SWINE. 



SWINE. 



America and England from Canton and other 

 Indian ports, for the most part as sea-stock, by 

 the vessels employed in the tea trade, &c. Ow- 

 ing to the much larger consumption of pork by 

 the Chinese than of any other animal food, they 

 pay great attention to the rearing and fattening 

 of their swine. It is said they even use the 

 milk of the sow for domestic purposes. The 

 pure Chinese breed is too delicate and sensi- 

 ble of cold to be of much value in climates 

 liable to frequent changes of temperature. It 

 is chiefly, therefore, by intermixture that its 

 value is recognised; and it is for this reason 

 that its introduction has proved so beneficial 

 in England, by correcting the coarseness of 

 form, quieting the restless disposition, and add- 

 ing a greater tendency to mature quickly and 

 fatten kindly. The flesh of the Eastern hogs 

 is more suited for pork than for bacon. Mr. 

 Culley subdivides the Chinese breed into seven 

 varieties, but there appear to be only two dis- 

 tinct species the white and the black; the for- 

 mer better shaped than the latter, but less hardy 

 and prolific. Both are, however, small-limbed; 

 ears and head thin and transparent, small and 

 fine ; neck thick ; the body close, compact, and 

 well formed ; legs very short ; flesh delicate ; 

 round in the carcass, thin-skinned, and the 

 head so embedded in the neck that, when quite 

 fat, the end only of the snout can be seen. 

 They are rather difficult to rear; the sows are 

 bad nurses; and, from their small size, they 

 seldom reach to a greater weight than from 10 

 to 12 stone when one year old, and 16 to 18 

 stone when two years old. 



The black race, from their valuable proper- 

 ties of fattening on a small proportion of food, 

 being very thrifty, and prolific breeders, not- 

 withstanding their inferior size, have been ad- 

 vantageously crossed with other breeds. 



There is a mixed tawny breed, or patched 

 with black and v/hite, which is valuable for 

 breeding sows and roasters. 



Hampshire breed. This is a very large breed, 

 which is longer in the neck and body, but not 

 so compact in 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 re- 

 spect to food. The goodness of the Hampshire 

 hog is proverbial ; it is principally fattened for 

 large hams and bacon. 



The Shropshire breed is large and coarse; but 

 these hogs are found profitable where the keep 

 is in sufficient abundance for their support; 

 hence they are held in estimation in England 

 by distillers, and are commonly fed to 30 score 

 weight and upwards. They are neither so well 

 formed as those of the Berkshire breed, nor do 

 they equal them in their disposition to fatten 

 and thrive on cheap food. The standard co- 

 lour of the Shropshire hog appears to be white, 

 or brindled with black, and sometimes sandy 

 patches. The breed may be described as flat 

 boned, deep and flat-sided, harsh or rather wiry- 

 haired, the ears large ; head long, sharp, and 

 coarse ; leg too long, low, although very sub- 

 stantial, yet not sufficiently wide, considering 

 the great extent of the whole frame. Within 

 the last 15 or 20 years this breed has been 

 much improved by a cross with the Berkshire, 

 129 



which has reduced the length both of their legs 

 and carcass, and rendered the head lighter. 



The Rudgwick breed. This is the most enor- 

 nous breed in Great Britain, and is reared 

 about the neighbourhood of a village on the 

 borders of Sussex and Surrey, whence it takes 

 ts name. They feed to an extraordinary -size 

 without any peculiar care, and weigh, at two 

 years old, on an average, full 70 stone, which 

 is nearly double what other kinds will weigh 

 at the same age. The Rudwick sows are ac- 

 counted good mothers, very prolific and hardy, 

 and are particularly noted as being an ex- 

 tremely large sort, having been known to 

 weigh from 80 to 116 stone, 8 Ibs. to the stone. 

 Indeed, some have reached to the extraordi- 

 nary weight of 182 stone. As large breeds 

 pay the farmer the best in many cases, such a 

 breed as the Rudgwick deserves to be attended 

 to in the system of hog management. 



The Suffolk and Norfolk breeds have been long 

 in repute as hardy and prolific species, and 

 when crossed with either the Dishley or the 

 Berkshire hog, produce animals which are 

 held in very general esteem. 



The Norfolk breed. This is described as be- 

 ing a small, short set-eared, thin-skinned pork- 

 ing sort, various in colour, white, bluish, stri- 

 ated; generally an inferior kind. But on the 

 Lincoln side of the county there is a large 

 spotted variety of very good form and quality. 

 The Suffolk breed is a small, delicate, white 

 race, which has for many years been held in 

 good estimation. They are shorter and more 

 pug-formed than the Norfolks ; and by their 

 dish face and pendent belly, it is to be pre- 

 sumed that the variety proceeded originally 

 from the white Chinese breed. Their defects 

 are, that they are great consumers in propor- 

 tion to their small bulk, and that they produce 

 little flesh. 



The Woburn breed. This is a large, hardy, 

 well-formed, and very prolific variety, intro- 

 duced by the late Duke of Bedford, which is 

 generally white, spotted with various colours, 

 round in the carcass, small-limbed and headed, 

 and so kindly disposed to fatten, that they are 

 said to attain about twice the size and weight 

 of other sorts of hogs within the same given 

 period of time. 



The Tonkey or Tonquin breed is a cross b- 

 tween the Berkshire and the Chinese, which 

 has produced a species possessing very many 

 good points. 



The Dishley breed, reared by the celebrated 

 cattle-breeder, Bakewell, are remarkably fine- 

 boned and delicate, besides possessing consi- 

 derable beauty, and are said to lay on a larger 

 quantity of meat, in proportion to bone and 

 offal, than any other kind known. When fat, 

 they are nearly equal in height, length, and 

 thickness, their bellies almost touching the 

 ground, the eyes being deep-set and sunk from 

 fat, and the whole carcass appearing to be a 

 solid mass of flesh. As a set-off to these good 

 qualities, are the defects of their being slow of 

 growth, tender constitutioned, bad nurses, not 

 very prolific, and requiring more food in fat- 

 tening than the larger hogs. By a cross with 

 a Dishley boar, several of the native breeds of 

 the different English counties have been muck 

 4 B 2 1026 



