FEEDING AND FATTENING 329 



United States for bacon purposes are not of the ideal 

 bacon type. The bacon hog must be "long in body, 

 deep in side, with comparatively narrow back, narrow 

 and light hams and shoulders, and light, muscular neck." 

 This form is desirable because it is the side of the hog 

 that furnishes tlie best and most expensi\-e cuts, and it 

 is necessary to have as much as possible of this at the 

 expense of the other parts. This hog must also show 

 indications of having hrm flesh, be well covered with 

 lean meat or muscle, and must not have an excess of fat 

 on the outside of the carcass. The fat on the outside 

 should not be more than i to iM inches in thickness, and 

 should be evenly distributed o\-er the entire carcass. The 

 weight must be between i6o and 220 pounds, as this 

 makes the most desirable cuts as to size, flavor and firm- 

 ness. From the very nature of a cut of bacon, size is 

 of mucli importance. A hog smaller than the gi\-en 

 weight would furnish a side of bacon that would be too 

 thin, and one larger than this would furnish one that 

 would be too thick. 



THE BEST AGE FOR A BACON HOG 



A hog old enough, that with good care and breeding 

 will weigh from 160 to 220 pounds, furnishes bacon 

 that is of the best flavor. A hog smaller than this would 

 very likely be too young, and one heavier than this would 

 be too old to furnish bacon of the best flavor. In firm- 

 ness of flesh, also, the 160 to 220-pound l)acon hog is 

 likely to be most desirable. A liog younger than is re- 

 quired to produce this size would have too much water 

 in its flesh; for the younger the animal, tlie more water 



