P/V Try H oj^ 
Vol. LXVIII. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 W. 30th St., New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 8, 1919. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, June 26, 1879. at the Post 
Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1879. 
No. 4520 
L 
Will British Pedigree Pigs be Wanted for 
Improving American Herds After 
the War? 
IXED TYPES.—American farmers have always 
relied upon British breeders to supply the foun¬ 
tainheads for their live stock improvement activities. 
The word “imported” prefixed to an animal's name, 
means a great deal to our stockmen, for they know 
that the foreign breeder does not meddle with nor 
mingle together a number of breeds and types, but 
rather chooses the one breed that has been developed 
within his district, and probably on this particular 
farm, for generations, thus making it possible to in¬ 
sure prepotency and a definite fixation of type and 
breed - character so essential in constructive breeding 
maintain and improve her flocks, herds and studs. 
THE AMERICAN LARD HOG.—When it comes to 
pork production it is admittedly true that the corn- 
belt farmer has established a type of lard hog espe¬ 
cially suited for converting corn into pork at a profit, 
and naturally this type of animal is substantially 
different from specimens popular in Great Britain, 
where homegrown corn is not available, and where 
the pigs must be fed chiefly upon dairy by-products, 
supplemented with cereal, grains and forage. The 
American hog stands in a class by itself, largely be¬ 
cause it has been developed to meet a peculiar de¬ 
mand that lias confronted the American farmer, 
whereby he has resolved to produce a meat-making 
machine that will serve as a transfer agent for his 
corn, barley, middlings and tankage. Nevertheless, 
type of animal whose feeding qualities have not been 
checkmated as a result of in-and-in breeding, and 
whose prolificacy will be maintained to such a degree 
that there will be no decrease in the percentage of 
pigs yielded from successive matings. 
LIMITING FACTORS IN PORK PRODUCTION. 
■—There are four limiting factors in pork production, 
namely: Sanitation, prolificacy, early maturity and 
feeding qualities. With our pasture facilities and 
the increased use of forage crops, our problems in 
sanitation are being met and solved, yet it must be 
admitted that the continued and repeated usage of 
hog cholera serum and virus has depleted certain es¬ 
sential qualities in herds where it is constantly being 
injected. Many progressive breeders share in the 
belief that there are certain limitations to its value, 
A Hunch of Swine at Pant are. Turning .1 1 '<>1 fa into I’ork, and Getting No me Fun Out of the Job as They Go Along. Fig. 52 
operations. Our flock-masters realize what the Eng- 
Ush shepherd has achieved in perfecting the form 
and function of the modern breeds of sheep; our 
cattle breeders apprec i:e the marked and consis¬ 
tent improvements that are constantly crowning the 
efforts of the British nerdsmen, and bravely risked 
the submarine peril in order that imported sires and 
matrons might continue to improve our herds, and 
thus encourage the breeding fraternity to cling per¬ 
sistently to the perfected type of the Smithfield or 
Royal pattern, while from the very outset, our breed- 
t rs of draft horses have insisted that regular im¬ 
portations be made, and are still firm in their con¬ 
viction that the successful American breeder must 
continue to follow the British studs, and to depend 
even more upon imported sires for seed stock. 
Surely our progressive farmers will always turn to 
England for a generous percentage of new blood to 
certain of our constructive breeders of swine are 
restless. They appreciate the fact that the popular 
blood lines in America are becoming more or less 
infused; that inbreeding—yes, incestuous mating— 
is indulged in by a great many swine breeders, and 
that as a result of the continuation of this practice 
they are bound to encounter shy breeders, small lit¬ 
ters and a depletion of constitutional vigor and vital¬ 
ity. Mc-re type without scale is priceless folly. 
INTRODUCED BLOOD LINES.—The American 
stockman can scarcely match wits with the clever 
English breeder when it comes to drawing the line, 
and halting at the exact spot where the mating of 
animals closely related should cease. For this rea¬ 
son it is easy to believe that the farsighted swine 
breeder will see his way clear to introduce blood 
lines from England that will, rejuvenate his herd, 
and thus enable him still further to perpetuate that 
and that immunity should be perpetuated by means 
of developing a hardy, vigorous animal, by adopting 
modern methods in feeding and management, rather 
than by relying upon the protective agency of a 
manufactured product Here again the imported 
animal would find an important function to per¬ 
form. and much might be gained from the infusion. 
SIZE OF LITTERS.—As far as the size of the lit¬ 
ters is concerned, let us admit that the fecundity of 
the English brood sow excels that possessed by the 
average brood sow in the corn belt. Naturally our 
market requirements demanding early maturity have 
shortened the growing period of our animals, and 
literally the fattening period now begins before the 
pig is born. The English breeder has never prac¬ 
ticed such vices. He makes a fair demarcation be¬ 
tween growing and fattening periods, and is a patron 
of the practice whereby it is his job to grow a 
