GENERAL PROBLEMS IN SWINE HUSBANDRY 621 



Spaying sows before fattening them is of no advantage, for unspayed 

 sows apparently make just as good gains. 39 



936. Bacon production. In northern Europe, especially Denmark and 

 Ireland, raising bacon-type pigs and feeding them so as to produce the 

 highest quality of bacon, is an industry of great importance. Also in 

 Canada many of the hogs are of bacon type and are fed so as to produce 

 high quality bacon for export and domestic consumption. In the United 

 States, however, nearly all the swine are of the lard breeds and the bacon 

 on the market is therefore obtained chiefly from lard-type pigs which do 

 not carry too much fat. 



For the production of high-quality bacon, the carcass should show 

 much less fat in proportion to lean meat than in fat lard hogs, and the 

 fat must be white, firm, and solid. According to Day, 40 a peculiar 

 feature of swine is their tendency to develop fat. If the very best 

 specimens of the bacon type are fed largely on corn, in a couple of gener- 

 ations they will show a tendency to become shorter and thicker in body. 

 "Even under the most favorable conditions there is a tendency for the 

 bacon type to change gradually in the direction of the fat type, unless 

 care is exercised in selection. It is safe to say, therefore, that it is easier 

 to increase the proportion of fat in a hog's carcass than it is to increase 

 the proportion of lean, and that the extent to which the lean may be 

 increased by the character of the feed is very limited and is fixed by the 

 individuality of the animal." (133) 



Even a slight degree of softness, which would not be very objectionable 

 in a lard hog, will disqualify a carcass for prime bacon. Therefore, if 

 bacon production is made a specialty, great care is necessary to produce 

 a hard, firm carcass. 



The extensive studies of Fjord and Friis of the Copenhagen (Den- 

 mark) Station, 41 and those of Day, Grisdale, and Shutt of the Canadian 

 Stations, 42 show that soft pork unsuited to the production of high quality 

 bacon is due on the part of the animal to unthriftiness, lack of exercise, 

 immaturity, or lack of finish, and only in a small way to the breed. Im- 

 perfect feeding, marketing before being finished, and excessive fattening 

 are other causes. In general, improper feeding stuffs and feeds im- 

 properly combined tend to produce low-quality bacon. 



Barley ranks first for bacon production, followed by oats and peas. 

 Skim milk and whey in combination with the cereal grains, including 

 corn in limited amount, make good bacon. Corn, beans, soybeans, 

 peanuts, and rice by-products all tend to produce soft bacon. While 

 corn appears to give a good quality of meat in the case of the lard hog, 

 it must be remembered that the bacon hog is marketed at lighter weights 

 and in thinner condition than the lard hog, which may possibly explain 



39 Foster and Merrill, Utah Bui. 70. 

 ^Productive Swine Husbandry, p. 13. 

 "Copenhagen (Denmark), Rpts. 1884, et. seq. 



. and Buls. of Ont and Ottawa Expt. Stations, 1890-96. 



