The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-12-28
SELECTING BREEDING SWINE.

An Interesting Paper Read Before the
American Poland China Record Com
pany by President IL. NJ. SissOn.
The first indispensable requisite of a
good breeder is the possession of a good
constitution and inherited good health.
You know Bob Ingersoll said that if he
had arranged things in this world he
would have made good health catching
instead of disease. We want good health
catching" in our hogs instead of ''hog
cholera" In order to accomplish this
we must select our breeders that are
active, hardy, vigorous and capable Of
reasonable endurance. If we expect to
obtain these desirable qualities we must
select those that have proper frame as a
foundation. The bone must be of good
quality, shape and size; hard, fine.
grained and strong. Coarse, soft, spongy
bone will not answer. Nor can you &C.
cept bone too small or fine.
The framework of the breeding stock
we select should be of such size and
form that all the vital organs can have
ample and harmonious development.
Length, breadth and depth should be
considered. We can not too strongly
recommend the necessity of good, rough,
solid feet, short pasterns and good,
straight legs of only medium length. 1t
is hardly necessary to look at the feet
as many times as Shep advises. In
ordinary cases five or six times will be
enough, as we will need little time to
examine other parts of their organiza-
ton. 1t is equally necessary that the
covering of the frame be of good ma
terial. Strong tendons, well-developed
muscles and firm flesh are required.
Such animals as / have described are
the result of long and intelligent selec-
ton through many generations, that
have had all the advantages of proper
food, exercise and general good treat
ment. 1t seems to me absolutely neces-
sary that the two kinds of food-carbon-
aceous Tor fat forming) and heterogeneous
Tor flesh or bone forming -should have
been used in proper proportions in order
that the desired result may have been
produced. Consequently in making a
wise selection of animals for breeding
purposes only such should be chosen as
are descended from long line of ances-
tors that have had the advantages of a
substantial compliance with the above
conditions.
We should not only select pigs of
proper form, but they should show suf-
ficient indications that they are
growthy and will attain the proper size.
l am not in favor of overgrown, coarse
hogs, and do not believe they are as
profitable or sell as we'll in the market
as those of medium bone. l am aware
there is great demand for large and
coarse pigs for breeding purposes. This
is largely due, probably, to the fact that
corn (Which is not bone producer)
forms so large portion of their diet to
the exclusion of food that is bone pro-
ducing; consequently the bone is always
decreasing in size, hence the demand
for pigs of large bone to correct the evil.
The remedy for this is the substitution
of sufficient heterogeneous food, as rye,
oats, bran, shorts, middlings, oil-meal,
grass and clover, not forgetting also an
ample supply of wood ashes, which is
one of the best bone builders and worm
destroyers, and may perhaps have a
favorable and ameliorating influence on
''swirls. "-Breeder's Gazette.