TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 287 



that is, do not disappear when the hog changes position, they are 

 called creases or seams and are highly undesirable. These seams 

 most often occur just behind the shoulder, but they may occur 

 all along the side. They are due to creases in the skin and in the 

 flesh underlying the skin, so that when the fingers are inserted 

 into them they are found to be deep and pronounced. They 

 indicate lack of quality and lack of evenness in fleshing, and are 

 especially objectionable because they remain in the side meat even 

 after it has been pressed and cured by the packer, thereby injur- 

 ing the appearance of such cuts and affecting their selling price. 



The belly should be straight or "well tucked up," thus 

 insuring a good dressing percentage when the hog is killed. 

 The belly should be firm, not flabby, and should be wide rather 

 than narrow or V-shaped. 



The rump should be long and as wide as the rest of the top, 

 and it should carry out from hips to end of body with a slight 

 curve downward to coincide with the slight arch of the entire 

 top from head to tail. Very often the rump will be found very 

 steep or drooping, the hips being carried too high and the tail 

 set very low. Accompanying this kind of a rump, and to a 

 certain extent causing it, is a faulty position of the hind legs, the 

 feet being set too far under the body. This constitutes a weak 

 conformation of the hindquarter, and gives the animal an un- 

 gainly appearance. The rump should carry out wide on either 

 side of the tail to form rather square corners, and should not 

 taper in width from hips to end of body, but be uniform in 

 width throughout. When the hog is fat, the tail sets in a socket. 



The hams really include the rump as well as the thighs and 

 twist. They should be very large and well developed, being 

 plump and thick from every point of view. The thickness should 

 carry down to the hocks, and the space between the hind legs 

 and above the hocks should be filled with flesh. Loose, flabby 

 hams are undesirable because they carry too much outside fat 

 and require too much trimming off before they can be sold. 

 Some hams lose fifteen per cent, in trimming at the packing 

 house. The hams should be reasonably firm in fleshing and 

 neat in form, yet very plump, wide, and deep. 



The hind legs should be medium short, or short, and should 

 carry down straight and vertical from the hocks to the ground. 

 The pasterns should be short, upright, and very strong, the feet 

 well formed, and the toes strong. The bone of the market hog 

 should exhibit considerable refinement. 



