146 BOAIiJ) OF AGRICULTUUE. [Pul). Doc. 



outlined. Disease lurks in filth or is carried in decayed food. Fresh 

 air, sunshine and pure water are germ destroyers. But behind the 

 problem of feeding lie some important factors, not one of which 

 can be overlooked. 



Type and Breed. 



Too many start with or breed from immature sows. The hog 

 of to-day bears but a slight resemblance to its early ancestors. The 

 process of elimination and intensification of traits, form, growth, 

 etc., coupled with the law of en^ironment, has resulted in a creature 

 radically different from the long-nosed rooter of years ago or the 

 razorbaek of the south. To be a successful breeder one must enter 

 fully into an appreciation of the changes resulting in what we see 

 to-day, and be prepared to push the wall of opposing forces still 

 further into the background. So tenacious is the law of reversion 

 that there is demanded a firm grip and steady hand to insure im- 

 provement. The question of breeds is here as elsewhere secondary 

 to type. The pork maker wants a pig which, given right condi- 

 tions, will make from 175 to 225 pounds of dressed product in six 

 months. First of all, we want the long-bodied, deep barreled, 

 strongly built sow, with a broad, intelligent face, a docile, quiet 

 disposition, the ability to consume a large quantity of food and 

 certainly to supply an abundance of milk for a litter of generous 

 dimensions. Breeding White Chesters I found that some sows 

 would produce 12 or more, at every litter, while own sisters brought 

 but 7 or 8; also that these large producers would give 2 or 3 pigs 

 or more, which, at four weeks, would weigh 25 pounds, with the 

 balance following closely, while the best I could do with others was 

 18 or 19 pounds. 



It takes a trial trip to gain this information, but a man has 

 himself to blame if he gets a second dose. Blood alone does not 

 insure type desired, though strains of each of the breeds have this 

 well established. Here is where experience is the best teacher. 

 Naturally, enthusiasm will center about the breed which pleases the 

 eye, be it black or white, but pork makers to be profitable must never 

 lose sight of the standard of utility which must always center in 

 type adapted to purpose. Looking for special results, a specialized 

 animal is demanded, one bred and built for rapid pork making. 

 Brood sows which are worth using as mothers are worth keeping 

 so long as they will produce. It is ruinous policy to change yearly. 

 Keep a sow as long as she is rugged and productive. Surely no 

 one can justify the use of a grade boar while he may succeed well 

 with grade sows. In a boar look first of all to the character, type, 

 production and disposition of his ancestors on both sides. Find- 

 ing these to be satisfactory, what of the animal himself? Is he 

 strong on his legs, compact rather than long in body, massive in 

 shoulders, with good hams, and, above all, does he possess the 



