SELECTION OF A BREED 19 



point of considerable importance. To be well adapted to 

 such a purpose the season should be neither too hot nor 

 too cold. If swine are to be subjected to such variations, 

 the heat should be counterbalanced by providing an 

 abundance of shade. There is no better shade than the 

 natural shade of trees, and in cold weather comfortable 

 shelter should also be provided. 



The character of the soil should also be taken into con- 

 sideration. Soil that is rich in mineral matter is better 

 adapted to the production of hogs than one that is not. 

 The mineral ingredients also should be of various kinds 

 especially containing lime and phosphorus. A hog needs 

 a variety of mineral substances for the normal working of 

 his digestion, assimilation, etc. ; also for the production of 

 bone. If these mineral substances are present in the soil, 

 they will be more abundant in the soil water and also in 

 the vegetation grown on the soil. Hence the hog will 

 develop better than he will on soil where such mineral 

 substances are not present. It is true that these niineral 

 substances may be supplied artificially, but this is never 

 quite as good as when they are found in the natural state. 



In selecting a breed the natural tendency of the de- 

 velopment of swine, as caused by various conditions, 

 should be taken into consideration. The mistake is very 

 often made by a man locating in the corn belt to select a 

 hog that is short, fat, and early maturing; a type of hog 

 that is the natural product of corn belt conditions and is 

 already overdone. Such a hog might prove a failure un- 

 der these conditions, while one of another type would be 

 much more successful. Hogs developed in the corn belt 

 where the carbonaceous feeds are more abundant and the 

 mineral and protein feeds are more or less deficient, have 

 a natural tendency to become fat and to lose size and pro- 



