THE POLAND-CHINA 



33 



They show excellent returns for a comparatively small amount of 

 care and a very moderate amount of feed. Perhaps no other large 

 breed shows as much return for the money put in them as does the 

 Poland-China. This breed also shows a very small shrinkage 

 between feed lot and kiUing floor. This makes them especially 

 popular with western shippers, who must take their hogs long 

 distances to get them to the large markets. 



The packers like the Poland-China because they dress out well, 

 are easy to clean, and have a comparatively small percentage of 

 offal. The meat is fine in grain and tender, but has the one ob- 



Poland-China : A three-times champion of 1913. 



jection, that it contains a relatively large amount of fat. This 

 interferes with the value of the bacon. This is in a measure ex- 

 plained by the fact that the hog is usually allowed to reach ex- 

 treme size before being marketed. If the Poland-China were sent 

 to market at bacon weight there would be a marked improvement 

 in quahty of the bacon. The Poland-China is, however, pre-emi- 

 nently a lard hog, and producers of the breed should leave the 

 bacon field to other breeds more suited to bacon production. 

 This lack of bacon-producing qualities explains the comparative 

 unpopularity of the Poland-China in eastern Canada, Europe, and 

 some of the northern and eastern states of this country. 



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