No. 1. 



Berkshire Hogs. 



33 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet, 

 Berkshire Hogs. 



Sir, — I find that the breeding of Berkshires 

 is to be the order of the day lor the present 

 year ; what a pity that our people will not be 

 content without going with a locomotive force 

 about every thing! they must, one would 

 think, each have a small steam-engine in his 

 breast! and assuredly, in the breeding of 

 Berkshires, they are going the whole hog. 

 Here is one great man, who declares that no 

 Berkshire can be a Berkshire, unless he has 

 three white feet and a white tip to his tail ! 

 but when pushed upon this momentous point, 

 he confesses he only meant, that he must have 

 some white hairs on the tip of his tail — how 

 many, he saith not ! Another, equally great 

 in the profession of hog-breeding, declares 

 that the pure-bred Berkshires must ha ve/owr 

 white feet and a white tail, for they must be 

 perfectly white ; none else being genuine ; 

 and all this, oftentimes, without regard to 

 shape, points, or figure. I know a person in 

 this neighbourhood, who has a Bement sow, 

 and a wretched-looking animal for a Bement 

 it is, with scarcely a good point, except the 

 ear and the top of the tail, about her, but he 

 had a tip-top pedigree with her, and that is 

 his greatest consolation : another has a most 

 splendid boar, but he will not be comforted, 

 because he has no pedigree beyond the fifth 

 generation. 



Now what humbug is all this ! But the best 

 of it is, they are all wrong, as I, who was 

 brought up amongst the Berkshire pigs in 

 England, can testify; and I declare they 

 were red or tawny, with black spots; this 

 was always the legitimate colour, and any 

 one there would as soon think of a blue pig 

 as a while one : but all this has been suffi- 

 cient to create a speculation — a morus-mania, 

 and that's enough. Now, by this time next 

 year, the mania, I guess, will have passed 

 away, and then we shall find that the best 

 breed of pigs in the world might be obtained 

 from a cross between a good Berkshire boar, 

 even if he have but two white feet and no 

 white hairs in the tip of his tail, and some of 

 the best of the Chester county sows, than 

 which nothing finer can be found. 



Since writing the above, I find a corre- 

 spondent in the Cultivator has broken ground 

 in favour of the red and black Berkshires, and 

 I mean to help him : the description of a pure 

 Berkshire, ..which he copies from the Com- 

 plete Grazier, is worth preserving in your 

 pages ; it is as follows : " The specific cha- 

 racters of the true Berkshire hog are, a red- 

 dish colour, with brown or black spots; sides 

 very broad; body thick, close, and well- 

 formed; short legs;* the head well placed; 

 the ears large (!) and generally standing for- 

 ward, but sometimes pendent over the eyes (!) 



The best are without bristles along the back, 

 their hair long and curly." But, oh mores! 

 not a word about the tip of the tail! Now, 

 how very diflferent is the true Berkshire of 

 the present day to the above portrait? It 

 might be called a stuffed sausage. 



But, after all, there is another breed of hogs 

 in England, which will one day take prece- 

 dence of the Berkshires for quality of meat, 

 and these are the Hampshires : they are so 

 notorious, that the people of that shire are 

 called Hampshire hogs, as the people of Es- 

 sex are called calves — Essex calves — that 

 county being noted for the finest and fattest 

 calves: and any person having resided in 

 London, to which the best of every thing 

 finds its way, must have heard mention made 

 of Hampshire bacon, and tasted it too, and 

 will bear witness to its great superiority ; it 

 always bears a higher price than any other 

 brought to that market ; the flavour is pecu- 

 liar, and very different from that of the Berk- 

 shire, or any other breed ; more tender ; does 

 not waste in cooking; the rind of the meat 

 thick, but peculiarly juicy, and, what might 

 be termed gelatinous. The hogs of this 

 breed are all that need be desired in every 

 way, and the estimation in which they are 

 held in that part of England, will assuredly 

 obtain for tliem a run in the American mar- 

 ket, after the Berkshires have had their run: 

 but, how shall it be told ! even the best breeds 

 are found of different colours, and sometimes 

 with less than three white feet and no white 

 hairs in the tip of the tail ! 



I have in my possession portraits of a sow 

 and boar of this peculiar and favourite breed, 

 which I should be glad to see copied into the 

 pages of the Cabinet ; they will form a va- 

 riety amongst your excellent drawings of 

 animals, with which the pages of your work 

 are so richly embellished, and they are there- 

 fore at your service for that purpose ; I shall 

 send them by the hands of a friend who will 

 visit your beautiful city in two weeks. I 

 shall add, the Hampshires are hardy, feed 

 readily to a very large size, 6 or 7 hundred 

 pounds being a common weight amongst the 

 largest; while pigs of six or nine months are 

 reared to great perfection. They are, in their 

 own country, always fattened upon barley, 

 ground into meal, which makes by far the 

 best feed. John Bancroft. 



P. S. We hear much now-a-days of the 

 fine handling of cattle — and truly there is 

 no mistake about that — but why may we not 

 introduce the same test of thrift amongst our 

 hogs ] it would be a pretty accompaniment to 

 a white-lipped tail ! 

 Duchess County, N. Y., July 29, l&JO. 



We shall be obliged to our correspondent 

 for the loan of the drawings of the hogs above 

 spoken of. — Ed. 



