214 
Piffx : their Brecdincj and Management. 
was intended she should be. I prefer putting sows to the boar 
in October or Nov^ember ; the litter will then come about March, 
and the sow will take the boar in May, so that her second litter 
will have become well grown before winter sets in. 
With respect to the choice of a boar, I would remark that 
as the external form and locomotive organs are mainly con- 
tributed by the male, great care and attention must be paid to 
these features. The size I deem of less consequence than with 
the sow. A boar should possess a decidedly masculine cha- 
racter, should be active in his movements, have fire without 
ferocity, and should show breed both in form and carriage. 
Great importance also attaches to the feet and legs. The hoofs 
should be short and straight, the fetlock-joints strong, the fore- 
legs straight and well outside him, giving width to the chest. 
The hind-legs should be strong and not cow-hocked, the hams 
wide and deep, the testicles should be well beneath the thickest 
part of the ham and not too large, and not, as is too often seen, 
protruding immediately beneath the tail. Consanguinity should 
of course be as remote as possible. 
In animals of both sexes special attention should be paid 
to the formation of those parts which produce joints of the 
highest market-value, a point not so uniformly insisted upon by 
Judges in our showyards as is desirable. A notable instance 
of the kind came under my observation at a meeting of the 
Royal Agricultural Society some two or three years ago. Two 
boars were exhibited in competition, one remarkably good in 
his back, loins, and hams ; the other was comparatively mean 
and defective in these parts, but wonderfully good across his 
shoulders, and, as the saying is, " he met you well." The 
Judges put the latter first, the second prize going to the former 
— a boar which, although a year younger, was a very level 
perfect pig, and greatly superior to the first-prize animal in 
those parts which are of most value to the butcher. I may 
add this error of judgment was commented upon at the time by 
breeders as well as by the Press, and I should not again have 
called attention to the circumstance but for the importance 
of the principle involved. 
No branch of the subject is of more importance than the 
management of breeding-sows. After being served, they should 
have plenty of exercise in a roomy yard or paddock ; they 
should be fed with a little bran or pollard mixed with slops or 
wash from the house ; in summer they should have green food — 
grass, tares, or prickly comfrey. I may mention that well-fed pigs, 
getting up for show, are exceedingly fond of comfrey — it is first- 
rate food for any kind of pig — it grows luxuriantly, and yields 
a constant supply throughout the summer. In winter, breeding 
