THE BACON BREEDS OF SWINE 453 



it has too much bone and too coarse a skin, and lacks in 

 quantity and quality of flesh. It is also a somewhat slow 

 feeder, and is therefore objectionable from a farmer's 

 standpoint. The most desirable type has sufficient length 

 of side to make a good packer's hog, and has constitution 

 and quality to such a marked degree that it is unexcelled 

 from a feeder's standpoint. 



574. Uses of Large Yorkshire hogs. As previously 

 intimated, the Large Yorkshire is especially valued for 

 bacon-production, where a long side abounding in lean 

 meat, and a light shoulder and neck are especially desir- 

 able. The large size and strong bone of this breed make 

 it valuable for crossing on breeds that have become un- 

 duly fine in the bone, and lack size. It crosses remark- 

 ably well with the Berkshire, Chester-White and Poland- 

 China, as well as other fat breeds, increasing the size and 

 the proportion of lean meat without impairing the feed- 

 ing qualities. 



The Large Yorkshire is frequently spoken of as being 

 " slower maturing " than the fat types of hogs, but this 

 is not a fair way of stating the case. From the bacon 

 curer's standpoint, the breed will reach desirable market 

 weight and condition at as early an age as any existing 

 breed, and there are few breeds that equal it in this respect. 

 Therefore, from the standpoint of the farmer who is feed- 

 ing hogs for the bacon trade, no breed excels the York- 

 shire in point of early maturity. For the production of a 

 fat carcass at an early age, however, the Large Yorkshire 

 is not so well adapted. It is a special-purpose breed, and 

 must be regarded as such. 



From the fact that the Large Yorkshire grows rapidly 

 and develops bone and muscle more readily than it 

 develops fat, feeders are inclined to regard it as an expen- 



