10f>8 



PB kCTICE OF AGRICULTURE. 



P 



I IT. 



iid ihelr culture ran never be so iniirii depended on bj the general farmer aitbat of cattle or sheep, 

 A miter In the Farmer's Magazine observe*, that the twine are the only variety of granWorous animals 

 ih.it ran i»- fed upon the offal ol grain, "r iiich artlclea a^ would otherwise go to waste about a farm. 

 steading, Since the erection of threshing machines, a much greater quantity of light grain is beat from 

 the straw, than was gained when the Bail was employed. To use this extra quantity to advantage becomes 

 an important concern t" the occupiers of land ; and this writer thinks that the using of it in raising and 

 supporting swine is b> tar the most profitable mode of consuming an article, which, in other respects, is 

 comparatively ol little value. 



Sect. I. Varieties of ike Common Hog. 

 IS. The domesticated European variety of the common hog (fig. 899.) is too well 



899 



900 



known to require any de- 

 scription. 



7284, '/'//<• Chinese hog Ufc.900.) 



is distinguished iron the common, 



\gc** % JjV by having the upper part of its 



y^c . C. j\\\ body almost bare, itsbefly hanging 



nearly to the ground ; its legs are 



very short, and its tail still more 

 disproportionately short. The 

 flesh Of this variety is whiter 

 and more delicate. The colour 

 is commonly a dark grey. It 

 abounds in China, and is diffused through New Guinea, and many islands in the South Sea. The New 

 Hebrides, the Marquesas, the Friendly and the Society Islands, possess this animal, and cultivate it with 

 great care, as it is almost the only domestic animal of which they can boast. The varieties of hog culti- 

 vated ill Britain, are partly the result of climate and keep ir>tiie European variety, and partly the effects 

 Of crossing with the Chinese. At the same time, it is only in particular districts that so much attention 

 has been paid to this animal, as to give rise to any accurate distinction of breeds; and nowhere has it 

 re< eived any considerable portion of that care in breeding, which has been so advantageously employed 

 on the other animals of which we have treated. Yet, among none of the varieties of those is there so 

 great a difference as among the breeds of this species, in regard to the meat they return for the consump- 

 tion of a given quantity of food. Some races can with difficulty be made fat, even at an advanced age, 

 though fed from the trough with abundance of such food as would fatten any other animal : while others 

 contrive to raise a valuable carcass out of materials on which no other creature could subsist. 



7285. The Chinese race, according to Culley, has been subdivided into seven varieties or more; and it 

 would be easy to point out twice the number of as prominent distinctions among the sorts in the third 

 class. Hut such an affectation of accuracy is as useless as it would be tedious. One general form, 

 approaching to that of other animals kept for their carcass, ought certainly to be preferred ; and the 

 size, which is the other distinguishing characteristic, mu>t be chosen with a view to the food provided 

 fur their maintenance, and not because it is possible to raise the individuals to a great, and probably, 

 unprofitable weight. The fineness of the bone, and the broad, though also deep, form of the chest, 

 denote in this, as in the other species, a disposition to make fat with a moderate consumption of food ; 

 and while it may he advisable to prefer the larger breeds in those places where bacon and flitches are 

 in most demand, the smaller breeds are most esteemed for pickling, and are, beyond all doubt, most 

 profitable to those farmers who allow them little else than the range of the farm-'yard and the offals of 

 the kitchen. 

 7°8o'. The Berkshire breed Jig. 901) is distinguished by Itcing in general of a tawny, white, or reddish 

 yOl colour ; spotted with black ; large ears hanging over the eyes ; 



thick, close, and well made in the body ; legs short ; small in 

 the bone ; having a disposition to fatten quickly; and when 

 well fed, the flesh is fine. Berkshire has been long famous for 

 its breed of swine, which, as it now stands, is, in the third 

 class, in point of size, excellent in all respects, but particularly 

 as a cross for heavy, slow-feeding sorts. It has extended itself 

 from the district from which it takes its name over most parts 

 of the island ; is the sort mostly fattened at the distilleries ; 

 feeds to a great weight ; is good for either pork or bacon ; and 

 is supposed by many as the most hardy, both in respect to their 

 nature and the food on which they are fed. 



7i!87. The Hampshire breed {Jig. 902.) are large, longer in the 

 body and neck, but not of so compact a form as the Berkshire ; 

 they are mostly of a white colour, or spotted, and are well disposed to fatten, coming up to a great weight 

 when properly managed in respect to food. Lawrence says they are generally dark spotted, some black, of 



902 



a longer and flatter make than those of Berks, ears more pointed, 

 head long and sharp, resembling the Essex. 



7288. The Shropshire breed is another large breed of hogs, which 

 are found valuable where the keep is in sufficient abundance lor 

 their support. They are not so well formed as those of the Berk- 

 shire kind, or equal to them in their disposition to fatten, or to be 

 supported on such cheap food. The standard colour of this breed is 

 white, or brindled : Shropshire has long bred stores for the supply of 

 the I/ondon feeders, and of the Essex farmers, who thus turn their 

 clovers to the must profitable account. 



The Gloucestershire breed is likewise a larger breed, but in- 

 ferior to either of the above, being tall and long in shape, and by no 

 The colour is in general white. It has two watties hanging from the throat. 



means so well formed 

 7-90. The Herefordshire breed Jig. !*>3.) is also a large useful breed, but perhaps without possessing any 



90S 



advantage over those that have been described above. 



7291, The Jiudxwiek breed is a large kind of swine, which the au- 

 thor of the Survey of Middlesex says is the largest in the island, 

 met with at the village of that name, on the borders of Sussex and 

 Surrey. They feed to an extraordinary size, and weigh, at two 

 years old, nearly double or triple the usual weight of other sorts of 

 hogs of that age. As large breeds pay the fanners best in many cases, 

 such a breed deserves to be attended to in the system of hog ma- 

 nagement. 



7292. The large spotted ll'obiirn breed is a breed introduced by the 

 Kit c Duke of Bedford, being large in size and of various colours. 

 It i< a hard, well formed, prolific sort, rising quickly to a large 

 weight. 



