Hutchinson gazette., 1901-08-01
Out Crossing for PrOIiIicacy.

II Ia a well-establlshed law In breed
ing that animals long bred In the same
line without change OF latitude, en-
Vironment and food tend TO become
shy breeders, while in the case OF an
imals consanguineously mated I'm
and-in bred) ,sterillty more or less
complete is no uncommon result OF
such unchanged admixture OF blood.
This subject has been explained be-
fore in this department, 1t has been
stated that long continued feeding OF
corn as a we'll nigh exclusive ration
has made the Poland-China breed OF
swine noted for remarkable develop
ment of form for lard production, but
that the present character OF the breed
has been attained at the loss OF the
desirable qualification Of large litter
production. In short, II has been
shown that the Poland-China SOW Is
usually the dam OF small litter OF
pigs, whereas the old-fashloned SOW
brought forth large lltters of strong,
healthy pigs and furnished bounte-
GUS supply Of milk for their susie
nance. Taking these facts into con-
sideratlon 1t has been suggested here
that the way to improve the breeding
qualifications OF the Poland-China
SOW and indeed any breed Of swine 10
to 60 back to natural methods Of
breeding and feeding. Left to nature
hogs take from the bosom Of mother
earth a number OF different feeding
materials and from the Joint amount
acquire all of the things necessary
for perfect maintenance and full de-
velopment Of bone, muscle blood, vim,
vigor, vitality. Exercising as they do
In the open air every function Of the
body is perfectly performed and the
blood at all times is perfectly circu-
lated and oxidlzed, so that the animal
is vigorous and healthy. Under these
circumstances the males and their
mates are active and vigorous. The
sows bring forth after their kind not
three or four or Ave pigs, but large
number at time Of pigs that, like
their parents, are able to rustic for
%ving in the open, Such swine have
not the modern perfection Of form.
Their backs are built for their bur-
dens-in other words, excessive ex-
erecise in gathering food develops a
form suited for such work, and to this
shape has been given the suggestive
name Of razor back" They have
deep chests and well developed thighs
and strong bones and stand up per-
fectly upon their feet. They have,
moreover, remarkable snouts, emil
nently well adapted for deep shovel
Ing after the hidden roots and other
vegetable treasures Of the earth. They
combine, in short, few good things
with a lot Of points that cannot be
commended. Their vitality, vim, Wig
or, virillty are, however. attributes of
high value In any breed and Just the
ones that tend to vanish the modern
environment, close breeding and ex-
cessive use Of corn. To some this may
seem mere theory; plausible upon pa
per, but not Corroborated In practice.
The facts mentioned cannot be denied
the deductions from the facts require
corroboration, and this is forthcom-
ing, At the Wisconsin Agricultural
station may be seen some wonderful
specimens Of the razor back" breed
Of hogs, They were discovered and
corralled with assistance Of dogs in
Indian Territory. They look strange
and uncouth among the pure bred
swine Of the station, but they are
there for purpose and they have not
disappointed Professors Henry and
Carlyle. They were obtained to prove
the correctness Of the suggestions out
lined here regarding the results Of line
breeding and corn feeding It was
hoped and expected that an. infusion
Of their blood with that Of the indo-
lent, corn loving, fat forming Poland
China would increase the number OF
pigs in the litters and at the same
time infuse new vitality and vlgor.
This 1t has done in every case. The
writer recently examined number Of
fine litters Of half bred pigs from pure
bred Poland-China sows mated with
these boars and was pleased and in
W hoJO buOll OACSllCuCb III tN-
cry respect. One SOW that had never
brought more than three or four pigs
at time had nine to the first service
Of a razor back" All of the pigs
were Of fine type and all Of remarka-
BILE robustness and vitality. All Of
them showed good feeding qualities
and all that could be detected as in
dicative Of alien blood was a length
ening Of the snout and slight reduc-
ton in blockiness of type. In carry
ing out the experiment with this in
fusion Of fresh blood from original
types possessed Of natural, vlgor and
constitution 1t has already been dem
onstrated that lltters are invariably !
increased as to numbers OF pigs, and
the pigs are apparently little IL at all
deprecated In type, while all are char
acterized by added vitality and vim
and capacity for good consumption
and assimilation not seen In the pure
bred Poland-China. 1t has further
been noted that the razor back boars
are an Immediate cure for shy breed
ing and that non-breeding sows usu-
ally prove in pig to them at the first