412 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



nearly extinct both in England and this country, as a breed. 

 The Leicesters are a large, white hog, generally coarse in the 

 bone and hair, great eaters and slow in maturing. Some 

 varieties of this breed, differ essentially in these particulars, 

 and mature early on a moderate amount of food. The crosses 

 with smaller compact breeds, are generally thrifty, desirable 

 animals. Other large breeds deserving commendation in this 

 country, are the large Miami white, the Yorkshire while and 

 the Kenilworth, each frequently attaining when dressed, a 

 weight of 600 to 800 Ibs. The Chinese is among the smaller 

 varieties, and without doubt, is the parent stock of the best 

 European and American swine. They necessarily vary in 

 appearance, size, shape and color, from the diversity in the 

 style of breeding, and the various regions from which they 

 are derived. But all the Chinese seem to have these proper- 

 ties in common. They are fine-boned, short and very com- 

 pact, with bellies almost touching the ground, light head and 

 ears, fine muzzle, of great docility and quietness, small feeders 

 and producing much meat for the quantity of food consumed. 

 From the rapidity with which generations of this animal are 

 multiplied, the variety of other breeds on which they are 

 crossed, and the treatment to which they are subjected, it is 

 not surprising that their descendants should rapidly assume 

 distinct features. From these, we have not only a strong 

 mixture of blood in the best class of large breeds, but in such 

 of the smaller as have any pretensions to merit, they consti- 

 tute the greater part of the improvement. Such are the Nea- 

 politan, the Essex half-black, the Grass breed and some 

 others. 



The Berkshires are an ancient English breed, formerly of 

 large size, slow feeders, and late in maturing. Their color 

 was a buff or sandy ground with large black spots, and the 

 feet, lower part of the legs and tuft on the tail, buff. The 

 latter color has given place, in most of the modern race, to 

 white in the same pails. This variation, with the more 

 important ones of early maturity and good feeding properties, 

 are by Professor Low, ascribed to a Chinese cross, which 

 has added the only characteristic in which they were before 

 deficient. They were first introduced and reared as a dis- 

 tinct breed in this country, by Mr. Rrentnall, of Orange Co., 

 and Mr. Hawcs, of Albany, N. Y. In their hands, and 

 those of other skillful breeders, their merits were widely 

 promulgated. No other breeds have been so extensively 

 diffused in the United States, within comparatively so brief 



