Beginner’s Problems 373 
ber, December, and January as this is the packing season, 
but even then the demand during these months is usually 
somewhat over-supplied, at least in the West. The 
western farmers market about one-half of their year’s 
production of hogs during these three months, while 
the eastern farmers do not market over one-third of their 
hogs at this time. This makes it imperative that if 
one is to realize highest price, the periods of heavy supply 
must be avoided. 
When the by-products available for feeding come at 
a particular time of the year, and then are gone, the 
pigs must be at a suitable size to consume these by- 
products to the best advantage when they are available; 
but when the by-products are rather evenly distributed, 
it is necessary that some pigs of suitable size be avail- 
able through the year. In the great grain-growing 
sections of the West the chief by-product is the shattered 
grain on the stubble fields; and since this must be used 
quickly after harvest, and since the pigs which make the 
most profitable use of this by-product are individuals 
weighing from 75 to 125 pounds, it follows that within 
a few weeks after this period a large number of pigs 
will be sent to market from these localities. Fat pigs 
are a perishable product; that is, they must be marketed 
very soon after they are finished, regardless of price 
or other conditions. Hence it is necessary to plan for 
their disposal a long time before the pigs are ready for 
marketing, in fact before the sows are bred. 
FLUCTUATIONS 
Pigs are subject to wider and more rapid fluctuation 
in prices than any other class of live-stock. This is be- 
cause they increase so rapidly that a shortage may 
