BREEDING

In the selection of a boar and sow for breeding, much more attention and

consideration are requisite than is generally imagined. It is as easy,

with a very little judgment and management, to procure a good as an

inferior breed; and the former is much more remunerative, in proportion

to the outlay, than the latter can possibly ever be.

The object of the farmer or breeder is to produce and retain such an

animal as will be best adapted to the purpose he has in view, whether

that is the consumption of certain things which could not otherwise be

so well disposed of, the converting into hams, bacon, and pork, or the

raising of sucking-pigs and porkers for the market. Almost all farmers

keep one or more pigs to devour the offal and refuse, which would

otherwise be wasted. This is, however, a matter totally distinct from

breeding swine. In the former case, the animal or animals are purchased

young for a small price, each person buying as many as he considers he

shall have food enough for, and then sold to the butcher, or killed,

when in proper condition; and thus a certain degree of profit is

realized. In the latter, many contingencies must be taken into account:

the available means of feeding them; whether or not the food may be more

profitably disposed of; the facilities afforded by railroads, the

vicinity of towns, or large markets, etc., for disposing of them.

In the breeding of swine, as much as that of any other livestock, it is

important to pay great attention, not only to the breed, but also to the

choice of individuals. The sow should produce a great number of young

ones, and she must be well fed to enable her to support them. Some sows

bring forth ten, twelve, or even fifteen pigs at a birth; but eight or

nine is the usual number; and sows which produce fewer than this must be

rejected. It is, however, probable that fecundity depends also on the

boar; he should, therefore, be chosen from a race which multiplies

quickly.

If a bacon and a late market be objects, the large and heavy varieties

should be selected, care being taken that the breed has the character of

possessing those qualities most likely to insure a heavy return--growth,

and facility of taking fat. Good one-year bacon-hogs being in great

demand, they may be known by their long bodies, low bellies, and short

legs. With these qualities are usually coupled long, pendulous ears,

which attract purchasers. If, however, hogs are to be sold at all

seasons to the butchers, the animals must attain their full growth and

be ready for killing before they are a year old. This quality is

particularly prominent in the Chinese breed; but among our ordinary

varieties, hogs are often met with better adapted for this purpose than

for producing large quantities of bacon and lard. The Berkshire crossed

with Chinese is an excellent porker.

The sow should be chosen from a breed of proper size and shape, sound

and free from blemishes and defects. In every case--whether the object

be pork or bacon--the _points_ to be looked for in the _sow_ are a

small, lively head; a broad and deep chest; round ribs; capacious

barrel; a haunch falling almost to the hough; deep and broad loin; ample

hips; and considerable length of body, in proportion to its height. One

qualification should ever be kept in view, and, perhaps, should be the

first point to which the attention should be directed--that is,

smallness of bone. She should have at least twelve teats; for it is

observed that each pig selects a teat for himself and keeps to it, so

that a pig not having one belonging to him would be starved. A good sow

should produce a great number of pigs, all of equal vigor. She must be

very careful of them, and not crush them by her weight; above all, she

must not be addicted to eating the after-birth, and, what may often

follow, her own young. If a sow is tainted with those bad habits, or if

she has difficult labors, or brings forth dead pigs, she must be spayed

forthwith. It is, therefore, well to bring up several young sows at

once, so as to keep those only which are free from defects. Breeding

sows and boars should never be raised from defective animals. Sows that

have very low bellies, almost touching the ground, seldom produce large

or fine litters. A good-sized sow is generally considered more likely to

prove a good breeder and nurse, and to farrow more easily and safely

than a small, delicate animal.

The ancients considered the distinguishing marks of a good _boar_ to be

a small head, short legs, a long body, large thighs and neck, and this

latter part thickly covered with strong, erect bristles. The most

experienced modern breeders prefer an animal with a long, cylindrical

body; small bones; well-developed muscles; a wide chest, which denotes

strength of constitution; a broad, straight back; short head and fine

snout; brilliant eyes; a short, thick neck; broad, well-developed

shoulders; a loose, mellow skin; fine, bright, long hair, and few

bristles; and small legs and hips. Some give the preference to long,

flapping ears; but experience seems to demonstrate that those animals

are best which have short, erect, fine ears. The boar should always be

vigorous and masculine in appearance.

Few domesticated animals suffer so much from in-and-in breeding as

swine. Where this system is pursued, the number of young ones is

decreased at every litter, until the sows become, in a manner, barren.

This practice also undoubtedly contributes to their liability to

hereditary diseases, such as scrofula, epilepsy, and rheumatism; and

when those possessing any such diseases are coupled, the ruin of the

flock is easily and speedily effected, since they are propagated by

either parent, and always most certainly and in most aggravated form,

when occurring in both. As soon as the slightest degeneracy is observed,

the breed should be crossed from time to time, keeping sight, however,

while so doing, of the end in view. The Chinese will generally be found

the best which can be used for this purpose; since a single cross, and

even two, with one of these animals, will seldom do harm, but often

effect considerable improvements. The best formed of the progeny

resulting from this cross must be selected as breeders, and with them

the old original stock crossed back again. Selection, with judicious and

cautious admixture, is the true secret of forming and improving the

breed. Repeated and indiscriminate crosses are as injurious as an

obstinate adherence to one particular breed, and as much to be avoided.

The following rules for the selection of the best stock of hogs will

apply to all breeds:

_Fertility._ In a breeding sow, this quality is essential, and it is one

which is inherited. Besides this, she should be a careful mother. A

young, untried sow will generally display in her tendencies those which

have predominated in the race from which she has descended. Both boar

and sow should be sound, healthy, and in fair, but not over fat,

condition.

_Form._ Where a farmer has an excellent breed, but with certain defects,

or too long in the limb, or too heavy in the bone, the sire to be

chosen, whether of a pure or of a cross breed, should exhibit the

opposite qualities, even to an extreme; and be, moreover, one of a

strain noted for early and rapid fattening. If in perfect health, young

stock selected for breeding will be lively, animated, hold up the head,

and move freely and nimbly.

_Bristles._ These should be fine and scanty, so as to show the skin

smooth and glossy; coarse, wirey, rough bristles usually accompany heavy

bones, large, spreading hoofs, and flapping ears, and thus become one of

the indications of a thick-skinned and low breed.

_Color._ Different breeds of high excellence have their own colors;

white, black, parti-colored, black and white, sandy, mottled with large

marks of black, are the most prevalent. A black skin, with short, scanty

bristles, and small stature, demonstrate the prevalence of the

Neapolitan strain, or the black Chinese, or, perhaps, an admixture of

both. Many prefer white; and in sucking-pigs, destined for the table,

and for porkers, this color has its advantages, and the skin looks more

attractive; it is, however, generally thought that the skin of black

hogs is thinner than that of white, and less subject to eruptive

diseases.

The influence of a first impregnation upon subsequent progeny by other

males is at times curiously illustrated. This has been noticed in

respect of the sow. A sow of the black and white breed, in one instance,

became pregnant by a boar of the wild breed of a deep chestnut color.

The pigs produced were duly mixed, the color of the boar being very

predominant in some. The sow being afterwards put to a boar of the same

breed as herself, some of the produce were still stained or marked with

the chestnut color which prevailed in the first litter; and the same

occurred after a third impregnation, the boar being then of the same

kind as herself. What adds to the force of this case is, that in the

course of many years' observation, the breed in question was never

known to produce progeny having the slightest tinge of chestnut color.

A sow is capable of conceiving at the age of six or seven months; but it

is always better not to let her commence breeding too early, as it tends

to weaken her. From ten to twelve months--and the latter is

preferable--is about the best age. The boar should be, at least, a

twelvemonth old--some even recommend eighteen months, at least--before

he is employed for the purpose of propagating his species. If, however,

the sow has attained her second year, and the boar his third, a vigorous

and numerous offspring is more likely to result. The boar and sow retain

their ability to breed for almost five years; that is, until the former

is upward of eight years old, and the latter seven. It is not advisable,

however, to use a boar after he has passed his fifth year, nor a sow

after her fourth, unless she has proved a peculiarly valuable

breeder--in which case she might produce two or three more litters.

A boar left on the pasture, at liberty with the sows, might suffice for

thirty or forty of them; but as he is commonly shut up, and allowed

access at stated times only, so that the young ones may be born at

nearly the same time, it is usual to allow him to serve from six to

ten--on no account should he serve more. The best plan is, to shut up

the boar and sow in a sty together; for, when turned in among several

females, he is apt to ride them so often that he exhausts himself

without effect. The breeding boar should be fed well and kept in high

condition, but not fat. Full grown boars being often savage and

difficult to tame, and prone to attack men and animals, should be

deprived of their tusks.

Whenever it is practicable, it should always be so arranged that the

animals shall farrow early in the spring, and at the latter end of

summer, or quite the beginning of autumn. In the former case, the young

pigs will have the run of the early pastures, which will be a benefit to

them, and a saving to their owners; and there will also be more whey,

milk, and other dairy produce which can be spared for them by the time

they are ready to be weaned. In the second case, there will be

sufficient time for the young to have grown and acquired strength before

the cold weather comes on, which is always very injurious to

sucking-pigs.