216 HAREIS ON THE PIG. 



have to provide improved conditions. A thorough-bred 

 pig is a work of art, and its production calls for intelli- 

 . gence, thought, care, patience, and perseverance. 



We once had two valuable thorough-bred sows that 

 farrowed their first litters in February. They had ten 

 pigs each. Through carelessness, one whole litter was 

 frozen to death. We took a couple of the pigs from the 

 other litter, and gave them to the sow that had lost 

 her litter, and these also died. The other sow raised 

 the eight pigs, and they did well. The sow was left in 

 charge of an ordinary man, and by the time the pigs were 

 five weeks old, she was as thin as a rail. The pigs were 

 not weaned until nine weeks old. She nourished them 

 at the expense of her own flesh, and, as it turned out, at 

 the expense of her strength also. She did not recover 

 from the effects of the drain on her constitution for six 

 months, and did not take the boar again until the follow- 

 ing October. In the meantime, the sow which lost all her 

 pigs took the boar in two weeks, and had a litter of ten 

 pigs in July, worth, at two months old, $20 each. We 

 mention this fact to show that it will pay to take particu- 

 lar care of young sows, and to guard against overtaxing 

 their strength and constitution. We must do this, not 

 only by giving the sow the best of care and proper food, 

 but also by feeding the little pigs, and doing all that we 

 can to prevent the sow from giving them too much milk 

 after they are three or four weeks old. 



A sow will often take the boar in three or four days 

 after farrowing. In the case of large, coarse, common 

 sows, this is sometimes desirable, but rarely in the case 

 of thorough-breds. It is better to wait until the pigs are 

 weaned. If the little pigs have been fed as above recom- 

 mended, so that they have not taxed too much the 

 strength of the sow, she will often take the boar in a few 

 days, or, at farthest, in two or three weeks. She should 

 have plenty of nutritious food and moderate exercise for 



