EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 571 



the highest prices for fancy specimens and be ahead of several other long- 

 time favorites. 



Yet the red hog is not a recent production in this country. It reaches 

 back at least to 1823. At that time there were a few red hogs in New 

 York, called, so the legend goes, Duroc, from a famous stallion in the 

 state by that name. Just why they were so called does not appear in 

 the tradition any further than that the owner of the stallion had some of 

 these hogs. About this time, or a few years thereafter, there were red 

 hogs in New Jersey, evidently of Spanish origin. They were of enormous 

 size, weights of mature specimens ranging high. The New York hogs were 

 finer in bone, easier to fatten, but not so large. Evidently further along 

 these two strains were blended and the result has come down to us in the 

 Duroc-Jersey as we have it today. 



But the red hog of today is a vastly improved animal compared with 

 Its ancestors. While retaining in a large measure the constitutional viril- 

 ity and thriftiness of the early eastern hogs, it has been grown more and 

 more to a certain type, till today there is no hog in America, perhaps, 

 more definitely established in breed qualities. It is true that sometimes 

 you come across red hogs that are like the olden type that used to be on 

 exhibition, coarse, slow to mature, hard feeders; but they are never seen 

 in herds of careful breeders. The well bred Duroc- Jerseys of today is an 

 excellent grower, easily fattened at any age and as attractive as any 

 other hog that goes into the show room. 



Without in any way minimizing the good qualities of other breeds 

 there are certain things which may be confidently claimed for the Duroc- 

 Jersey. One of these is prolificacy. I think it is generally conceded that 

 in this respect this breed has no superior and few equals. It is seldom 

 that a Duroc-Jersey breeder has any cause to complain that his litters are 

 too small. My own experience has been that the litters are generally too 

 large to be raised, and with only one occasional exception the number 

 raised is all that could be desired. The Duroc dam is a good mother, a 

 good milker as we say of cows, and for this reason she is able to take 

 care of a large number. This prolificacy is owing to the wonderful con- 

 stitutional vigor of the red hog, and as long as it is maintained the power 

 of reproduction will continue. 



Another quality that is marked in this breed is docility. This is the 

 general verdict of red hog breeders. The Duroc-Jersey is naturally quiet 

 and gentle and easily handled. Nearly all in my own herd can be petted 

 just as one pets a dog. This is a point of immense value in farrowing 

 sows, as every one of experience knows full well. I am sure it saves us 

 a large number of pigs every year. Moreover, the feeder learns that the 

 quiet, docile hogs gain faster than the wild, nervous ones. But who wants 

 any animals around him that are resolutely determined to reject all over- 

 tures of kindness and are averse to the friendly touch? Half the pleasure 

 one gets out of the little world of animals around him on his farm is in the 

 friendly relation which he sustains with them in the world of animal life. 

 A real stockman lives in a good fellowship with his animals, like the 

 Scotchman with his cattle and the Frenchman or Arab with his horse. 

 Whenever you see a farmer whose sole interest in his stock is in the 

 money he can make out of it he is sure to be a poor stockman. He has no 



