THE CHESTER WHITE . 181 



compact type, a quick maturing animal, of good disposition and 

 an excellent feeder. The constructive breeders of Chester and 

 Delaware counties, in Pennsylvania soon realized that by crossing 

 Bedfordshire or Woburn hogs on the best white hogs of the county 

 great improvement was made, and by selection and judicious breed- 

 ing for thirty years a hog was developed that would reproduce its 

 characteristics to such a degree that it became known as a distinct 

 breed, and was named in 1848 " Chester^ County White." which 

 soon became generally known as "Chester White." It has the 

 distinction of being the first named American-made breed of swine. 



A Breeder's Description. A brief description of these hogs 

 by Paschall Morris of Philadelphia, a breeder of that period, says : 

 * * They are generally recognized now as the best breed in this coun- 

 try, coming fully up to the requirements of a farmer 's hog, and are 

 rapidly superseding Suffolks, Berkshires and other smaller breeds. 

 The best specimens may be described as long and deep in the car- 

 cass, broad and straight in the back, short in the leg, full in the 

 ham, full shoulder, well packed forward, admitting of no neck, 

 very small proportionate head, short nose, dish face, broad between 

 the ej'es, moderate ear, thin skin, straight hair, a capacity for great 

 size and to gain a pound per day until they are two years old. 

 Add to these quiet habits and an easy taking on of fat, so as to 

 admit of being slaughtered at almost any age, and we have what is 

 considered in Chester county a carefully-bred animal and what is 

 known elsewhere as a fine specimen of a breed called * Chester 

 County White/ ! 



As the different hogs from which the breed was created were all 

 white, or nearly so, its power to transmit a pure white coat on any 

 outcross was the pride of the originators and supporters, and much 

 has been said of the white coat and the pink skin of the early 

 Chester White swine. The Chester White, from its adaptability 

 as a farmer's hog and from its phenomenal winnings wherever 

 shown, became and was acknowledged by writers as the most popu- 

 lar breed in America during the 60 's and 70 's. This popularity 

 stimulated a most profitable business in breeding; so much so that 

 the breeders who kept their herds pure could not readily supply the 

 demand, and dealers, who saw an opportunity for speculation, 

 bought thousands of mongrel white pigs and sold them as pure- 

 breds, and the fact that they did not breed true to color and char- 

 acteristics so menaced the popularity of the breed that it received 

 a back-set that required some time to overcome. Thus the best 

 American breed of hogs that had been created on constructive lines 

 and had made for itself a national popularity by its own merits 

 was doomed to censure by the practices of unscrupulous dealers. 



The First Record. During the time between 1848, when the 

 Chester White hog was named, and 1884, when the first record 

 association for the breed was organized, many of the constructive 

 breeders who were ever loyal to the promotion of the purebreds, and 

 who continued improving the breed along constructive lines from 

 direct ancestors until the breed again had national popularity, saw 

 that in order to have further protection from unscrupulous dealers 



