INTRODUCTORY. 431 



bably more extensively grown than any others, and of these two 

 the Berkshire preponderates. The taste for very small or very 

 large sorts is dying out, because neither are found generally 

 profitable. Quite recently the Tamworth, a red-skinned breed, 

 have come into favour on account of the excellent quality of 

 their bacon. 



The question here arises, do pigs pay? Much has been 

 written on this subject, and the majority of writers are of 

 opinion that it is cheaper to buy than to feed our bacon — a 

 conclusion we by no means indorse, because on a farm a consider- 

 able part of the feeding can be done comparatively cheaply by 

 using food which would otherwise be wasted. If a gentleman 

 buys a pig and feeds it entirely on purchased food, he will find 

 his bacon an expensive luxury, and there is no doubt that a point 

 is soon reached beyond which the increase of weight is not 

 sufficient to cover the cost. It would be important to the feeder 

 if we had trustworthy experiments to refer to ; but, whilst 

 something has been done to elucidate our practice as regards 

 cattle and sheep, with the exception of Sir J. Lawes's experiments, 

 and a series carried out by Mr. C. G. "Roberts, to which we shall 

 refer, the pig has not, as far as we know, been subjected to well- 

 sustained investigation; consequently everyone has his own 

 ideas on the subject. That bacon, to be good, should be fat, and 

 the fat interspersed between the lean, is generally acknowledged; 

 but we do not know where a paying system ends and a losing 

 one begins. Mr. John Tyrrel, of New Court, North Devon, 

 states that he put up twenty pigs to fatten upon roots and a 

 large proportional quantity of oats and barley meal. During 

 the first fortnight the increased weight compared with the food 

 consumed paid 9s. 6d. ; the second fortnight 4s. 6d. ; in the third 

 period of three weeks the increase only represented half the cost. 

 From this, which after all is only a rough test, it would appear 

 that feeding to only a moderate point is best. But a solitary 

 instance like this requires confirmation ; we require to know the 

 amount of grain that can be assimilated. If a pig is allowed to 

 eat at discretion, that is as much as it possibly can, much of the 

 food constituents pass away unassimilated in the manure, adding 

 much to its value, but making the feeding process very costly 

 and unprofitable. Had the animal received only such a quantity 



