CHESHIRE 73 



CHESHIRE 



This is an American type of hog also, having originated in the 

 state of New York. Jefferson County, which borders on the east 

 coast of storm-swept Lake Ontario, is the native home of the 

 Cheshire breed. The first record of the breed dates back to about 

 1855, when two citizens of Jefferson County, named Brodie and 

 Hungerford, imported a large Yorkshire boar. This animal was 

 crossed with some of the native stock, and a short time after the 

 newly developed strain was crossed with animals of the White 

 Suffolk type. 



History. — Mr. A. P. Clark, of Belleville, N. Y., began showing 

 this class of swine as a separate breed at the New York State 

 Fair in 1859. In 1870 this same breeder brought a pen of the ani- 

 mals west, and entered them in competition with other hogs at 

 St. Louis for a $500 prize offered by the packers of that period. 

 The Clark exhibit carried away the blue ribbon, but, for some 

 reason, this victory of the breed does not appear to have been 

 followed by any such gain in popularity for the Cheshire, as one 

 would naturally expect as the result of receiving championship 

 honors in a competition of this magnitude. 



Origin of Name. — The origin of the name "Cheshire" is more or 

 less obscured in uncertainty. There is no record of any blood of the 

 old English breed of this name being introduced into the herds 

 of the Jefferson County breeders, and no one seems able to explain 

 exactly the origin of the distinctive name under which the hogs of 

 this breed are now officially recognized. The name was officially 

 awared, however, at the Swine Breeders' Convention in Indianap- 

 olis in 1872. 



In the financial crisis of 1873 the hog-breeding industry, with 

 many others, suffered severely, and the breed of Cheshires almost 

 dropped out of existence. Mr. E. W. Davis saved them from total 

 disappearance, and to his efforts is largely due the credit for the 

 preservation of the breed. In 1884 the Cheshire Swine Breeders' 

 Association was formed, and is at present the most potent agency 

 in the promotion of the interests of breeders of this strain. 



General Characteristics. — The Cheshire is a very neat, stylish- 

 appearing hog, white in color, fine of Umb, and graceful in move- 

 ment. The breed somewhat closely resembles the medium-sized 



