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i6 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1900. | 
Most breeders think that they cannot wait this long on sows before they 
breed them, yet if a breeder has a choice young sow, and wishes to make 
something first-class out of her, he can well afford to wait the extra six months, 
before he breeds her. | 
A sow should never be bred before she is eight months old, and she should _ 
then have the very best of care until her litter is weaned; then she should not 
be bred to farrow her second litter before she is 23 or 24 months old, for she 
needs at least seven or eight months’ time to finish her growth before she 
farrows her second litter, for if she is a good suckler she will make little if any 
growth while she is suckling her first litter. She must, therefore, have time to 
nish her growth before she farrows her second litter, or she will be always) 
undersized. It takes plenty of size combined with style and finish to make a 
choice brood sow; and if we would have a little more patience and let our sows 
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more fully mature before they have their first litters, it would be easier to have” 
large, well-finished brood sows in our herds. 
SIZE AND MEASUREMENT OF BREEDING PIGS. | 
P. C. Holme, in American Swinebreeder, says:—It is a common fault of — 
farmers, and of many breeders, to place too high an estimate on size, losing” 
sight of general excellence and lines of breeding. Growthiness of itself is aa) 
desirable trait of any feeding animal, provided that with it are carried good | 
proportions, squareness of build, and evenness of flesh. It is true that in a herd — 
of cattle or litter of pigs the biggest is often of the least value for the feederh 
the butcher, or the breeder. So in selecting an animal for breeding purposes 
one must not overestimate size. Bigness is generally coupled with unevenness | 
and lack of symmetry. And as symmetry covers all the points, and means that 
they are developed uniformly or in such harmony as not to leave the animal very 
defective at any one point, we must place a higher value on symmetry than o 
bigness alone. } 
It is no uncommon thing to hear farmers say, after looking at an animal _ 
that has won many prizes in the show ring and on the track, that they have 
better animals at home. Of course we all doubt their assertion and pity their 
lack of discrimination or want of knowledge of what goes to make an animal — 
of high excellence all round. No intelligent breeder is willing to use a male _ 
that is very deficient in girth, loin, limb, or quarter. He may use one that is 
not as fancy in the ear, or head, or colour as he would like, yet these a1e minor 
points compared with those which go to make form and weight, quality and 
constitution. 
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ments. While this may help the beginners, yet the pa Pee breeder oat | 
ich the tape line and 
rule cannot show. There are outstanding excellencies of style, finish, 
symmetry, and quality that measurements fail to reveal or balance, so as to~ 
show their value as a whole. If the experienced breeder meets a pig or calf 
that combines the quality, symmetry, growth, and stamina that attract him, he 
will next want to know the breeding. ‘This test fixes the price of such an ideal” 
pig or calf above that of the butcher so far that farmers and others wonder 
what the buyer could see in that animal to make it worth the price paid. The 
art of breeding has made such an advance that blood has a value not to be 
estimated by pounds avoirdupois, but by pounds sterling. 
Until a higher value is placed on general excellence, coupled with good 
breeding, and less value on mere bigness or special fads for big measurements — 
or fancy ears and tails and markings (all desirable, but of no fixed value until 
they are so combined with good breeding, and individuality shown in symmetry, 
