Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1918-09-20
L. & N. Hog Selection
No. Is
SONS POINTERS ON
HOG RAISING.

and mixed classes of sows and |
gifts. and who does not care to
adopt any systematic scheme of
breeding, and who does not care
o adopt any standard of tounda.
ton herd of females. will at
least, do well to follow the advise
given in Selection No. "a regard
ing the SELF ction and care of the
boar. This will automatically
and without much care or inter-
est on the part of the farmer.
built up his herd SO that in a
few years he will lind himself in
posse, sion of a class of hogs far
in advance of what he started
with, and he will, as a result of
this, probably see the advantage
of the use of a good boar and be-
come more interested IN hog
raising, to the extent that he
will recognize the deslrabilrv of
giving the same kind of atten-
ton to having Better class of
female breeding stock. To this
type of farmer the following is
pertinent:
The selection of your breeding
sows is of prime importance.
The effects of mismating and
other mistakes are always diff
cult to breed sout of a herd, and
such mistakes are discOuraging
to the beginner. Start with a
few animals only; four or five
sows are enough the first year
One good SOW is sbetter than five
poor ones. Study them careful.
ly and when you have mastered
the problem of handling them eff.
GENTLY it will be ample time to
Increase your foundation stock.
1t has been stated that the male
is half the herd. Remember
that the females constitute the
other half. The sows selected
should be nearly the same age,
preferably ten or twelve months
old and safe in pig, preferably
to the same boar, which should
be of recognized standard worth
and character. Many farmers
ask the question, what kind of
hog is best ?" The question is
properly and practically answered
by the statement that any of the
well-recognized, standard breeds
are good, and that the best
breed is the one in which the
farmer will take the greatest
pride and. consequently, the
greatest interest In short, the
one that he. Likes best" This
simply means the breed he will
give the best care as a result OF
his interest in that choice. The
returns in hog raising are d.
rectly dependent upon and in
proportion to the interest, know
ledge and care the farmer gives
to his stock
After having decided which
breed he desires, attention should
be given to the individual char
acteristics of his choice of breed
ing sows, rather than to deal in
generalities. Respecting type
development, a good sow should
have distinctly feminine qualities,
manifested in a smoother fore
head and lighter, thinner neck
in comparison with the, boar.
The forehead should be broad
between the eyes, throat clean, a
trim neck, moderately thin shout
ders, smooth but deep, a back
both wide and straight; good
width and depth of chest, we'll
spring ribs and straight deep
sides; in short, a deep capacity
body from end to end indicates
ample room for the vital organs
add the ability to properly func
ton as a mother. depth of chest
and abdomen are especially i'm
portant in a brood sow. Some
farmers put importance upon
the length of body and regard
this as an indication of fecundi.
ty. This idea is proper. pro-
vided all other qualities are of
conformity with this feature,
but unless the farmer is an ex-