Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-12-09
The Success -uI Hoa-Ralser.

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To be successful hog raiser and
feeder requires years of experience
One should be particular with re-
gard to the breeding stock; many
are too careless in the selection Of
their breed sows. Often we see men
who have a bunch of young hogs, all
being fed together and prepared for
market, that when ready to select
brood sows throw out a number of
small and inferior sows. giving the
reason that they can get more for
their large ones on the market and
| that the small ones are just as good
for brood sows, says a writer in the
Indiana Farmer. This is a mistake
las 1t viii pay the hograiser to save
the best sows he has every year and
I believe if he has no good ones It
will pay him to buy some from his
Ineighbor, or someone else who has
/ them. Much harm is done the hog
raising industry by breeding imma-
ture stock. as the handling of young
and immature breeding stock from
year to year has a tendency to run
them out, making them fine in bone
and weak in constitution.
There is great difference of opinion
among hog-raisers with regard to
keeping old or young sows. 1 believe
it will pay to keep some old sows
part of the time at least, and try to
save young sows for the next year
from the old ones. This is a step in
the right direction to keep up a herd
with regard to males, select the best
that you can possibly afford 1t
never pays to keep a scrub. Do not
be too slow in selecting your boar as
it will pay better every time to feed
a hog a while and keep him in good
shape and have him when you want
him than to start out to hunt a male
| just when you are ready to use one,
and then perhaps have to take an in
ferior one
Insist ON having the best, and
don't buy a boar unless he is a good
one; don't be afraid of few dollars
If you are really getting a good ami
/ h4fAAJ dOlA I buy q DOcAi SIMPLY DCGduOO
his breeding is good but insist on
having a good individual and if not a
good individual better not buy him.
l believe in buying pure-bred stock,
/ but l do not believe in buying a long
tailed pedigree without any hog. AT
ter having ought your male much de-
ponds on his care and feeding, for
| the future good % your herd. He
should have a good yard, where he
can have plenty of room to exercise,
and should be fed. not for the mar
ket, but just kept in good thrifty con
dition and not allowed TO get too fat.
If you have a good class of hogs of
some particular breed and are think
ing of crossing with some other
breed, don't do IL.
| Select some breed you like and
| stick to it, even though someone might
TRY to persuade you to make a
cnanse. / recall a time a number of
years ago. friend of my fathers an
| old man, visited us, and as he was a
| farmer and quite a stockman our talk
naturally ran along those lines. He
, said to me: Il have been crossing
my hogs for the last year Or two and
/ I believe it is the thing to do. l am
crossing back and forth between the
Poland China and the Chester
Whites He thought he got more
pigs and stronger ones, | thought if
he could make money that way l
could. ! had a very good lot of
Poland China sows, so | bought a
Chester White boar and thought l
would try his scheme. Ny first pigs
were fine and thought l had struck
the right thing in the hog business.
They were uniform in size and color
(all white | continued to cross back
land forth between the Poland Chinas
and Chester Whites for three or four
years. and at the end of that time
could show you almost any kind of a
colored or sized hog you wanted to
see.
So you see that my experience was
that the longer you keep cross breed
ing the less uniform your hogs will
be. AS far as color was concerned
that didn't amount to much, but when
1T came to having them all sizes.
from nice, large, strong pigs down to
the size of halfgrown rats l con
cludtl l could do better with one
breed. So l say select the breed you
like and stick to it. l do not believe
III good idea to get to thinking that