Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-09-22


I will make some jottings from my
experience as a swine breeder in tho
south, for the benefit OF my brother
breeders In the east and west, writes
Geo. M. Prescott In Western Swine
herd. My father was q slave holder
and southern planter; q breeder OF ra-
zor-back hogs Of all the different
strains-red, yellow, white, spotted and
red and black. He raised many hogs
and fed them literally to his slaves.
When only seven years old l fell in
love with a little blue SOW shoat owned
by wealthy gentleman. asked him
to give me the shoat. To my Joy he
smilingly replied, well, Georgia, you
shall have her." carried her to my
fathers hoDoS and soon found that he.
too, was In love with the little blue
SOW. From her he received blood
which greatly improved his Georgia
raSor-backs. This incident occurred
Just fifty years ago, and | have pursued
tho calling with pleasure and profit
from that day to this. Your readers
will understand that there is quite a
difference between o hog-ralser and a
breeder. My operations for many
years were confined to native breeds
or nzor-backs. but I found that this
genus was not responsive. Develop
pent was slow and tedious. could
get nothing to come up to my ideals
and l abandoned the task, believing the
breed to be susceptible to no satisfac-
tory development. Today the best I
can say for any specimen of razor
back is that he is better than no hog.
Like his wire-grass owner, he has no
past nor future-he just exists by
chance and fills, for the present, the
space he happens to fall into when
evolved from the womb Of fortuity.
You have heard something of late OF
this hogs good quallties-his iron con-
stitutlon, his power to resist disease
aad his ability to secure his own food,
etc. Now, any one who Is familiar
with the breed knows that he Is not
constituted or made to have q constI-
tuition. He has no good, solid back, no
heart girth, no roomy sides to promote
digestion. As to his power to resist
disease he Is woefulIy deficient, on the
contrary II there 10 disease near or far
his rowing disposition leads him to
ferret 1t out. He catches on and 1t
holds on. Any hog will secure his
food II 1t Is convenient. No honest
man wants hog that will secure his
own food Acknowledgment Is by
breaking into his neighbors' fields. II
| should exhibit a specimen before
competent judges the verdict would
be, he Is made to get further-and
that he can do to perfection. You
Know there Is much talk about the
bacon hog. Some breeders imagine
that n "Florida razor-back" crossed
on their blooded sows will give them
the hog for which the near future holds
demand. Let the rich man expert
'ANAb iNb NhO ppul nun MulCH duh
walt. Turn a wlre-grass boar shoat
with a lot Of queenly gifts on q west
ern farm and the breeder will have to
burn out to get clear of the faint. l
have experimental with all the popu-
lar breeds and have found good quail
ties In all, and the Poland-Chlna hog
to BIO the best for my use. | believe
this nog to be the best for the south,
though no blooded hog can be kept to
his normal size In the south. With
proper care, pasture and feed, how
ever, he will BIO profitable and large
enough, though not so large as In his
native section. II had space l coNid
explain, but 1t is well that 1t is so. I
think we ought to be satisfied With our
cotton, and let our western brothers
breed and raise large hogs and have
good living when they earn 1t. 1
would not, II could, raise all the COO
ton and large hogs and leave my
brothers destitute. / rejoice In their
success and bemoan my fate. Blooded
stock not appreciated and cotton ava
cents.