194 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



their tushes, These as a rule are found only on boars and 

 should always be cut off. To do this, a pair of bolt clippers 

 can be used and also an ordinary pair of nail pincers. The 

 tushes are usually diamond-shaped and if they are nipped on 

 each side with a pair of pincers, being brittle, they will break 

 off. Sometimes people knock them off with a hammer but 

 this is cruel treatment. Sometimes, also,' they are cut off with 

 a meat saw. 



In going among boars and especially at shows where there 

 are strange hogs, one should always be on his guard. A boar 

 may strike at a person and cut his leg. Such injuries are 

 very dangerous. They may result in blood poisoning and 

 should be treated at once by a competent physician. The 

 wound should be well sterilized and disinfected. If the tushes 

 are kept cut off, this danger does not exist. 



Boars used to be sold on the market as such but at a greatly 

 reduced price and without any dock. Some people have made 

 considerable money in buying boars on the market, castrating 

 them and then feeding them a while and selling them again 

 as stags. But in recent years it has become more difficult 

 to ship hogs out of the yards at the market centers and an 

 embargo has been placed upon the slaughter of boars for 

 human consumption. Boar meat is strong and not relished 

 by anyone. Boars should always be castrated when through 

 with service on the farm and then be fed several months and 

 sold as stags. 



THE HERD BOAR 



The herd boar like the herd bull or any other sire is more 

 than half the herd. He must be well bred, well developed, well 

 fed, and well cared for. 



In starting a herd or in introducing new blood, or again when 

 a better boar can be bought than can be produced on the farm, 

 one should buy. One who is producing hogs for the pork 

 market should buy his boars from a person who specializes 

 in pork stock but the boar should be well selected. A poor 

 purebred may not be so good as a good grade. One's ability 

 as a judge counts here. A boar should be selected for his own 

 good characteristics as well as for those of his ancestors. He 



