SWINE PRODUCTION 299 



to good advantage the profits are greatest. This may be the 

 reason why more swine are raised in the United States than 

 any other class of livestock except cattle. 



When to Buy Breeding Stock. Do not hesitate about 

 going into the swine business just because prices of market 

 pigs happen to be low. That may be the very best reason for 

 increasing your numbers, for others are apt to be dropping 

 out and rising prices will be the result. Periods of high prices 

 always follow periods of low prices. 



Keep Good Swine. It is from the wild forms of the Old 

 World that the improved breeds of swine have been developed. 

 The changes wrought have been truly wonderful. The time 

 required for the pig to mature has been reduced more than 

 one-half. The tendency to become very fat, which is so well 

 marked in some breeds, is not found in wild hogs. Domestic 

 pigs are usually quiet, not wild and ferocious. 



To obtain the best results in swine management, it is 

 necessary to keep pure bred or high grade swine. They are 

 more prolific, fatten easier, mature at an earlier age, and are 

 larger than the scrubs. 



Which Type of Swine. There are a number of breeds of 

 swine but only a few have become very popular in America. 

 They are of two types first, lard or fat type; and second, the 

 bacon or lean type. The form of the body in the fat type is 

 compact, deep, broad, and low, with short back and deep, 

 fat sides; the neck is short and thick; head small; hams and 

 shoulders large. 



The bacon type has long legs, long neck, coarse head, 

 narrow back, long and deep sides, in many respects the very 

 opposite of the fat type. Bacon swine are kept for their fine, 

 lean cuts of bacon. The demand for this type is not so great 

 in the United States as in England, because the fat type is 

 better suited to corn feeding. 



Which Breed of the Fat Type. The most popular breeds 

 of swine in America, of the fat type, are Poland China, 



