Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-11-16
POIand-China Contest
Boost for That Breed
THE CHAMPION HOoSIER LITTER
WEIGHED OVER TON AND A
HALF IN SIX MONTHS

Ton Litter C1uD was maze TO WelSH
forty pounds more than ton and
half the day they were sixmonths
old by C. w. R. Schwartz, a dairyman.
of Berne, Indiana, according to James
r. Wiley, of Perdue University, who
officially weighed the litter October 9
The contest closed November first
and it was found that the Schwartz
litter was the heaviest in the Club
by more. than 400 pounds.
Mr.. Schwartz won the honors over
555 Indiana farmers who were com
petlng, and by feeding the SKINNED
milk from his pure bred Holstein
herd he was able to market the litter
at a cost of $47O per hundred pounds.
Feeding hogs is not the primary
business on the Schwartz farm. Hogs
are a "by-product." The place Of 200
acres boasts Of fifty-five pure bred
COWS and heifers and two fine Hol-
stein bulls. Each year herd is sell
ected from the farm for exhibition at
the Northern Indiana Fair, and it is
not unusual for them to take home
most of the blue and purple ribbons
offered for Holstein cattle.
The milk is separated on the farm
and the Sunshine" is delivered to a
creamery in Decatur, Indiana, where
a premium is paid for it because il
comes from Federally supervised,
"clean" herd The separated milk is
fed to the produce Of ten pure bred
Poland China sows.
On April IL last, one of these sows,
Miss Pawnee 1st, farrowed eleven
pigs and saved them all. Mr.. Schwartz
entered the litter in the Hoosier Ton
contest. After sixty days, he relieved
Miss Pawnee of further trouble with
the litter and carried them ON to vic
tory with 3,O40 pounds Of pork to
their credit the day they we're 1S0
days old
According to the rules of the Hoo
sier Ton Litter Club, any farmer
could enter the feeding contest with
one or more litters by paying mem
bership fee of fifty cents to the Indi
ana Livestock Breeders Association
BY complying with the rules, the con
estant was promised a gold media
by he Association if he, made his litter
weigh 1900 pounds or over, silver
medal if it was made to weigh 1906
pounds, and a bronze medal if a
weight of 1000 pounds or over was
reached.
The rules provided for official eai
marking and inspection, for the keep
ing of strict cost accounts, and fol
official weighing at the close of the
period which was universally 180
days.
The fact that the litter is from a
pure bred, registered dam and sire is
and State Departments of Agriculture
Agricultural Colleges and Breed Assoc
iations have been talking pure bred
stock to the farmers for number
of years, and it is therefore no acct
dent that pure bred litter topped
the grades and cross bred filters of
the entire 555 competing.
The Breeders Association felt con-
fident that the top filters of the club
would demonstrate to Indiana farm
ers the value of pure bred stock, the
advantage of prolific sows, and the
economy of proper feeding methods
The cooperation of Perdue University
was enlisted in supervising the rroject
and Prof James r. Wiley of its Ami
NAL Husbandry Department, has bee
the official weighmaster of the litter
A Pure Bred Litter
The sire of the litter, Ton Defender
147049, is a registered Poland China
boar. He is a pig from the first litter
of a gilt The boar was two year
old when the dam was bred for thi
litter. The SOW, Miss Pawnee list 269
1874, was narrowed April g. 1918, being
the champion litter was farrowed
April 2, 1918, being one week over
four years old when the champion lit
ter was farrowed Both sire and dam
come from prolific ancestors, and
many generations, carefully selected
for gaining qualities and fecundity
are back of each.
Dam Is Profitable Sow
This litter of eleven pigs was the
fifth farrow of the sow. Her sixth
litter has been narrowed since, max
ing total of sixty-seven pigs which
she has farrowed for Mr.. Schwartz,
and she is credited with saving sixty
one OF them. Her percentage of saved
pigs is ninety one and half
The record of her filters is as fol-
lows:
Number of Number Number
litter farrowed raised