THE CHESTER WHITE 741 



produce a hog that would meet the wants of the farmer or stock 

 breeder. He writes : "I saw they sadly needed improvement, 

 and did not present evidence of careful breeding. There was not 

 that uniformity of size, shape, or style that should characterize a 

 herd of whatever name." The O. I. C. strain, as promoted by 

 Mr. Silver, in the opinion of many, was larger and more prolific 

 than the common run of Chester Whites. Mr. Silver has made 

 the claim that this is " now known as a distinct breed," but such 

 is not the case, and it has never been regarded by the well 

 informed as a separate breed. 



Characteristics of the Chester White. As is indicated by the 

 name, this is a pure-white breed, although small black or bluish- 

 black spots occur on the skin to some extent. Such spots do not 

 disqualify, but are undesirable. The official Chester White scale 

 of points states that " red or black spots in the hair disqualify, 

 but blue spots in the hide (commonly known as freckles), while 

 objectionable and should be discouraged, do not argue impurity 

 of blood." The head has a straight face, the nose often tends 

 to be long and narrow, and the ears droop forward, breaking over 

 one third to one half of the length. Thick, heavy ears are not 

 uncommon. The more desirable ear is thin and covered with fine 

 hair and of medium size. In the best examples the back is very 

 wide, with a tendency to considerable arch. The depth of body 

 is usually excellent, showing large digestive and reproductive 

 capacity with the females. In recent years the breed has gone 

 through some improvement, and both shoulders and hams are 

 superior in smoothness and thickness to what they were at one 

 time. The legs may be short, the pastern weak, the toes too 

 much spread and bent, and the dewclaws too low set. This weak- 

 ness is due no doubt to the early-maturing, rapid-fattening quality 

 of the breed, the weight being too great for the feet to sustain 

 properly. This calls for stronger bone in the make-up of the 

 Chester White, a feature to which the better breeders are giving 

 attention. The quality of hair is about medium, with a tendency 

 to coarseness, while curly hair is not uncommon. The modern 

 specimen of the breed shows a finer hair than did the older type. 

 A tendency on the part of this as well as other white breeds is 

 to sun scald and scurfiness of skin, especially in the West, when 



