equired in the
successful rearing and feeding of all commercial animals. A liberal
supply of suitable food, prepared in the most tempting form and
judiciously fed to the pigs in just the quantity required, as frequently
as the pig is able to thoroughly enjoy it. Little and often is a good
motto for the pig feeder. The more closely we adhere to nature, the
more successful shall we be. It is to this, perhaps, that exercise is so
specially necessary for pigs which are being prepared for the show yard.
It is impossible to render a pig perfectly fit for exhibition at a show,
and more particularly at several successive shows, without plenty of
exercise. Each morning and evening a walk of a distance varying with the
ages, etc., of the pigs is desirable. Another point to which some
professional pigmen give great prominence is the regular dosing of their
charges with secret medicines. This is not only unnecessary, but may
with breeding animals prove harmful. A sound healthy pig seldom requires
medicine if it is properly fed and exercised. It is the over feeding or
intense desire of the pigman which in the majority of cases renders
medicine necessary.

A word of warning against this haste to get the pig into show condition.
This last can only be a work of time, and the commencement of the
process must be in the early stages of the life of the pig and be
steadily continued until within a few days of the show. This slight
reduction of the food may be necessary in the summer when the heat is
great and the pigs become restless when travelling boxed up in a crate
in an enclosed truck. Many of the pigs lost in travelling to or from the
shows or soon after arriving at the shows, have been fed just prior to
being loaded up, because of the difficulty in feeding them when on the
journey. This is an entire mistake; not only should the pigs not be fed,
but prior to being put into the crates they should be given just so much
exercise as will cause them to evacuate the bowels, or the bladder. Care
in this respect and non-exposure to the rays of the sun may not in
every case prevent trouble, but it will most certainly reduce to a
minimum the chance of it. Should a pig suffer from the heat, cold water
should be applied to the head by means of a sponge or a cloth, and
should some of the water percolate into the mouth of the pig so much the
better.

CHAPTER XIV

PRESENT AND FUTURE PIG-KEEPING

As it is impossible to foretell the effec