73 



The system of killing "11 all the young sows also make 

 impossible to improve one's stock of pigs by reserving the future 

 breeding stock from the litters of the sows which have proved 

 themselves to be superior milking sows and the most prolific. Thi 

 are two qualities which arc of the greatesl importance, bul which can 

 only be discovered by the actual results oi two or three litters from 

 each sow. The continued selection by certain breeders of the besl 

 pigs from such sows has rendered their pigs superior to those in anj 

 pari oi the world. 



There exists considerable difference of opinion as to the type or 



style of pig most generally profitable. The first point to be con- 

 sidered is the market which the pig breeder proposes to supply; in 

 some districts near London and some other large towns the chief 

 demand is for pigs of some four to five months old and weighing 

 about 60 lbs dead weight, or some 85 to 90 lbs. alive. The Middle 

 White Yorkshire sow r is much kept, and crossed either with a boar oi 

 the same breed or a Berkshire ; some persons prefer to cross the other 

 way, but the ] igs from the Middle. White sow are generally mor< 

 numerous and grow faster when young. Many hundreds of this type 

 of fat pig are now being weekly imported from Holland and Belgium 

 for the London market, the Middle White boar being used on th< 

 larger native sows and the Large White boar on the more compact 

 sows. There appears to be no sufficient reason for our pig breeders 

 neglecting this profitable trade. 



The form and weight of the fat pigs required in other districts 

 varies from the so-called bacon curer's pigs of some 1G0 lbs. dead 

 weight to the 220 lbs. to 300 lbs. somewhat fat pig most in demand 

 in parts of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and other counties. Very much the 

 same type of pig is needed to furnish both classes of tat pigs The 

 finer quality Large White is the more general favourite, but in some 

 districts the Berkshire and the Tamworth pigs, both pure and crossed, 

 and the Large Black pigs of the two different types which are to be 

 found in Cornwall and Essex, are preferred. Consumers generally are 

 now much more particular as to the quality of the pork which they 

 purchase, so that those pigs which furnish the greatest proportion of 

 the higher-priced joints are the most profitable to breed and to fatten, 

 particularly if they are also less expensive to keep. 



In some districts certain varieties or crosses of pigs are more 

 generally kept since the residents consider that they thrive better 

 than any other 1 needs or kinds. They may be some little ground for 

 this belief, but a really good type of pig w r ill thrive just as well in 

 the north as in the south of these islands. Soil and climate 

 undoubtedly affect cattle and sheep to a considerable extent, since the 

 quality and quantity of food is effected by the soil and temperature of 

 a district, whilst the latter especially affects the conditions under 

 which the cattle and sheep are kept ; but with pigs the majority are 

 housed and fed on similar food in most parts of the country. 



The term of life of the fat pig should also be so short that the 

 climate cannot materially affect its growth and thrift, or, in other 

 words, the life of the pig should consist of only one part, the fattening 

 period, not, as is too far frequently the case, a long store period. \< 

 be followed later on by a more or less long time in being fattened. 



