CHAPTER IV 



THE POLAND CHINA 



By WM. M. MCFADDEN 

 Secretary of the American Poland-China Record Association 



In the early part of the nineteenth century, prior to the devel- 

 opment of the great Middle West, where grain production and ani- 

 mal husbandry now largely obtain, the necessity was keenly felt 

 for a meat-producing animal which could not only condense the rich 

 grain, chiefly corn, and carry it to market, but consume large 



A Grand Champion Poland China Boar 



quantities in short order, and be got to market as speedily as pos- 

 sible, once the grain was ready to feed. In the absence of pure- 

 bred hogs or records, a body of farmers and feeders in southwestern 

 Ohio set about designing a type of hog suited to American require- 

 ments, selecting, modeling, developing and perfecting various sorts 

 obtainable. They continued this cause until 1877, when a record 

 was established, and the Poland- China became the acknowledged 

 "cornbelt type," the great Middle West being known as the corn 

 and hog belt, later styled the corn, hog and clover belt. These Ohio 

 farmers sought a type of hog that could make the best use of corn, 

 because corn was abundant, and the most bulky crop to market as 

 raw product. 



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