CHAPTER XXIII 



THE BREEDING OF SWINE 



As previously stated, pork production differs from beef pro- 

 duction in the fact that swine are bred and fed on the same 

 farm, whereas feeding cattle are frequently bred on the cheap 

 lands and shipped to the corn-belt to be fed. Since swine are 

 reared and finished in one place, if success is to be attained, the 

 feeder must be a breeder as well. Many good swine feeders 

 often fail to exercise proper judgment in breeding. Breeding 

 swine is as much a business as feeding swine, and should be 

 conducted with that understanding. When the price of hogs 

 is high, the tendency is to rush into swine raising, forgetting 

 the advantages of good quality, with the result that in a few 

 months the hog market is glutted with animals of inferior 

 quality which, of course, command only a low price. This is 

 discouraging, and the enthusiast of a few months quits the 

 hog business. With proper management, no line of farming 

 will prove more profitable than pork production, especially if 

 continued over a long series of years. 



PLAN OF BREEDING 



Before beginning to breed swine, one should decide on a plan. 

 Before formulating the plan one will have to decide upon the 

 kind of hog he is going to breed. Some will wish to breed market 

 hogs only, others breeding hogs only, while still others may wish 

 to produce both market and breeding hogs. When market 

 hogs only are to be produced, grades may prove as profitable as 



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