Importance op a Good Sire. 31 



ones. Wise breeders are always open-eyed and open- 

 minded in reference to new sires for their herds. They keep 

 posted as to the performances of both boars and sows rep- 

 resenting popular blood lines. Moreover, they correspond 

 with or visit many of the less prominent breeders for the 

 purpose of finding out how things are going. Such men 

 make most of the so-called "lucky strikes." When they 

 have the evidence that given blood lines are producing ex- 

 traordinarily good things they are enterprising enough to 

 secure boars or sows representing those blood lines. Some- 

 times they have to pay long prices; just as often they 

 secure bargains. 



A breeder who would steadily advance must pay studious 

 attention to the operations of his fellow-breeders, and thus 

 keep that breadth of mind which is essential to genuine 

 progress. He must war against narrowness, and be big 

 enough to see real merit wherever it exists. 



In speaking of the influence of the sire, Prof. C. S. 

 Plumb, University of Ohio, says : 



' ' There is a great deal to learn regarding the reproduction 

 of characteristics among animals. However, one thing is 

 pretty well established, and that is, that what we know as 

 well bred animals transmit their qualities with more cer- 

 tainty than do those of inferior breeding. It is unfortunate 

 that the results of the most successful experience in breed- 

 ing," are not studied more carefully, and made greater use 

 of by the rank and file of breeders. 



The average man, a breeder so-called, is not in fact a 

 student of breeding at all. Far too many men are inter- 

 ested in simply getting their females in pig, without regard 

 to the fitness of the sire. That methodless way has ac- 

 tually been the undoing of many an American herd. 

 This illustration has been made use of by one auth- 

 or, lict two men start to breeding at the same time. One 

 selects a sire with great care and mates him to a lot of 

 females, with the view of remedying their defects in the 

 offspring, and of systematically producing a type. The 

 other buys a sire with no special plan in mind. He merely 

 wishes a male and has no ideals to work toward. What is 



