an extent had this purchase, frequently from middlemen or dealers of exhibition pigs, become in the seventies of the last century, that some of the live stock papers in the United States took up the cudgels on behalf of the American breeders of pigs, who had been in the habit of importing show winners from this country and plainly asked for the English definition of a pure bred pig. It was pointed out at a recent show of the Royal Agricultural Society several winners shown by one exhibitor were entered as of certain defined breeds, yet neither age, pedigree, nor name of breeder was given, the only particulars given in the show catalogue being the name and address of the exhibitor, the name of the pig, and the further statement age and breeder unknown. As our American cousins asked, how could it be possible to ensure that a pig was of a certain pure breed when it was admitted that no knowledge existed of the breeding of the animal nor actually of the person who bred it. This scandal, as it was termed, was one of the contributing causes of the establishment of societies for the registration of the pedigrees of the various types or breeds of pigs. Other changes which have been great improvements have been the limitation of the ages of boars and sows shown, the requirement that the sow has within a certain fixed time farrowed a litter of pigs and that when entered as being in farrow a certificate of subsequent farrowing shall be furnished ere the prize money is paid over. The age of the young boars and sows has also been reduced at most shows to six months, or the pigs must have been farrowed in the year of the show. In the good old times the age of the pigs shown in the classes for pens of two or three or five, varied from six to twelve months, and the asserted age given by the exhibitor was accepted as correct. At many of the important shows not only are some means of identification asked for, but the state of the dentition are variously dealt with; at some shows they are disqualified at once by the stewards on the certificate of the veterinary surgeon. It may at once be admitted that this mode of procedure is very hard on an honest exhibitor whose pig has for some reason developed its temporary or permanent teeth abnormally--and such cases are not unknown--- although as a rule the various stages in the cutting of the permanent teeth are very regular, the majority of the irregularities are also in favour of the exhibitor, since delayed rather than precocious development of dentition is the most common. Just how imperative it was that some steps should be taken to prevent mistakes being made in the ages of young pigs exhibited, many cases could be cited, but one may suffice where one of the sow pigs in a pen of five entered in a class for pigs not exceeding six months actually farrowed a litter of fully developed pigs in the show yard.