ECONOMY OF PRODUCTION 43 



These results suggest some difficult questions. Why, for 

 instance, do Berkshires, Yorkshires, Duroc-Jerseys, and Poland- 

 Chinas range all the way from the top to the bottom of the 

 list in the different tests; and why would an average of the 

 Ontario tests give a rating of the breeds which is entirely 

 different from an average of the Iowa tests ? The averages 

 have been purposely omitted, because they are entirely mis- 

 leading in a case of this kind. For example, one breed may 

 suffer from some unfavorable circumstance in one or more of 

 the tests which is in no way related to or influenced by the 

 breeding of the animals, yet this circumstance may seriously 

 affect the standing of the breed in question. 



Eliminating averages and looking over the individual tests 

 with an unprejudiced mind, we can scarcely escape the con- 

 clusion that the factor which placed a certain group at the 

 top in any of the tests was in no way related to the breed 

 represented by that group. 



This point is further emphasized by a test reported by 

 Professor Burns in Texas Bulletin 131. In this test " razor 

 backs " or scrubs were fed against good average Poland-China 

 grades. The Poland-China grades made more rapid gains and 

 sold for a higher price per pound, but the cost of producing 

 100 pounds of gain was practically the same for both, being 

 approximately $6.02 for the scrubs and $5.94 for the grades, 

 a difference of two twenty-fifths of a cent per pound. 



A Trial with One Breed. If any person wishes to test the 

 question further, let him take 8 or 10 pigs of the same litter, 

 divide them into two groups as nearly even as possible, and 

 feed the two groups exactly the same. The question of breed 

 cannot enter into such a comparison, but in almost any such 

 test it will be found that there is a difference in the amount of 

 feed required for 100 pounds gain in the two groups. 



