Size of Litters 101 



stimulating effects of the gaining condition by the se- 

 cretion of a maximum number of eggs. (See page 11.) 



That a low degree of fertility, or even complete sterility, 

 may result from excessive fatness is also clearly estab- 

 lished by experience. Sows which have been highly 

 fitted for show, especiaiUy if maintained in this extreme 

 condition for a considerable length of time, require skill- 

 ful handling before regular breeding habits can be estab- 

 lished. Excessive quantities of fat about the generative 

 organs would seem to offer a mechanical obstacle to the 

 normal nutrition of the egg-secreting ovaries, and to the 

 free passage of the eggs after secretion down the Fallopian 

 tubes to the uterus. When to excessive fatness is added 

 the evil of close confinement, the breeding qualities are 

 very likely to suffer permanent injury. 



Cross-breeding. 



Some hog-men claim that cross-bred litters are, on the 

 average, larger than piu-e-bred ones. In the table on the 

 following page are submitted figures which, although 

 limited in number, will throw some light on this ques- 

 tion. Ten pure-bred sows, nine Berkshires and one 

 Poland China, produced a total of 36 litters, 11 of which 

 were cross-bred and 25 pure-bred. Each sow produced 

 both cross-bred and pure-bred litters. 



Considering that only one of the 11 cross-bred litters 

 was produced by a gilt, or sow with her first litter, while 

 8 of the 25 pure-bred litters were so produced, the results 

 do not show any advantage in size for the cross-bred 

 over the pure-bred litters. Stated in another way, 

 73 per cent of the cross-bred litters were produced by 

 mature sows, while only 36 per cent of the pure-bred 

 litters were produced by mature sows. Making allow- 



