Large And Small Bone In Pigs

The producers of the pure bred stock have made it the ruling efïort f or years to reduce the size of the bone, while the farmers cali tor heavy bone animáis. Now the question presents itself , have the breeders gone too far in their eff orts to reduce the amount of bone, or do the farmers fail to uppreciate th8 benefits arising from small bones. One of the foremost among English authorities says that the mistake is with the mass of farmers, and comments on the almost universal deinand with American farmers purchasing males for breeding purposes that the animáis must have heavy bones. The large, coarse bone is not always the strongest, but rather the fine, perfectly formed bone. Breeders understand that a hog can be made ready for market at from 7 to 9 inonths old, and for market at this age the bone must be fine. This is necessary, that the animal have proper symmetry in fonn, for the coarse, angular boned animal must be fatted at this age. The trouble with the mass of farmers lies in the fact that they have not grasped the advanced ideas of the breeder that a hog should be ready for the market at not more than 9 months old. Another matter that the farmers do not properly understand as yet is how to keep the bone that they desire. They purchase a coarse boned male because they think their sows are a little too fine boned, with the result that in a few years the same complaint is made again. This shows a mistake in management. Sometimes in-breeding is the cause, but more often the feeding of food lacking in bone f orming material. The custom of buying coarse boned males should be abandoned, and the way to bring about this is by using a different style of brood sow, which must be produced by a different style of feeding. To have a hog that will fatten at the age mentioned we must have a symmetrical one. A coarse boned one does not reaEh syinmetrical proportions at this age. By using heavy boned sows and a fine, symmetrical boned boar we get in the oiïspring the kind of hog desired, the counterpart of nis sire, that will fatten at any age and carry the proper proportion of bone. A hog can have perfect proportions and be too small to be of practical value. Also a hog can be symmetrical in forin, yet too large for general use. The aün should be to get the hog that has the proper syrnmetry, reaching it at the age desired to put him on the market. This can be accomplished by care in feeding. selection a:;i! breeding.