THE LARGE YORKSHIRE 789 



for pure Yorkshires or good grades. Our reason for doing this is that it is 

 the recognized type of hog for making English meat and the best grade of 

 American breakfast bacon. 



The Large Yorkshires as killers dress out only just fair. 

 Sanders Spencer credits the breed with dressing 76 to 82 per 

 cent. At the Ontario Provincial Winter Fair in 1901 the aver- 

 age percentage of dressed weight of the Yorkshire carcass was 

 78.4. It is well established that the older and fatter hog dresses 

 out the heaviest per cent of carcass to offal. Within the breed 

 the percentage of dressing will depend on the degree of fatness, 

 and inasmuch as bacon hogs never carry so great an amount of 

 fat as do those of the lard type, one should not expect them to 

 dress equally high. There are comparatively few records of carcass 

 contests in which Large Yorkshires have participated. 



The Large Yorkshires as feeders have not given equal satisfac- 

 tion in America. They tend to grow, rather than fatten, as the corn- 

 belt farmer desires ; and while they will attain plenty of weight, 

 they will not feed off to an early finish along with a Poland- 

 China or Chester White. It is for this reason that so many farmers 

 have discontinued feeding Large Yorkshires. They want what 

 they regard as an easier feeder, quite losing sight of the purpose 

 for which this breed is best adapted. Professor G. E. Day is a 

 recognized Canadian authority on bacon production, and he states : 1 



From a bacon curer's standpoint, Large Yorkshires will reach desirable market 

 weight and condition at as early an age as any existing breed, and there are few 

 breeds that will equal them in this respect. . . . From the fact that it grows 

 rapidly and develops bone and muscle more rapidly than it forms fat, feeders are 

 inclined to regard the Large Yorkshire as an expensive hog to feed ; but experi- 

 ments go to show that such is not the case, and that, under most circumstances, 

 it is capable of giving as large gains for feed consumed as any other breed. 



Corn exclusively is not recommended for this breed, but when 

 fed good grain mixtures, such as corn, oats, and middlings, satis- 

 factory results follow. 



The Yorkshire as a grazer is of secondary importance. In 

 those countries where this breed is common, grazing of swine is 

 rarely practiced. These pigs, however, will do very well on pasture 

 as provided by the American feeder. 



1 Productive Swine Husbandry (1913), p. 94. 



