SWINE, SHEEP AND GOATS 
IN THE ORIENT 
Important Factors in the Animal Industries of China Which Show Need for the 
Application of Modern Principles of Animal Breeding—Average Village 
Farmer Knows Little About Proper Feeding and Selection of Best Types 
C. O. LEVINE 
Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry, Canton Christian College 
in importance to that of raising poul- 
try. It is difficult to ascertain the 
number of pigs raised each year in 
that country, and all estimates are little 
more than rough guesses. Prof. King, 
in his interesting book, “Farmers of 
Forty Centuries,” estimates the number 
of pigs in Shantung at 25,000,000, a 
number equal to one for each inhabitant 
in that province. A conservative esti- 
mate of pigs raised annually in China 
would be 100,000,000. At the low price 
of $12 (Mex.)! each, which is the 
amount received for the average pig 
sold on the market, the annual pig crop 
would have a value of $1,200,000,000 
(Mex.). During the years from 1915 
to 1917 the average annual exports of 
swine exceeded the imports to the 
amount of 2,000,000 taels.? Most of the 
hogs exported were sent to Kongkong 
and to Russia. A large number of 
those sent to Hongkong are butchered 
and converted into lard, which is then 
shipped to Liverpool. 
The exportation of bristles, a by- 
product of the swine industry, is of con- 
siderable importance, the amount of this 
product from Shantung province alone 
amounting to about 500,000 pounds a 
year. The prices paid by exporters for 
cleaned, sorted and dried bristles varie: 
from $20 to $220 (Mex.) for 100 
pounds. 
|]: CHINA the swine industry is next 
DESCRIPTION OF CHINESE LARD HOGS 
Hogs in different parts of China vary 
considerably in size and type. The com- 
mon lard hog is found in most places of 
the South. They range in color from 
nearly white to black, or black with 
white points. In some localities the 
pigs’ ears are large and pendulent, while 
in others they are small and erect 
Then again, these two types may be 
found in the same community. 
A peculiar characteristic of the lard 
hogs of China is their straight tails. 
They do not have the “kink” which is 
characteristic of the tails in modern 
breeds. It is this hog that was largely 
used in the early development of Euro- 
pean breeds. The meat is of good qual- 
ity and cures fairly well. As a rule the 
hogs are fine-boned and smooth; those 
with wrinkled sides are seldom seen. 
They are slow in maturing. Twelve 
hogs at the Canton Christian College in 
1917 made an average gain, at six 
months of age, of about 0.65 of a pound 
a day on full feed. When one year 
old they usually weigh from 200 to 250 
pounds. The average dressing per cent 
of thirty-two hogs butchered at the Col- 
lege in 1917 and 1918 was 72.5%. The 
chief objection to this hog is its low 
back, scant hams, large belly, low dress- 
ing percentage, and weak pasterns, 
which easily break down in the animal 
that is being fattened. 
CHINESE METHODS OF RAISING PIGS 
Most farmers who raise hogs keep 
from one to five or six brood sows. 
The litters are large. A sow is sup- 
posed to be able to nurse at least ten 
pigs, which seems to be the average 
1$1.40 Mex. is equal to about $1 U. S. currency. 
*With the present rate of exchange, one tael is equal to about $1 U. S. currency. 
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