THE POLAND-CHINA 491 



in the Mississippi Valley it has prospered exceedingly. In the 

 rougher, cooler sections in the northeast or on the more hilly lands 

 it has not done so well. As a breed, however, it readily adapts 

 itself to a range of conditions comparable with other breeds. 



The early-maturing qualities of the Poland-China are of the 

 first rank, and it has long been famous for this quality. No 

 other breed will finish off so early in fat form as will this. In 

 an address on the Poland-China, Mr. L. N. Bonham, a leading 

 authority on the breed said : 



To show that this breed had, in 1870, attained unsurpassed excellence 

 in their readiness to fatten at any age, and their rapid growth, we quote 

 the weights of two lots of pigs fattened when eleven months old. 



One lot of 30 averaged gross 384 pounds 



" " " 10 " " 410 " 



" " " 38 " " 528.89 " 



" " " 2 " " 719 " 



The net average of this last lot of 40 pigs was 531 pounds. 



In the change in the market from a larger, older type of fat 

 hog to a smaller, younger one weighing about 225 pounds the 

 Poland-China has been a leading element in meeting the new 

 demand. On the great Chicago hog market Poland-China blood 

 to-day is a most prominent and leading feature, due largely to 

 the ability of feeders to mature this breed early. So strongly 

 has this habit become fixed that a tendency exists with breeding 

 stock to mature too early and so not attain the most desirable 

 scale and size. 



The Poland-China as a grazer is well suited to blue grass and 

 clover pastures, where it has long been a common figure in the mid- 

 dle West. The general custom of the western farmer is to pasture 

 his pigs in the summer season, and this breed long ago showed 

 its suitability for this purpose, keeping easily with little grain. 



The Poland-China for feeding and fattening is the most popular 

 and common breed at this time in America. What has already 

 been stated shows that the early-maturing qualities have a valu- 

 able application in the feed lot or stye. As based on extensive 

 feeding experiments, the breed will show unusually good gains at 

 very fair cost. In 22 tests involving 96 pigs at eight experiment 

 stations and agricultural colleges, as reported by Rommel, it 



