use of a pure-bred sire.

A boy whose parents were too poor to send him to college once decided to
make his own money and get an education. He bought a sow and began to
raise pigs. He earned the food for the mother and her pigs. His hogs
increased so rapidly that he had to work hard to keep them in food. By
saving the money he received from the sale of his hogs he had enough to
keep him two years in college. Suppose you try his plan, and let the hog
show you how fast it can make money.

[Illustration: FIG. 257. A GOOD TYPE]

We have several breeds of swine. The important ones are:

I. _Large Breeds_

1. Chester White.
2. Improved Yorkshire.
3. Tamworth.

II. _Medium Breeds_

1. Berkshire.
2. Poland-China.
3. Duroc-Jersey.
4. Cheshire.

III. _Small Breeds_

1. Victoria.
2. Suffolk.
3. Essex.
4. Small Yorkshire.

Hogs will be most successfully raised when kept as little as possible in
pens. They like the fields and the pasture grass, the open air and the
sunshine. Almost any kind of food can be given them. Unlike other stock,
they will devour greedily and tirelessly the richest feeding-stuffs.

The most desirable hog to raise is one that will produce a more or less
even mixture of fat and lean. Where only corn is fed, the body becomes
very fat and is not so desirable for food as when middlings, tankage,
cowpeas, or soy beans are added as a part of the ration.

[Illustration: FIG. 258. DINNER IS OVER]

When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most important, for only by
cleanliness can disease be avoided.

SECTION LVII. FARM POULTRY

Our geese, ducks, turkeys, and domestic hens are all descendants of wild
fowls, and are more or less similar to them in appearance.

The earliest recorded uses of fowls were for food, for fighting, and for
sacrifice. To-day the domestic fowl has four well-defined
uses--egg-production, meat-production, feather-production, and
pest-destruction.

[Illustration: STANDARD-BRED FOWLS
Barred Plymouth Rocks, male and female; White Wyandottes, female and
male]

Hens of course produce most of our eggs. Some duck eggs are sold for
table use. Goose and duck body-feathers bring good prices. As
pest-destroyers turkeys and chickens are most useful. They eat large
numbers of bugs and worms that are harmful to crops. A little proper
attention would very largely increase the already handsome sum derived
from our fowls. They nee