BREEDS OF PIGS IX THE UNITED STATES. 101 



before alluding to breeds originating in the United States, 

 it may be well to inquire why these valuable English 

 breeds have never been favorites with the generality of 

 our farmers ? 



That these breeds are not now, and never have been 

 popular, is unquestionably a fact. Except some kept by 

 the writer, we do not know of a single thorough-bred 

 Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk, or Yorkshire pig within ten 

 miles, and it is doubtful whether there are any in the 

 county, although they have been repeatedly introduced. 

 As a general rule, these thorough-bred pigs are kept only 

 by persons who raise them to sell for breeding purposes. 

 They are not kept for the sole object of making pork. 

 For the latter purpose they are seldom as profitable as the 

 offspring of a good common sow and a thorough-bred boar. 



The handsomest pigs we have ever seen were so ob- 

 tained ; and one would think that farmers, seeing such a 

 result, would continue to use thorough-bred boars. But 

 such is seldom the case. They prefer to use one of these 

 large handsome grades, rather than the smaller and more 

 refined thorough-breds, and in this way the beneficial in- 

 fluence of the improved blood is soon lost. 



We think this is the principal reason why these highly- 

 refined English breeds are not favorites with ordinary 

 farmers. Their real value consists in their perfection of 

 form, smallness of bone and offal, and the great develop- 

 ment of the ham, shoulder, cheeks, and other valuable 

 parts ; and added to this is their ability to transmit these 

 qualities to their offspring. This ability is in proportion 

 to their purity, and hence the value of pedigree. When 

 one of these pure-bred boars is put to a good grade or 

 common sow, we get precisely what we want pigs hav- 

 ing the form, the refinement, the early maturity, smallness 

 of offal, and tendency to fatten of the thorough-bred, 

 combined with the vigor, constitution, appetite, and great 

 digestive powers of the larger and coarser sow. In other 



