The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1914-11-26
PRATT PLEADS FOR
THOROUGHBRED HOGS
Local Breeder Writes to Urge
Keeping of Pure Bred Stock
on the Farm

pooh pOOneQ any more Cndn OlO
when on an occasion some years
ago it was suggested to me that
ought to keep pure-bred hogs.
The ultimate nd of the hog,
said l, is the pork barrel and the
chopping block. Why worry
about his color or blood? Why
concern yourself about his an
cestors, his immediate relatives
or whether he is recorded in the
blue book or not? The price of
his carcass will be the same. A
hog is a hog and all the use we
have for him is that he devour
his ration, increase in size and
get ready as fast as possible for
his ultimate end. What will it
profit me to spend money, good,
hard earned money, for color and
blue blood in hogs? And about
here we sprung that old time
conundrum about the difference
between an agriculturalist and
a farmer, the answer being that
the former makes his money in
town and spends it in the cOun-
try while the other reverses the
process. Then why not let the
agriculturalist spend his money
in pure-bred hogs?
Well, you have heard lots of
farmers say practically the same
thing and it appears on the sur
face as a sufficient answer to
the proposition. But let us see
if there is not another side to
the question, if we take a little
more time to investigate the
subject more thoroughly. In
the first place / am going to say
that it costs but very little extra
to have your herd of hogs. all
pure-bred. Or at least so little
that you can scarce notice it.
For a matter of ten or fifteen
dollars extra you. can buy pure
bred gilt already bred to a pure
bred boar and from the litter
keep the females for brood sOws
and in much shorter space of
time than you imagine and with
very little trouble you will find
that you have a pure-bred herd
on hand. Or another method of
about the same cost as this one.
Buy a couple Of weanling SOW
pigs for a starter. AS to the
male end of the outfit every one
now comedies that a pure-bred is
essential to any herd so the ex-
pense there does not count. ]
grant you that if you are going
in the business to sell pure-breds
to other breeders your expense
account has not started and
there are lots of things to con-
slider but that has nothing to do
with what we are discussing
here. 1t will not take you long
to get back the few extra dollars
that you have invested in your
herd. AS soon as it is known in
the neighborhood that your herd
is all pure-bred the first one that
wants to buy an extra sow or
boar will come to see you and
will be quite willing to pay a
few extra dollars above the price
of cross-bred animals.
But where is the great gain to
come from and the special bene-
fit going to be derived? ! will
likely surprise you when | say
to yourself, your family and
YOUR farm generally. Did you
ever see a band of say fifty or
one hundred pure-bred Duroc-
Jersey hogs feeding in the green
alfalfa fields, their golden color
ed backs glistening in the morn
ing sunlight? Alike as two peas
every one beauty. Beautiful,
did you say? Yes. hogs can be
beautiful. If you don't believe 1t
come out to Meadow Brook
Farm, Kennewick, Wash, and
coo "Pratt's Pedigreed Pigs.