52 A MANUAL ON THE HOG. 



years old, and, if very superior, may serve even longer ; 

 but should never be allowed to serve his own progeny. It 

 is usually better to either exchange for a younger boar, or 

 convert into pork after the third year. A number of small 

 farmers in a neighborhood could purchase a boar for joint 

 use, and thus make the cost light on individuals ; or, if 

 one owns a superior boar, let his neighbors bring their 

 sows to him, and pay a reasonable sum for each service. 

 English breeders pay a sovereign ($4.84) for such service. 

 A farmer who has only the common stock, had better pay 

 five dollars for the use of a thoroughbred than accept the ser- 

 vice of a grade or common boar for nothing. 



A mistake, very common among inexperienced breeders, 

 is to confound cross-bred with thoroughbred. The off 

 spring of a Berkshire boar upon an Essex sow is cross- 

 bred, not thoroughbred. It is neither Berkshire nor Essex, 

 and is not capable of transmitting the good qualities of 

 either. They make good pork hogs, but are not a proper 

 source from which to draw stock hogs for breeding pur- 

 poses. 



The general use of Berkshire boars in the State would 

 probably increase the average weight of butchered hogs 

 thirty pounds. There are about 1,000.000 hogs butchered 

 annually in Georgia. An increase of thirty pounds per 

 head would give an aggregate increase of 30,000,000 

 pounds, worth, at 12J cents per pound, $3,750,000. 



SELECTION AND CARE OF SOWS. 



While, not influencing to the same extent as the boar, 

 the character of the young, the sow exerts a very import- 

 ant influence in determining the value of offspring, and 

 should be very carefully selected, keeping constantly in view 

 the purpose for which the pigs are raised, and the use to 

 be made of the pork. 



The sow need not be pure bred, if the object be to raise 

 bacon hogs, provided the boar is, but should be large, with 



