THE ESSEX 777 



ranked below the Berkshire. As nurses the Essex sows are 

 regarded as simply medium, not as a rule yielding an abundance 

 of milk. The fecundity of individuals and their capacity to nurse 

 their young will depend in a measure on the character of food fed 

 and condition of body. 



The maturing qualities of the Essex are noteworthy, the breed 

 having been famous for early maturity since the improvement 

 first effected by Lord Western. Feeders easily mature at six 

 months, though of course they represent a small type of pig. 



The popularity of the Essex breed of swine is at a low ebb, and 

 at the present time, in America, it is kept in a small way by very 

 few breeders, largely for showing at fairs. Sanders Spencer states : l 



Suffolks, Essex, or Small Blacks, as they are usually called, have well nigh 

 become a breed of the past ; these . . . had become reduced in size, as was the 

 proportion of lean meat in the carcass, so that the prize-winning specimens 

 were merely animated black bladders of lard, very comely to look upon, but of 

 comparatively little value for farm purposes. 



W. J. Maiden, another English authority, states 2 that the Essex 

 is losing favor year by year, for the reason that it has too large 

 a per cent of fat, a delicate constitution, and an inaptitude to 

 " grow into money." 



The distribution of Essex pigs is quite widespread. They are 

 found in England in a small way in various counties, notably in 

 Essex and Suffolk. They have also been exported to France and 

 other European countries and to Canada and Australia. In the 

 United States a few herds have been kept in Michigan, Indiana, 

 Texas, Nebraska, Alabama, Ohio, and elsewhere. The breed has 

 met with favor in the South, and an Ohio breeder informs the author 

 that he has a strong demand for his pigs from that section. 



The promotion of Essex swine in America has been supervised 

 by the American Essex Swine Association, which w^s organized in 

 1887. This has always been a small association, and in recent years 

 has been little in evidence. So far as the author can learn, but two 

 volumes of the herdbook have been published, the last one appearing 

 in 1893, with registrations numbering up to 537 for boars and 982 

 for sows. In England the National Pig Breeders' Association has 

 officially represented the breed under the title " Small Black." 



1 Pigs for Breeders and Feeders, 1907. 2 Pigs for Profit, 1905. 



