58 SWINE 



cessively fat. One of the laws of breeding is that animals 

 will acquire characteristics. That is, if animals are bred 

 and developed for a number of generations under certain 

 conditions, they will become adapted to these conditions 

 and will produce results according to the conditions un- 

 der which they have been kept. Consequently, in order 

 to get the best possible results, the breeding hog should 

 be in as high condition as is possible without injuring 

 him in any way for breeding purposes. The higher the 

 condition of the breeding stock, the greater will be the 

 possibility of getting the best results from the offspring; 

 but when the condition of the animal is overdone, or 

 when an animal is fattened to such a degree that either 

 his prolificacy or his other breeding powers are impaired, 

 it is going one step too far. 



Different breeders are able to maintain their animals 

 in a different degree of condition without impairing their 

 usefulness. Breeding condition, as maintained in the 

 herds of some breeders, is what is commonly termed 

 very thin flesh for a hog. With other breeders, the ideal 

 breeding condition approaches nearly, in the amount of 

 fat carried, the condition that is ideal for a market hog. 

 With the development of the system of feeding, as 

 worked out at the Illinois Experiment Station, it is 

 thought that the breeding condition of a hog may be con- 

 siderably raised from what the average is throughout the 

 country without impairing the breeding powers of the 

 animal, and that the flesh and fat-producing characteris- 

 tics of the offspring may be greatly improved. 



In disposition the breeding animal should be quiet and 

 gentle so that it can be handled at all times, both during 

 the breeding and farrowing seasons. 



