512 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



losses from lice and disease that would otherwise be carried by the 

 new purchase to the swine already on the farm. (Colo. B. 146.) 



MARKET PORK. 



Bacon or Lard Hogs. All of the breeds are included in two 

 types, the lard type and the bacon type. Those breeds that are low, 

 deep, broad and heavy fleshed, such as the Poland China, are known 

 as lard hogs. They are chiefly of American origin, having been de- 

 veloped by generations of feeding on a fat producing ration, prin- 

 cipally corn. 



The bacon type, on the contrary is of long, narrow, deep, 

 smooth and thin fleshed conformation, illustrated by the Tamworth. 

 These breeds are of foreign origin and have been developed largely 

 on nitrogenous rations of grains and skim milk. 



A majority of experiments show that all breeds of the same type 

 do equally well under similar conditions. The bacon hog compared 

 with the lard hog, dresses but 70 to 75 per cent net to gross weight, 

 whereas the lard hog dresses from 84 to 87 per cent. 



Owing to the difference in dressed weight compared to live 

 weight, and the fact that packers can buy a supply of immature lard 

 hogs in place of true bacon hogs, the breeding of the bacon type 

 should not be undertaken in competition with the lard hog, unless 

 there is sufficient demand to insure a profitable price. (Wis. B. 184.) 



The hog adapted for the production of high grade bacon gives 

 promise of being produced extensively in the Northwest before many 

 years pass. A great many farmers are using the blood of the bacon 

 breeds of swine in their herds at the present time. The Large Im- 

 proved Yorkshire breed is being raised by many. 



The farmers of the Province of Ontario, Canada, raise the bacon 

 type of swine for market by the use of the -bacon breeds almost uni- 

 versally to the exclusion of the lard type. They feed practically the 

 same feeds that the farmers of this state can grow successfully. The 

 farmers of Ontario, however, feed considerable dairy by-products, 

 because they are extensively engaged in dairying. As a result of the 

 farmers of Ontario growing the bacon type of hog so generally, they 

 have succeeded in capturing the English trade for fancy bacon, and 

 they are in direct competition with Denmark and Holland the coun- 

 tries that have the reputation for producing the best grade of bacon 

 put on the market. High class bacon sells for better prices than the 

 poorer grades of pork, and this has enabled the Canadian packers to 

 pay more for hogs than they do on our markets in this country. A 

 comparison of market prices of hogs at Toronto, Canada, and Chi- 

 cago, shows that the prices paid at Toronto ranged on the average 52 

 cents to $1.23 per cwt. higher than those paid at Chicago. 



There is not a great deal of difference in the merit of the Poland 

 China, Berkshire, Chester White and Duroc Jersey breeds, for they 

 are quite uniform in type. The success that the farmer has with 

 any breed will depend more upon the skill he exercises in handling 

 them than upon the difference that exists in the characteristics of the 

 breeds. All the best individuals of the lard breeds are compact and 

 thick fleshed, and mature at an early age. If one desires to produce 



