CHAPTER XV. 



PIGS. 



Breeds of Pigs. Bacon from Skim-milk and Oatmeal. The Value of 

 Whey. Pig Breeding and Pig Feeding. Pigs kept clean. Luke- 

 warm Food. The best possible Breed of Pigs." What is worth 

 doing at all is worth doing well." 



THERE are in this country several excellent breeds of pigs, 

 upon which great attention has been bestowed during a long 

 period. The neatest of these is the Berkshire breed, the 

 largest the big white Yorkshire, and the least the small white 

 Yorkshire. Besides these there is the Essex, the least compact 

 of all ; the Tamworth, perhaps the most generally useful ; and 

 the Shropshire, Dorset, and Devon breeds, though the last 

 two are not so widely known as the others. 



In every part of the British Islands, indeed, excellent pigs 

 are found, and many districts besides those named may almost 

 claim to have separate breeds of their own. The medium-sized 

 breeds are most in demand for general use, American bacon 

 having reduced the demand for the larger and coarser English 

 breeds. 



On dairy farms where cheese and butter are made, pigs are 

 useful to consume whey and skim-milk. Whey cannot be put 

 to any other use so profitably as to pig-feeding, but skim-milk 

 is extremely useful for young stock not cattle only, but horses 

 too. 



At the same time, it must be admitted that bacon produced 

 from skim-milk and oatmeal is about the best we can ever 

 hope to get hold of. The pig, however, is the scavenger of the 



