34 PRINCIPLES OF SWINE BREEDING 
sire, and granddam, are likely to have a greater influence for 
good or evil than more remote ancestors, and, therefore, the 
first two or three generations—or, in other words, the top crosses 
—should receive special attention in studying a pedigree. The 
more remote the ancestor, the less important is its influence 
likely to be. 
Selection of the Boar.—In these days, when pure-bred 
males are plentiful and reasonable in price, there is practically 
no excuse for using anything but a pure-bred boar, even though 
the sows may be merely grades. The pure-bred male will 
transmit his own qualities to his progeny with greater certainty 
than a grade or cross-bred, and will get pigs of more uniform 
quality and excellence, so that it pays to use a purebred boar 
even for producing market hogs. It is true that many pure- 
bred boars should not be used for breeding, but this affords no 
reason for using a grade boar. The “‘serub” pure-bred should 
be rejected along with the grade and the cross-bred, and there 
are reasonably good pure-bred boars always available to the 
man who will make an effort to get one. 
Price and Merit.——When selecting a boar to head a pure 
bred herd, it will not do to be too economical regarding price. 
This does not mean that we are to pay fancy prices, running 
into the thousands, such as we sometimes read about; but it is 
well te bear in mind that a boar which is not good enough to 
command a fair price is seldom good enough to put at the head 
of a purebred herd. The importance of the herd will de 
termine the price which the owner can afford to pay for a 
boar, but a few extra dollars on the price of a boar is a small 
matter when it is the means of securing something that the 
breeder really needs. The mere size of the price, however, 
is not a safe criterion of the merit of the boar, but it rests 
with the man who makes the selection to see that he gets value 
