72 THE HOG. 



Dombes, and Carolais, and prevalent through the department of 

 Aisne, is a breed called the Bressane race. These animals are of a 

 moderate size, long in the body, round in form, short-] egged, with 

 long, pendulous ears, and of a dark or blackish color, with a broad 

 stripe of white encircling the body : their flesh is delicate, and of a 

 fine flavor. 



An attempt was made to introduce some of the English breed of 

 swine into France by an agriculturist, and he thus narrates the 

 results : " I began with the large Shropshire pigs. They pleased 

 my eye, and for some little time I was perfectly satisfied ; but pre- 

 sently I began to remark, that, although they devoured an amazing 

 quantity of food, they fattened but very slowly, and seemed to derive 

 no advantage whatever from the herbage and vegetables which they 

 found in the fields. 



" When killed, the flesh, and especially the fat, was exceedingly 

 coarse. The sows, nevertheless, yielded many pigs at each farrow, 

 which, from their size when young, sold well to persons who were 

 tolerably rich, and knew little or nothing about the breeding of 

 pigs. 



" I next tried the small Berkshire pigs, and immediately perceived 

 a very sensible improvement. They fattened quickly, procured most 

 of their nourishment from the fields, and their flesh was very superior 

 to that of the last-named breed. But as they were large, I thought 

 to effect a still greater improvement by exchanging them for the 

 Chinese ; but here I fell into the opposite extreme. The Chinese 

 were prolific, fattened speedily, and almost obtained their own sub- 

 sistence ; but they were faulty in form, their flesh was not firm, but 

 loose in fibre, as if they had died of disease." And, accordingly, 

 the experimenter returned to some of his best native breeds. 



In FLANDERS and the NETHERLANDS the indigenous swine are long- 

 legged, narrow-backed, flat-sided, ugly, gaunt animals, difficult to 

 fatten ; but when in good condition making fine-flavored, excellent 

 pork and bacon. 



THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 



JERSEY. Great attention has here been paid to the breed of pigs, 

 which have improved by crosses and admixture with the best Eng- 

 lish and French varieties. The pork is excellent ; many declare it 

 to be finer and more delicate in flavor than any English pork. It 

 forms one of the chief articles of consumption during the winter 

 months. 



GUERNSEY. The swine here have latterly been considerably im- 

 proved by the exertions and encouragements of the Guernsey Agri- 

 cultural Society. The original breed resembled the native French 

 and Irish pigs, and were large, coarse, ungainly, and unprofitable, 



