SUGGESTIONS TO BEGINNERS 263 



to sell pure-bred pigs for breeding purposes. If he is merely 

 raising market pigs, the drover or butcher is the only man to 

 please. Whatever breed is selected, it should be retained. No 

 man need expect to make a success of breeding any class of 

 animals if he keeps changing from one breed to another. 



Buying a Boar. Sooner or later the beginner will want to 

 own a boar of his own, but if there is a really good boar in his 

 neighborhood to which he can breed his sows, he had better post- 

 pone the purchase until he has gained considerable experience. 

 He will find that there are many things about selecting a boar 

 which cannot be learned from books, and that wisdom will come 

 from experience,. Boars can be bought for the least money 

 when they are very small, but this method has too many of 

 the elements of a game of chance to be commendable. When 

 buying a young boar, it will be found safer to buy one from 

 eight to twelve months old than a pig two or three months old. 

 The reason for this recommendation is plain, it being im- 

 possible to foretell just how the very young pig is going to 

 develop. Highly-fitted show boars had better be avoided. As 

 pointed out in another place, pedigree is important, but the 

 boar should, to some extent at least, demonstrate the excellence 

 of the blood behind him. It is more satisfactory to select by 

 personal inspection than to buy through correspondence. A 

 visit to the herd which produced the boar enables one to judge 

 the general quality of the hogs produced in the herd, and one 

 can pick up information regarding the sire and dam that could 

 not otherwise be obtained. It is easy to pay too much, and it is 

 possible to be too economical. It is not so much a question of 

 how few dollars we invest as it is one of how much real merit 

 we can get for every dollar invested. 



If the boar is shipped some distance and arrives excited and 

 tired, he should be fed very lightly at first and not used for 

 several weeks after his arrival. 



