Pure-bred Swine 433 
these exact dates are not used by all fairs. The pigs must 
be farrowed as soon as possible after the base date in 
order that they may be shown with the greatest possible 
age, weight, and maturity. For example, pigs practically 
twelve months of age have a great advantage over pigs 
barely past six months, so much so that in hot competition 
it is a waste of time to exhibit short aged stock. It there- 
fore becomes necessary to plan a long time ahead to have 
the stock of the right ages. Since the base dates are 
usually good farrowing dates for climatic reasons, the 
leading breeders try to have all their farrowing begin 
at this time regardless of the particular animals they 
wish to show. 
2F 
