Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1913-09-11

BY John ;. Purdy in Country Gentle

ally barren, sandy waste INTO nlSniH
?, oductive farm. twenty-five years
ago Andrew J. Staplston was 8 me-
ehanio mailing guns for Uncle sam
Having been brought up on s. farm,
he retained the desire TO own piece
Of land. so he purchased sixty acres
of land covered with scrub oak. birch
and yellow pine. which. as he says.
was chiefly valuable for the possible
ice privileges. He thought little o.
the land for farming purposes. but
his father. who was s practical farm
81, told Andrew that the home farm
was once as poor and that il hac
been converted into 8 very produe-
tive farm by keeping hogs
The young man determine that his
father should not Guido him. bought
aine bred sows and : boar. all OF com
mon scrub stock. such as nearly every
one kept in the vicinity. Arrange
nisnts were made for supply u CT,
garbage TO feed them. The pigs grea
nd increased in numbers. but they
Grew slowly and il relui-ef frcas
lVs &c 10 fifteen months OF feed M
n produce a nog that would dress
zoo pounds
Sixteen years ago Mr. Stapletor
visited al agricultural fair and natnr-
ally looked over the hogs. He was
greatly impressed with the size OF the
Berkshirss. and much 1or@ 50 when
told their ages and weights. which
were far beyond any weights he has-
ever dreamed Of He finally paid
one Of the exhibitors $40 for n boar
pig. and awaited results TIE -
came il due time and vas Arough
home. He was s little piE." said
Andrew in speaking Ct h'm. "sr
awfully little pig for the uo7ev-" r.
The pig grew amazingly md ~ =
months OF age was bigger -h-n a1v
yearlings he had on The -'1-a
was bred 70 the scrub sows ard 80
progeny showed the effect i-n~---
blood BY reaching the sane
81 nine months OF age that he sc-r
stock had attained a. the end OF fro
twelve 10 fifteen months
So well impressed vas Nj Staple
ton with the value Of good blood tha-
he sent TO = Connecticut breeder for
two pu-e-b-ed soEs- One narrowed
four pigs; the other none. So thf
herd OF purebred Berkshires a.
started and has been gradually l.
creased until il comprises over @
hundred head all told-from tven
10 twenty-five breeding soEs and Nv.
OF three herd bears. From tel %
teen Young sows are bred each rear
The real beginning OF the presen-
heard vas made in the purchase O.
the SOW. Sweet Sixteen. from Z prom
inent eastern breeder. Shortly afie-
ward three or four gifts and a boz
we're purchased at Z public B=rss''
sale. Since then only one SOW hss
been purchased. but new blood he
been introduced through boars @
popular families. Mr. Stapieton' :
Ideas OF Berkshires were formed BY
the earlier type OF large hog. witl
4 good top and under line. deep BODY
square heavy hams. good shoulders
and head that at the present tim
would be called long 1t stood square
on four good feet and legs. He has
ever maintained this type. and wha-
is more. he has bred the modern dish
faced bag without any sacrifice o
other good points.
In relating his experience in in
PRODUCING new blood. Mr.. Stapleto-
says that the results have often bee
unsatisfactory. He states that no.
30 long ago many breeders sacrifice
everything for good head. and the
got little else. He has paid fame
prices to well-known breeders fol
fancy-bred boars and sows only t.
send them to the slaughterhouss
when he found that they developed
into little more than pedigree.
| The result is that Mr.. Stapleton ha:
a herd that is remarkable not onl,
for quality but for the high individual
excellence of every animal There =
but one homely SOW on the place
She was prize winner in her earle
years. but the production of two "
ters year. none of them containin'
fewer than ten pigs. has not improves
her appearance.
The hogs are not kept in expensive
buildings. nor is any exceptional car
bestowed upon them. They az
housed in small shacks OF the chez n
est kind. built of one thickness =
square-edge inch boards. the roof GOV
cred with tarred paper The house
contain no windows and only an open
ing for the pigs to go in and out. TIL
buildings are set in small yards q
III from half an acre to two or tbra