The Meeker herald., 1905-11-04
! ZzNg2!lj1,I
k!lSazS11'|'

Hogs At the Fairs.
It can not be denied that exhibits
Of swine at the small and large fairs
Of the country have done q great deal
of good in teaching farmers the types
OF the various pure breeds of swine and
In stimulating them to attempt the i'm
provement of their home herd and
fully develop the pigs by adequate
feeding and good care. such ~ IL
given to show animals by the profes.
.sional exhibitor and his assistsnts. 1t
is no less true that the exhibits at
most OF the state fairs are growing I'M
wieldy and less instructive to visitors
than would be the case were so or 90
per cent OF the animals excluded from
the exhibition. Breeders evidently
bring far more hogs to the fair than
they have any intention of showing,
and indeed many men show but three
or four hogs out of an entry of per-
haps ten to twenty head. This, We
think, is correct, but we may be q
little on as to exact figures. The
principle is at least correct, in that
many Of the hogs entered are not
brought forward for competition, but
are merely brought to the fair with
the hope of finding purchaser. This
is all right for the breeder and per
haps good for the prospective buyer in
few instances, but 1t is not for the
general good of the visitor, who
wants the best possible chance to see
the best hogs and compare them, SO
that he may learn correct lessons as
to best types and improvements that
are being made from year to year in
the various breeds of swine.
Times are changing. The time was
was when the number of head of swine
at show was taken as the criterion
OF success. The Management came to
the conclusion that where a great
many breeders and q vast number of
swine came together there surely
would be the best possible aggrega-
tion Of swine for the education of the
farming public. But they erred in
this estimate. for we have seen q bet
ter show of swine where but two or
three hundred were exhibited THAI
was the case where . thousand head
crowded the buildings to overlooking.
When but few hundred were shown
they were the pick Of the breeders
home lot Of hogs. Now that many
hundreds are shown q few Of them
are fne specimens, and the majority
are OF medium or Inferior quality and
brought forward to sell. It is good
that the breeder has an opportunity
to sell his hogs At the state fair. but 1t
is unfortunate that the present
method Of exhibiting allows the ex.
hibitor to NIL any number Of pens he
cares to pay for and with any kind Of
hog he fancies will sell to good 3D.
vantage. We do not desire to cur
tail the opportunities Of the breeder,
but we do wish to improve those Of
the visitor and student.
To this end the management OF
every fair should set apart accommo-
dations for hogs intended for sale, but
not for show. The houses for show
hogs should be kept clean, well dis
infected. deodorized and ventilated. 30
that visitors may go the rounds In
comfort, and the hogs be less exposed
to the ravages Of contagious disease.
Into these show houses Q single ex.
hibitor should not be allowed to put
more than SUFFICIENT swine to give him
one. or at most. two or three. candi-
dates for honors In each event. We're
this done the visitor could then make
an intelligent study of the winners,
and, by looking at the pick of the
swine. would best educate himself to
improvements taking place in types
and among the different breeds. The
work OF the Judges would also be
greatly lessened. for it takes time to
weed out the poor hogs until the good
ones remain to be given the prizes
Another necessary Improvement in
connection with the exhibition of hogs
at the state fairs is better drainage
Of the sites Of the hog houses. At
some fairs should a rain come, the
ground about the hog houses is speed.
lily trampled to a mush and visitors
can not get about comfortably with
out rubber boots. 1t would be a COM
paratively easy matter to properly
drain such places and to provide side
walks built high enough above the
ground to keep them from becoming
water-logged and Undiscovered during
. wet spell. Lastly 1t will be well
when hogs can be housed according
to classes as well as breeds. but much
simpler things have to be properly at
tended to before such a radical meas
ure as this can be instituted.-A. s.
Alexander In Farmers Review.