long as 

 he gets good pigs. 



The boar's pen should have a yard attached not less 

 than ten or twelve feet square, and it is better, always, to 

 turn the sows to him, than to turn him out to the sows. 

 If he is sluggish, it is well to have a strong door between 

 this yard and the boar's sleeping pen, so arranged that he 

 can see the sow without being able to get at her until the 

 door is open. Shut the door between the pen and the 

 yard, and then turn the sow into the yard, and let her re- 

 main a short time before letting the boar out. The best 

 boar we ever had was exceedingly shy in this matter. 

 He apparently objected to have strangers looking on. 

 We kept him for some years, and by humoring his pecu- 

 liarities, he proved a very useful animal. He always 

 showed most energy early in the morning, before he had 

 had his breakfast. Some of our neighbors, who had been 

 accustomed to drive their sows to common boars, that 

 would tear down a pen, or push over a fence to get at a 

 sow, were disgusted with the dignified movements of tbis 

 thorough-bred boar. After waiting and watching a few 

 minutes, they would drive away their sows to some long- 

 nosed, slab-sided brute, while those who exercised a little 

 more patience, were almost invariably rewarded with 

 splendid litters of pigs. The truth of this matter is, 

 that good breeders increase the development of the choice 

 parts of a pig at the expense of the offal ; and the ham 

 of a well-bred and well-formed boar has been enlarged at 

 the expense of some portion of the contiguous parts. We 

 have known this carried to such an extreme, that casual 



