THE JUDGING OF SWINE 211 



along the shoulders and sides. These creases contain more 

 or less hair that is hard to remove after scalding. In the 

 larger hog killing houses, the hair is removed by automatic 

 scrapers. It can easily be seen that the more creases there 

 are on the body, the more difficult it will be to remove the 

 hair from them. In such cases hand work is necessary to 

 finish the job. These seams are also an indication of uneven 

 fleshing. 



The pasterns of the hog are 

 often very weak and sloping. 

 At the back of the leg, just 

 above the pasterns, are two 

 small toes that are known as 

 dew claws. When the pas- 

 terns are too sloping, these 

 dew claws often touch the 

 ground, showing a weakness of leg. In the days when hogs 

 were driven overland to market, it was very important that 

 the legs should be strong, capable of endurance, and weak 

 pasterns were then very objectionable. While we do not 

 drive hogs much today, it is still necessary in many locali- 

 ties; and whether driven or not, the hog should stand up 

 strong on its toes on short pasterns, as an evidence of 

 ability to carry its weight well. If it cannot do this, then 

 the pasterns are weak. 



The toes of the hog should be close together, and point 

 directly forward. Sometimes they are weak and spread 

 apart and do not have a strong position. Such feet are an 

 indication of lack of bone and too much forced growth of the 

 young pig. 



A score card for the fat hog follows, which may be used 

 with either the grade or pure-bred animal. 



