SWINE RAISING IN HAWAII. 17 
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HERD. 
It is of course assumed that an ample supply of green crops and 
grain or by-products is on hand before the swine arrive. Beginners 
frequently make the mistake of poorly balancing their stock and 
feed and consequently of having to purchase additional feed, often 
at high cost, after the stock arrives. 
Regardless of how good it is, the herd is made or marred by man- 
agement. The breeder may be an excellent judge of swine and able 
to mate them for the best results in breeding, but if his system of 
every-day care, which is known as management, is irrational, the 
animals will not thrive and the most rigorous selection will be ren- 
dered ineffective. Much feed and effort are wasted, even when the 
herd is carefully fed and managed, when the individuals are either 
poorly selected or poorly mated. A thorough knowledge of the work 
to be done, together with hard work and untiring efforts, is the price 
of successful swine raising. It is wise to build up pure-bred stock 
slowly, especially in the beginning. 
Xeither boar nor sows should be bred under 9 months of age, and 
then only moderately. A year-old boar will take care of 10 sows 
nicely, and when fully mature can be placed at the head of 20 or 
30 sows. Two herd boars should be maintained, if possible, and their 
breeding propensities tested on each sow in turn. 
Before breeding is begun the herd should be carefully distributed 
and comfortably settled. The boar should be placed in a pen by 
himself, and the dry sows of equal age or size, if of good disposition 
and from the same herd, grouped in pasture. New animals should 
be quarantined for at least 30 days and freed from vermin before 
they are placed with the established herd. 
Brood sows should be turned into a separate pasture, kept quiet, 
and well cared for. A week or two before farrowing time, which 
occurs about 112 days after breeding, each sow should be placed 
by herself in a yard where there is a crop and a small pen so that 
she will become accustomed to the new surroundings before farrow- 
ing. The sow should be made as comfortable as possible as farrow- 
ing time approaches. She should be kept in good condition, but not 
allowed to get too fat. 
Feeds that are laxative, but not too rich, should be given toward 
the close of gestation. The bedding should consist of clean, dry 
beach sand or short litter. Long straw or weeds are likely to cause 
entanglement of the young. Sows should not be allowed to farrow 
on a bare cement floor, because both mother and young will take 
cold. 
Some one should be in attendance at farrowing time to lend assist- 
ance if needed. The young should be removed to a clean, dry, 
warm box, and returned to the mother every two or three hours. 
When the pigs are from .12 to 18 hours old they can generally be 
left with the sow with perfect safety. Mortality can be greatly 
reduced among the pigs if they are tenderly cared for during the 
first week of life. 
For the first 24 hours after farrowing the sow should receive no 
feed whatever, but she should be given a liberal supply of lukewarm 
