84 



Chester County Berhshires. 



Vol. VI. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Chester County Berkshires. 



Dear Sir, — I have received several num- 

 bers of the Farmers'Cabinet, and am very much 

 pleased with it. Mr. Tebbs, who was lately 

 at your office, told me you wished my opinion 

 relative to a contemplated cross of the Ches- 

 ter and Berkshire hojr. I have seen only a 

 few specimens of the Chester hog; with tiiose 

 I was pleased, though I did not go into a mi- 

 nute examination of them, and am, therefore, 

 only prepared to give you a conjecture upon 

 the subject. My impression from present 

 recollectioji is, that the cross will be a good 

 one, and that both Cliester and Berkshire 

 will be benefited by it. The fault of the 

 Berkshire stock is, that they have flesh of a 

 hard kind that does not readily yield to the 

 deposition of fat, and the cellular substance 

 is not in sufficient quantity. This last posi- 

 tion is evinced by the hardfeeling and want 

 of elasticity of the breed when compared 

 with others. 



The cellular substance feels much softer 

 and more elastic than the lean flesh, and if 

 there are cells in the lean flesh, it will give 

 to it considerable softness and elasticity: such 

 lean flesh when fattened will have fat thrown 

 into it, or what is generally termed marbled. 

 When the flesh feels hard and inelastic, such 

 flesh when fattened will not be marbled, but 

 will throw the fat upon the outside. Now, 

 if upon examination you find that the cellu- 

 lar substance is more abundant in the Ches- 

 ter hog than in the Berkshire, you may, with 

 much certainty, calculate upon an improve- 

 ment Although it is a general thing for the 

 Berkshire breed to " handle" badly, yet it is 

 by no means universal, and there are some 

 uncommonly good handlers among them. 

 And if the breeders of Berkshires would 

 (like the breeders of Durham cattle) attend 

 to this matter, they might soon make a great 

 improvement in the stock. 



I some time ago made a proposition to 

 have a Berkshire and Woburn fed by mea- 

 surement by some disinterested person, and 

 report the result. The proposition was taken 

 by two breeders of Berkshires, but from an 

 accident happening to one of them, only one 

 was fed. Tlie trial was only for ten days, as 

 I could not get the advocates of the Berk- 

 shire to feed a longer time. They thought 

 they had the advantage in having a hog that 

 would start sooner to fatten than the Woburn. 

 The sow, CouRTF.NAY, weighed, when put up, 

 123 lbs. more than the Berkshire, so that she 

 had that much more flesh to support out of 

 her allowance. Our experiments (as far as 

 one or two experiments will do it) have 

 proved, 1st, that the Woburns will nearly 

 double tlie Berkshires in a given time. This I 



was proved in the trial between Isaac and 

 William Barclay. The Berkshire gained 

 57 lbs. in 30 days, the Woburn gained 107 

 lbs. in 30 days, 2d, that the Woburns are 

 the smallest eaters, — (see Mr. Weathers' 

 statement, where Patience was the smallest 

 eater) ; and, 3d, that the Woburns give more 

 weight for the food consumed. (See Mr. 

 Weathers' statement, where Courtenay 

 gained 30 lbs. in ten days, upon 52 lbs. of 

 corn.) Courtenay gained, upon the same 

 allowance, nearly 45 per cent, more than the 

 black Berkshire. 



Mr. Taylor's Berkshire gained over two 

 pounds a day upon a little more than five 

 pounds of corn. Mr. A. B. Allen's lost flesh 

 upon ten pounds a day. (See Cultivator, vol. 

 8. p. 67. Manner of Feeding Stock in Ohio.) 

 22 sows had given to them 4 bushels of corn 

 a day ; this, at 55 lbs. to the bushel, is exact- 

 ly 10 lbs. each. 



Mr. Solon Robinson was lately at my house, 

 but unfortunately I was from home. I wished 

 much to have taken him by the hand, and 

 added some words of encouragement in his 

 present undertaking. I believe the time for 

 forming a National Society has come, and I 

 hope its benefits will be equal to the most 

 sanguine expectations of its friends. 



I will subjoin Mr. Weathers' statement of 

 the feeding by measure of the Woburn and 

 Berkshire, which you will please publish if 

 you think it contains anything that would be 

 likely to interest the farming community. 

 Permit me to add my best wishes that you 

 may be eminently successful in diffusing 

 knowledge abroad among the agricultural 

 community. Your well-wisher, 



Samuel D. Martin. 



Colbyville, Ky., Sept. 9, 1841. 



A trial of the Fattening Qualities of the 

 Woburn and Berkshire breed of Hogs, 

 when fed equally upon a like allowance. 



(a copy.) 



There were put under my care on the 

 13th August, by Dr. Martin and Jas. F. Tay- 

 lor, two Woburn and one Berkshire* sows, 

 for the purpose of being fed ; and I received 

 directions to give each one five pounds of 

 corn a day, and to increase the quantity until 

 I should find what quantity the smallest eater 

 of the three would consume. 



On that evening I gave to each one of 

 them two and a half pounds of corn, and the 

 next day five pounds each ; and on the 15th 

 nearly six pounds to each. One of the Wo- 

 burns (Patience) failed to eat all of her ailow- 



* Mr. Duncan wag to have furnished another Berk- 

 shire sow for this experiment, but from an accident 

 happening to her, she was not brought. M. 



