SUGGESTIONS TO BEGINNERS 



247 



When grade pigs are kept, a record of date of service and 

 date of farrowing for each sow is all that is necessary, but 

 when a man is handling pure-breds he cannot be too careful in 

 keeping records. A page such as is illustrated here will hold 

 the names of quite a number of sows, so that there is very little 

 trouble in keeping a record of this kind. This record, along with 

 the one which gives particulars as to hogs sold for breeding pur- 

 poses, will enable one to account for every pig each sow pro- 

 duces, which is the only business-like method of handling stock. 



Identification.* The column headed " Ear mark " requires 

 explanation. When several breeding sows are kept, and the 

 young pigs are all running together after weaning, there is a 

 danger that the identity of certain pigs may be lost. To pre- 

 vent any such occurrence, it is important that each litter should 

 have a mark of identification. After the pigs are five or six 

 months old, metal ear labels can be used to good advantage to 

 identify individuals, and it is a good plan to insert ear labels 

 in every pig at the time it is recorded ; but metal labels are 

 not satisfactory for very small pigs. A plan followed by the 

 writer is to use the ear punch, which is employed when insert- 

 ing tags, and with it nip a small piece out of the edge of the 

 ear of each little pig before it is weaned, giving each pig in 

 the litter the same mark. The location of the mark indicates 

 the number, and the following plan of numbering will be 

 found satisfactory with either pigs or lambs. 



