730 



SWINE 



each, 400 Berkshires 8.22 pigs, and 600 Chester Whites 8.96 

 pigs. In a study made by the writer of the litters of 1 300 Poland- 

 China brood sows, farrowing 9335 pigs, the average size of litter 

 was 7.4 pigs, essentially the same result as secured by Dr. Bitting. 

 In 1906 George M. Rommel published a study of Poland-China 

 fecundity, based on herdr^ook records covering the years 1882- 

 1886 and 1898-1902. Over 50,000 litters were considered, in- 

 cluding 103,458 pigs for 1882-1886 which averaged 7.04 pigs 



per litter, and 299,324 

 pigs for 1898-1902 

 which averaged 7.52 

 pigs per litter. These 

 figures seem to show a 

 slight gain rather than 

 loss in the prolificacy 

 of this breed. In the 

 leaflet of the Standard 

 Poland-China Record 

 Association previously 

 quoted, the statement 

 is made that this breed 

 has " stood consider- 



FIG. 341. Miss Rooseveldt 138448, reserve cham- 

 pion Poland-China sow at the Louisiana Purchase 

 Exposition at St. Louis, Missouri, 1904. This sow 

 was of the medium type and showed much refine- 

 ment. Owned by Charles E. Keller, Newark, Ohio. 

 From photograph by the author 



able abuse from other 

 breeds, on the grounds 

 of not being prolific." 

 Letters were sent to 



nearly one hundred breeders inquiring as to the average number 

 of pigs farrowed per sow during three years, and from these 

 replies the following interesting statement is made up. There 

 was an average of 9.75 pigs per litter, and one herd had this aver- 

 age for a term of five years from 40 sows. Another breeder aver- 

 aged 10 pigs from 25 sows for five years. Others for periods of 

 three to four years gave averages of 8.5 to 10, with some litters 

 of 15 to 1 8 pigs. "There were many litters of 12, 13, 14, and 

 15 pigs "each." Many of the sows making these records were gilts 

 with their first litters. In a study of the prolificacy of the Poland- 

 China, Professor H. W. Vaughan states 1 that of 2895 litters of 



1 Breeders' Gazette, August 16, 1917. 



