THE BREEDING SEASON 211 



on what waste feed they are able to gather. Under such 

 conditions, of course, it takes a sow the second six 

 months to recover what she loses during the previous 

 six months during which time she is raising her litter. 



WHEN TO BREED. 



The question naturally presents itself as to what time 

 of the year a sow should be bred. This will depend upon 

 a considerable number of conditions. 



Show Hogs. For the small number of breeders who 

 are in the business of producing pure bred hogs for the 

 show ring, this has been in a large measure arbitrarily de- 

 termined. It is the rule of show and fair associations of 

 the north that the age of hogs shown during the fall show 

 season shall be counted from the first of March of each 

 year, and from the first of September. In the south it is 

 one month later. Accordingly a pig farrowed on or after 

 March 1 may be exhibited during the fall show season, in 

 the "under six months" class. Thus it is seen that a hog 

 shown in this class, as for instance in the International 

 Live Stock Exposition, which is held about December 

 first, may be nine months old. This fact deceives many 

 people, for when going around among the pens having 

 hogs in the "under six months" class, that weigh 300 

 pounds, they marvel at the size of such animals, thinking 

 that they are less than six months old, as the classification 

 states, when in reality they may be nine months old. 

 Likewise an animal that is to be shown in the "under a 

 year" class must be born on or after September 1 of the 

 previous season ; hence it is anywhere from twelve to fif- 

 teen months old. On account of these rulings pigs that 

 are produced for show purposes are farrowed as nearly as 

 possible after the first of March or the first of September. 



