14 



PART IV.— FEEDING FOR BACON. 

 Soft Bacon. If we are to maintain and develop our trade in bacon with 

 Great Britain, it is of the greatest importance that we pay strict attention to 

 quality Not only must our hogs be bred to give the desired conformation; 

 but they must be fed and managed in such a way as to give the desired qual- 

 ity. One of the greatest defects in quality with which our packers have to 

 contend, is a tendency of some sides to turn soft during the process of curing. 

 Softness has nothing to do with fatness; in fact, a thin side is more apt to 

 develop softness than a fat one. In a soft side, the fat is soft and spongy; 

 and sometimes even the lean is affected. There are all degrees of softness 

 up to a mere slight tenderness; but any degree of tenderness detracts very 

 much from the value of a side; and a really soft side is practically worthless. 

 The percentage of soft sides is sometimes very high, even as high as 40 per 

 cent, of the total at certain seasons of the year. It will, therefore, be easily 

 understood that such a condition represents an enormous shrinkage in value; 

 and this loss is bound to be reflected in the prices paid the farmer for his hogs, 

 to say nothing of the injury to the reputation of our bacon in Great Britain. 

 This is_ not a matter, therefore, which afifects merely the packer. It affects the 

 bacon industry as a whole; and the farmer, sooner or later, must shoulder the 

 loss. It is important, therefore, that the farmer should pav particular attention 

 to the question of quality. 



Causes of Soft Bacox. 



To describe all our experiments under this head would occupy too much 

 space, and would be found tiresome, and perhaps confusing, to the average 

 reader. The conclusions which follow are based up(jn a careful analysis of 

 our work to date, descriptions of which have been published from year to 

 year in the annual report of the college. We have also been able to draw 

 upon considerable unpublished data. 



Exclusive Meal Feeding. This is perhaps one of the m.ost common causes 

 of softness, especially when hogs are confined in pens from birth to the time 

 of marketing. Some kinds of meal are more dangerous than others; but 

 wherever exclusive meal feeding is practised, and the exercise is limited, more 

 or less softness is almost sure to result. 



Corn and Beans. Of the grains in common use, corn has the greatest 

 tendency to cause softness. Its injurious tendency can be modified by mixing 

 It largely with other meal, and by feeding skim milk, green foods, and roots; 

 but Its tendency to produce softness is so strong that it must be regarded as 

 an undesirable food. 



We have not experimented with beans; but the Central Experimental 

 Farm at Ottawa found that beans have an eflfect similar to corn. 



Lack of exercise. Lack of exercise has a tendency to produce softness; 

 but this tendency can be largely overcome by judicious feeding. 



Unthriftiness Unthrifty hogs, no matter what the cause mav be, invari- 

 ably produce soft bacon. 



Lack of finish. Thin hogs have a marked tendency towards softness 

 Marketing hogs before they are properly finished, is no doubt responsible for 

 a good deal of softness. 



Holding back. When a hog is finished, it should be marketed at once in 

 order to produce firm bacon. If the feed is cut down, so that the hog makes 

 no gain in weight for some time, or loses in weight, the bacon from such a 

 hog IS almost sure to be soft. 



