CROSSING HIGH AND LOW BREEDING 45 



monest razor-back sows I ever saw. I 

 asked the owner why he did not use better 

 bred sows and his reply was that high-bred 

 sows were only half as prolific as common 

 sows and were not so hardy ; that the high- 

 bred boar improved the flavor of the meat 

 and insured the proper bone and frame to 

 the pig on which to put the right kind of 

 meat ; that he averaged from eight to four- 

 teen pigs per litter and at least three litters 

 a year ; that if he used high-bred sows there 

 would not be 60% of this increase. On most 

 of the sheep farms, where they raise lambs 

 for the market, I found they used the cheap 

 Kentucky Mountain ewes with the high- 

 grade rams — ^for the same reasons. 



Some years ago, I secured a flock of 

 very young inbred prize game bantams, 

 weighing from one-half to three-quarters 

 of a pound each. They had been bred for 

 size and feathers. They laid at six months 

 and had chicks at eight months. For sev- 

 eral seasons, nearly all the young chicks 

 died. Thinking there was some local 

 trouble, I divided the flock in two and put 

 one flock on another farm, with the same 



