Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-12-19
SELECTING BREEDINo SWINE

An Interesting Paper Read Before shs
American Poland China Record Com
Pany by President II. M. SIsson.
The first indispensable requisite of q
good breeder is the possession of good
constitution and inherited good health.
GU know Bob Ingersou said that if he
had arranged things in this world he
would have made good health catching
instead OF disease We want good health
/ ca.cning In our hogs instead of ''hog
enoiera- In order to accomplish this
we must select our breeders that are
active. hardy. vigorous and capable of
reasonable endurance. If we exnect To
obtain these desirable Qualities we must
select those that have oroner frame as
foundation The bone must no 81 s,,r,d
quality. shape and sizes hard. fine-
grained and strong. Coarse. soft. snonov
bone will not answer. Nor can Won az.
cept bone too small or fine
The framework of the breeding s.ocl,
we select should be of such size .,a
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. Il
is hardly necessary to look at the feet
as many times as Shep advises. In
ordinary cases five or six times 9Till be
enough, as we will need a 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, weli-deyeloped
muscles and firm flesh are required.
Such animals as have described are
the result of long and intelligent seleos
ton through many generations, that
have had all the advantages of prope4
food, exercise and general good treat
ment. 1t seems to me absolutely 0eces-
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 ordeB
that the desired result may have been
produced. Consequently in making Q
wise selection of animals for breeding
purposes only such should be chosen 40
are descended from long line of ancess
tors that have had the advantages q n
substantial compliance with the above
conditions.
We should not only select pigs %
proper form, but they should show suf-
fcient indications that they are
growthy and will attain the proper size.
/ am not in favor of overgrown, coarse
hogs, and do not believe they are as
profitable or sell as well in the market
as those of medium bone. I an aware
there is a great demand for large and
coarse pigs for breeding purposes. Tho
is largely due, probably, to the fact tha4
corn (which is not a bone prcxiucerk
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, oilmeal,
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 o
favorable and ameliorating influence on
''swirls. "-Breeder's Gazette.