CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. 



OTHER THINGS NECESSARY BESIDES FEED. 



While fitting the herd for the show ring they should be 

 handled daily by the feeder, by brushing them a little or 

 scratching them and coaxing them to lie down where he 

 can handle them about the legs and feet, so that when you 

 are ready to trim the toes and hoofs into nice shape they 

 will not get excited, but will lie quiety and let you work 

 over them as you wish. 



The foot and pastern of the show pig can be improved 

 one hundred per cent, by proper trimming. When the pig 

 is lying down, quietly take the foot in the left hand and with 

 a very sharp knife trim the lower edges off the hoof, com- 

 mencing well back and following around the entire hoof, 

 shaping the toe up as close as possible to the fleshy part of 

 the foot without injury. If the dewclaws are of unusual 

 length these too can be shaped up at the bottom and pared 

 ■down to proper shape. All this work should be done at odd 

 times befoi'e starting out to the Fair. 



A nice brushing every day or two after sprinkling with 

 disinfectant and crude oil is very essential, not only to 

 make the show herd quiet and docile, but to improve the 

 condition of the skin and hair. All this is a help in shed- 

 ding the old coat. The earlier this is commenced in the 

 preparation of fitting a show herd the better. Every ani-- 

 mal except the under six months pigs should shed off 

 his or her old coat not later than the first of August, 

 that the new coat may be nicely started before the 

 Eair season opens. Generally all this will come along in 

 due time if the animals are fed as above and are gaining 

 in flesh constantly. If any of the herd should not be- 

 gin to show an inclination to shed by the middle of June or 

 the first of July, I would give them a wallow hole in which 

 some clay has been placed, if it is not naturally a clay 



