Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-06-27
ITEMS OF INTEREST FOR FARMER
BREEDER AND STOCK RAISER

Below are given some timely adj
vices from the pen Of Prof. w. j. Ken
nedy, for many years president Of the
animal industry department at Ames
college: ~
One Of the first essentials in profit
able pork production is to have the
right kind of hog. This is the start
ing point. It Is a point that Is by far
too often overlooked. We have gone al
together too much for fads and fancies
and not enough for the real dollar and
cents kind. Conditions the country
over demand that we pay more atten-
ton to the selecting Of the best types
for our breeding purposes What is the
profitable type of hog? This question
has been very often discussed Differ
ent men have somewhat different ideas.
In the end there is such an animal. 1t
Is as well defined as daylight is from
darkness.
This hog must meet the demands OF
the consumer, because in the end 1t is
the pork barrel that really counts. This
hog must also produce large and eco
nomical gains, so as to insure profit to
the producer. In other words, he must
be a truly utility animal. In the last
analysis the question OF individuality is
Of much more Importance than the
have real good hogs and also very I'M
desirable ones in every one of our re-
ognized breeds. This has been true In
the past and will doubtless continue to
be true in the future. The question of
breed must be settled by each indivi6-
raj hog raiser for himself. 1t has been
truly said that the ideal and profita bic
farmer type of hog is the one that
never lies to the assessor. He is farroW-
after q =
and is marketed, weighing 800 pounds
or better, before the assessor arrives
next year. Such hogs are not all con-
fined to any one breed. nor are they all
red, black or white in color; they are
all colors and belong to all breeds. This
is the kind Of hog which can convert
feed into dollars and cents every day
of the into profit for his feeder.
There are several fundamental things
constitution, body capacity, feet and
legs, head. straightness of body lines,
shoulders and quality.
Constitution.
In all classes Of live stock we must
always be on the lookout for constitu-
ton. We cannot pay too much atten-
ton to this question. In far too many
instances 1t Is the determining point as
to profit or loss in our feeding opera
ton. This is especially true In swine.
The daily gains and health of the hog
are very largely determined by the
question of constitution. The more Wig
orous the hog the more he will eat, and
the more he eats the heavier and the
more economical the daily gains. Thus
vigor insures the two most important
points to be considered In pork produce
ton, namely, rapidity Of gains and
economy Of gains. We will now consid-
er some of the indications Of constitu
ton. First, and most important, is 8
large heart girth, as indicated by depth
of body behind the shoulders and width
of floor Of chest. A second indication
OF constitution is a broad head, with
large mouth and nostrils. Avoid hog
with a narrow, tucked in chest or a
pinched, narrow muzzle, with small
nostrils, as both of these defects are
very serious They are both costly
from the standpoint Of heavy and
economical gains, the two money max
ing points in pork production.
Body Capacity.
What do we keep hogs for? We do so
simply to convert feed into meat. Thus
we can readily see that the greater the
hogs body capacity the greater will be
his ability to make rapid and econom-
ical gains from the food consumed
BOQy capacity is opIdluSu III eAieS
different ways, and all of these are to
be found in real useful hogs. namely,
length of body. width Of body and
depth Of body. The two most common
defects are lack Of length and lack Of
depth. Every farmer should insist on
having all three, and especially the
last two. Flesh will help widen a hog,
but it will not increase his length. and
do but very little in the way Of de-
veloping the hog.
Feet and Legs.
The feet and legs Of the hog are. to
often looked over very lightly. We
must bear in hind that large, heavy
bodied hog requires good strong feet
and legs to take him to market If he
breaks down on the way he must be
sold as cripple AT very much re-
duced price, The legs should be
straight, strong and well supported be-
low the hooks and knees. We should
look for bone Of good size and quality.
Clean, hard bone is what is wanted.
It is always wise to avoid the meaty-
boned hog. because such a bone indi-
Gates coarseness and lack Of strength.
A real good bone gradually tapers be-
low the knee and the hook. Demand
good pasterns: these should be short
and strong The toes should be short
and well kept together, as spreading
toes are very undesirable. Avoid a hog
with crooked hind legs or knock-kneed
in front. as both deviations are very
Many good judges claim that the