ECONOMY OF PRODUCTION 43 
These results suggest some difficult questions, Why, for 
instance, do Berkshires, Yorkshires, Duroe-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 cirewmstance 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 serubs 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. 
