ESTABLISHING A BREEDING HERD 69 



of age has an asset which will afford him unlimited op- 

 portunity as a breeder. 



THE GRADE HERD. 



A good pure bred animal would be the best, of course, 

 for all purposes, for the production of purely market hogs 

 as well as for the production of^ pure bred animals for 

 breeding purposes. But the man with limited means, and 

 perhaps also with limited knowledge as to the value of 

 different animals, will be able to succeed and succeed well 

 by starting a herd with grade stock. Grade sows may be 

 bought in various places ; by private sale direct from the 

 breeder, in local markets, and sometimes at auction. 

 Wherever they are bought, they should be bought pri- 

 marily for the use to which they are to be put, namely, 

 they should not be in market condition when they are to 

 be put in the breeding herd. If such sows are properly 

 selected and bought at reasonable prices, and it very 

 often happens that they can be bought at a figure but 

 little above the market price at the time, they may be put 

 in the herd and mated with a pure bred sire to very good 

 advantage. Such breeding, if properly done, will afford 

 the man with limited means an opportunity to get a good 

 start and at the same time will not be very expensive. 

 By mating one or two pure bred sows with his pure bred 

 sire, and continuing with his grade herd, he can gradually 

 work into a pure bred herd. A good individual, whether 

 it be a grade or pure bred, is always better than a poor 

 individual of similar breeding, and it is often true that a 

 good grade is better than a poor individual of a pure bred 

 strain. The man, then, who has a well selected grade 

 herd and is producing hogs for the pork market will suc- 

 ceed a great deal better than the man who is producing 



