8WINE. 1293 



V. Berkshires. 



In the Berkshire we have another English breed, and one that is very 

 extensively spread over Canada and the United States. Some years ago 

 the utility of this breed was greatly injured by its breeders aiming to 

 secure fancy points rather than to develop useful qualities. Color was 

 regarded as of great importance, and, in addition, they bred for an ex- 

 tremely short snout, heavy jowl and neck, a broad, fat back, and very fine 

 bone. Of late years Canadian breeders at least have been trying to get 

 as far away as possible from the type mencioned above, and to bring the 

 breed nearer the bacon type. Tj^eir efforts have met with a consider- 

 able degree of success, though there is still much to accomplish before 

 the breed as a whole can be classed as an ideal bacon hog. 



Characteristics. — There is a marked difference in the general type of 

 Canadian and American Berkshires, for while Canadian breeders have 

 been striving to lengthen the side and modify the type generally to meet 

 the requirements of our market, Americans, on the other hand, have 

 been breeding them solely for the production of the fat hog. Berk- 

 shires, as a breed, are very easy feeders, and mature early. They are 

 hardy and fairly prolific. Perhaps their greatest faults from a market 

 standpoint are their tendencies to shortness of side between shoulder 

 and ham, and to undue weight of jowl, neck, and shoulder. They form 

 poi)ular crosses with Yorkshires and Tamworths, and the result of these 

 crosses is usually a very good bacon hog. 



Judging Berkshires. — Owing to the confusion of types, it becomes a 

 diflScult matter to judge Berkshires satisfactorily in Canadian show- 

 ings. However, since the bacon hog is the leading hog in Canada, and 

 since Berkshire breeders claim their favorites to be well adapted to the 

 production of Wiltshire sides, it seems only reasonable to assume that 

 they should be judged mainly from the bacon standpoint. It is true, 

 that a very important use of Berkshires is to cross with such breeds as 

 the Yorkshire and Tamworth, but even for this purpose they are all the 

 better for approaching the bacon type very closely. There is, there- 

 fore, good ground for discounting the heavy jowl, neck, and shoulder, 

 and the extremely broad back, and for insisting upon only a moderate 

 development of these parts. Length, particularly between shoulder and 

 ham, becomes of greater importance than depth and thickness. What 

 has been said under Yorkshires regarding the danger of going to 

 extremes, applies with equal force here, and the judge must not fail to 

 emphasize constitution, quality, and symmetry. 



Scales of Points. — Since there are two distinct standards for judg- 

 mg Berkshires, it has been thought advisable to give two descriptions. 

 The first one assumes that the Berkshire is to be judged as a bacon hog, 



