Sivine Growers' Association. 335 



unevenly being almost as undesirable as a thick, wrinkled hide. 

 Evenness and smoothness are the things most desired by the 

 packer. 



While some of the other breeds have been in existence long 

 enough, possibly, to have established one and a distinct type, it 

 is not so with the Poland China which I handle and the only breed 

 Avith which I am at all familiar. I think the last named breed 

 could very consistently be said to furnish two distinct types, which 

 some refer to as the round or "barrel" type and the "block" type. 

 The former covers the broad backed, round ribbed, high flanked, 

 wedge shaped kind while the latter is the flat sided, deeper bodied, 

 lower flanked variety. Of these two types, Mr. J. J. Ferguson, 

 head buyer for Swift & Co., and who judged all breeds of barrows 

 at the St. Louis World's Fair, told me that the block type was 

 more in favor and would cut out better on the block than the other 

 type. To make this clearer, I have taken the measurements of the 

 best boar that I have ever bred from a packer's standpoint. This 

 boar has just turned a year and will weigh in only breeding and 

 good growing condition approximately 350 pounds. His heart 

 and flank measurements are the same — 54 inches; length from 

 root of tail to center of forehead, 53>4 inches. His hind leg at 

 smallest place measures 8 inches. He is 9 inches from lower point 

 of ham and 11 inches from top of flank to ground. The distance 

 across top between to sticks standing perpendicular and just 

 touching point of ribs is 14 inches, while he is 19 inches in depth. 

 For the sake of illustration, take a box 14 inches wide, 19 inches 

 deep and 53j/4 inches long, round off the edges about half an inch 

 and you have the shape of the best proportioned and most symmetri- 

 cal boar I ever bred or owned. Before you can breed a certain 

 type of hog, it is essential to have that type clearly fixed in your 

 mind, and I would recommend that those desiring to become expert 

 judges hunt until they find an animal of the type desired and then 

 study that particular animal until the entire outline is indelibly im- 

 pressed on his mind. Not until I saw the sow Darkness did I 

 come to realize how distinct and clear cut an outline of a hog could 

 be. This sow was more of an educator to me than information re- 

 ceived from all other sources combined. I do not refer to this par- 

 ticular sow because I happened to own her, but to strengthen my 

 argument in favor of the block type. Darkness was the best 

 specimen of this type the Poland China breed has ever produced, 

 and she is at the same time universally admitted to have been the 

 greatest producing Poland China sow that ever lived; indeed her 



