90 



The Berkshire Hog. — Scalding Seed. 



YoL. V. 



from this intermixture, it becomes in many 

 cases (litlioult to recognise, in the present 

 race, the characters of the true Berkshire, 

 And although no doubt can exist with respect 

 to the oreat benefit that has arisen from di- 

 minishing the size and coarseness of the 

 former swine of England, yet assuredly there 

 should be limits to this dimindtion in the size 

 of the hog, as of every other animal culti- 

 vated for food ; and, in many cases, the dimi- 

 nution of size has been merely to suit the 

 caprice of taste. The larger kinds of pigs 

 do not find a ready sale in the markets of 

 great cities, and hence, the more essential 

 property of an abundant production of butch- 

 er's meat is sacrificed ; but we should remem- 

 ber that the supply of pork is of immense 

 importance to the support of the inhabitants 

 of every country, for in the state of bacon it 

 is largely consumed by the mass of the peo- 

 ple, and in the salted state, it is used in the 

 supplies of shipping — it is not, therefore, for 

 the general good, that the old breeds of Eng- 

 land should be merged in the smaller races 

 of China and other countries; and while we 

 should improve by every means the larger 

 breeds that are left us, we should take care 

 that we do not sacrifice them altogether ; the 

 country might one day regret that this over- 

 refinement has been practised, and future 

 improvers exert themselves in vain to recover 

 those fine old breeds which had been aban- 

 doned ! In place of unceasing crossing with 

 the smaller breeds, it would be more praise- 

 worthy and beneficial, to apply to our larger 

 races those principles of breeding which, in 

 the case of other animals, have succeeded. 

 By mere selection of the parents, we could 

 remove all the defective characters of the 

 larger breeds, and give to them all the de- 

 gree of fineness which consists with their 

 bulk of body ; for there is no animal so ea- 

 sily changed in form, and moulded to our 

 purposes, as the hog. 



Hogs are from time to time brouglit by our 

 innumerable shipping, from the countries of 

 the Mediterranean, as Italy, Turkey, Spain, 

 and mingled with the swine of the country. 

 Of the Mediterranean breeds, the Maltese 

 was at one time in favour ; it was of small 

 size, black colour, nearly destitute of bristles, 

 and capable of fiittening quickly ; but at the 

 present time, a breed from the country near 

 Naples has been introduced, and has been 

 employed very extensively to cross the other 

 breeds: this breed, like the Maltese, is of 

 small size, and of a black colour: it is nearly 

 destitute of hair or bristles, but on being bred 

 several times in this country, the bristles 

 come : the flesh is exceedingly good, but the 

 animals themselves are destitute of hardi- 

 ness, and unsuitcd for general use, but they 

 have been made to cross the other swine of 



the country, and the progeny exhibit much 

 fineness of form and aptitude to fatten : their 

 flesh too is delicate, on which account the 

 Neapolitan crosses are in considerable favour 

 in several parts of England. But there are 

 other races of Italy which might, with greater 

 benefit than that of Naples, have been intro- 

 duced into this country ; the best hogs of 

 Italy are supposed to be produced in the 

 Duchy of Parma ; they are of larger size 

 than those of Naples, while they possess even 

 greater aptitude to fatten, and yield pork 

 equally white and delicate." 

 riiiladelpliia, 2bth Sept, 1840. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet, 

 Scald your Seeds. 



Mr. Editor, — Just when I received the 

 number of the Cabinet for August, a friend 

 put into my hand an agricultural paper, con- 

 taining strong recommendations to scald seeds 

 before sowing, and I had an opportunity to 

 read that, and tlT,e article inserted at p. 40 of 

 the Cabinet, on the same subject, at the same 

 time. Now how is a man to act when he 

 meets with things in print so diabolically op- 

 posite'? (as an old friend expresses it, who 

 uses that word for diametrically). I am glad, 

 however, that you have taken a right view of 

 the position of agricultural periodical publi- 

 cations ; they are, as you say, merely the 

 means of communication between man and 

 man, and this is, in fact, their great value; 

 and when this comes to be better understood, 

 practical men will not be so averse to com- 

 mitting their experience to paper, for it is to 

 them we are to look for reconciling such dis- 

 crepancies. True, in some of these accounts 

 there are many weeds sown with the grain, 

 but a thorough-bred farmer knows how to 

 distinguish between them, and how to root 

 out the one while he preserves the other; 

 and although the following extract shows the 

 crop to have been broad-cast and much at 

 random, it is yet worth while to sift the chaff 

 and preserve the grain ; but in this, as in 

 every thing else, he must be guided by com- 

 mon sense and plain reason : then he will go 

 right, never fear. 



Steeping seeds in warm water, of diflcrent 

 degrees of heat, according to the state of the 

 weather, and the nature of the seed to be 

 operated upon, is no doubt good; but who 

 would recommend fuming hot water to be 

 poured upon clover-seed, as upon the seed of ■ 

 beet, and others of the like kinds, defended, " 

 as they are, by a casing so thick and rough 1 

 It is not, however, necessary to use warm 

 water for this purpose : cold water is sufficient, 

 if it be applied in time to give the seed a 

 start before sowing, and thus all the good 

 mi"-ht be obtained without the slightest dan- 



