MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 209 



observers would suppose they were looking at a barrow- 

 pig. Any one who will contrast a coarse Chester County 

 boar with a refined Essex will understand our meaning. 



THE sow. 



The treatment of a sow until she is eight or nine 

 months old does not differ from that of the boar. She 

 should be well fed, and have plenty of exercise. If she 

 is born in March, and is kept growing rapidly, and is of 

 an early maturing breed, she may be allowed to take the 

 boar in November, when about eight months old. She 

 would then have pigs in March, when a year old. This 

 is breeding earlier than is usually recommended, but it 

 must be remembered that w r e are treating of pigs that 

 have been bred almost exclusively for the purpose of rapid 

 growth while young, and for early maturity. If she is 

 strong and healthy, with good digestive powers, it will 

 not hurt her to have a litter of pigs at a year old, and to 

 have two litters a year afterwards, for two or three years. 

 The breeder, however, must exercise judgment in this 

 matter. It often improves a sow wonderfully to let her 

 get a year or fifteen months old before she takes the boar. 

 And in the case of late fall pigs, we should always be in- 

 clined to keep them until the following November before 

 they are served. 



The sow, when in pig, should be allowed abundance 

 of food, and as extensive a range as possible until a week 

 or ten days before farrowing. She should then be placed 

 in her pen, and fed with food similar to that which it is in- 

 tended to give her after she has farrowed. Nothing can 

 be better than skimmed milk and scalded bran, with a 

 little oil-meal, to loosen the bowels, if necessary. Di- 

 rections for furnishing the pen with litter, etc., have 

 been already given, and need not be repeated here. As, 

 however, a litter of thorough-bred pigs are of considera- 



