CHAPTER XVIII 



BREEDS OF HOGS 



THERE are now in America eight clearly defined breeds 

 of hogs which may be regarded as fairly well established 

 in numbers, or which give promise of soon becoming so. 

 These are the Poland-China, Duroc-Jersey, Hampshire, 

 Berkshire, Chester-White, and Spotted Poland-Chinas of 

 the lard type, and the Large Yorkshire and Tamworth 

 of the bacon type. The Hampshire should perhaps be 

 classed as intermediate between the lard and the bacon 

 types, although the type as generally shown seems to 

 exhibit more of the former characteristics than of the 

 latter. As bred in Canada, the Berkshire has a decided 

 leaning toward the bacon type. In addition to these 

 more common breeds, the following are less widely dis- 

 tributed : Cheshire, Victoria, Essex, Suffolk, Small York- 

 shire, and Mule-Foot. 



As generally understood, a breed may be defined as a 

 group of animals the individuals of which possess certain 

 well-defined characteristics in common and which transmit 

 these characteristics to their offspring with a reasonable 

 degree of certainty. The great variety of stock contribut- 

 ing the foundation blood of the different breeds furnished 

 the possibilities in hereditary combinations which made 

 possible the later development of the improved types by 

 selection. The best evidence now indicates that the 



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