BREEDS AND TYPES 35 



of the forelegs and feet. Some strains of lianipsliircs 

 ha\ e white markings other than those mentioned. 



Ranked according to their numbers and popularity, the 

 breeds of swine, or their grades, most largely raised in 

 America in the first decade of the twentieth century are 

 llic Poland-China, Berkshire, Duroc-Jersey and Chester 

 White. Of these, the Berkshire is directly of English 

 origin, while the other three may be termed American 

 breeds. 



CHESTER WHITES 



The Chester White breed had its beginning about 1820, 

 or slightly earlier, in Chester county, PennsyK'^ania, by the 

 use of some white boars brought from Bedfordshire, 

 England, for crossing upon the better class of sows then 

 reared in Chester county, and mostly white. By careful 

 selection and mating, during the ensuing forty years, the 

 more painstaking of the thrifty Quakers, who found a 

 market in Philadelphia for their surplus swine, had a 

 stock quite uniform and notable in its characteristics. 

 These were : Length and good size, growthiness, good 

 breeding qualities, remarkably quiet and gentle dispo- 

 sitions, short legs, rather large, coarse ears, drooped so 

 much as to almost obscure the eyes, and hair usually 

 abundant and not too coarse, frequently quite curly or 

 wavy and always silvery white, although the skin itself 

 might sometimes show here and there a brown spot or 

 freckle 



Following the Civil war. these Pennsylvania hogs 

 had a wide reputation, which was largely added to by 

 shrewd advertising. As the supply was confined to but 



