98 SOUTHERN rORK PRODUCTION 



maturity and evidences of profitableness should be given 

 consideration. In order to be profitable the}^ must of 

 necessity be in possession of a vigorous constitution. 

 They must possess breed characteristics and breediness, 

 or sex character. In addition to a deep, natural flesh and 

 compact form, they must be possessed of reproductive 

 ability and be capable of producing their like. 



Purchasing breeders. — After the selection of the breed- 

 ing herd from which it seems desirable to make some 

 purchases, one should, if possible, visit the herd and 

 carefully inspect the animals ofi^ered for sale, and find out 

 what he can of their type and ancestry. He should then 

 make his selections, being guided by the purposes for 

 which the animals are desired, by individual preferences 

 and by the information furnished by the breeder. An 

 honest breeder will not misrepresent his stock in order 

 to make a sale. Under no circumstances should a slight 

 difference in price influence the purchaser to buy inferior 

 animals, for it has been demonstrated time and again that 

 it pays to use only the best in starting a breeding herd of 

 pure-bred swine. 



How to make selections. — While we can select for con- 

 formation, type and early maturity, we must also base 

 our selections on performance, or the abilit}^ to make 

 good use of feed and rapid gains up to the limit of the 

 capacity of the animal. In the case of swine greater skill 

 is required to select for performance than in the case of 

 some other animals. In race horses, for instance, where 

 all is sacrificed for speed, the matter of selection on the 

 performance basis is a simple matter. With swine in the 

 feed lot, the closest observation and the exercise of the 



