CHAPTER II. 

 TYPES OF SWINE. 



THERE are two well-defined types of hogs, which are the 

 outcome of local conditions and market requirements, namely, 

 the fat or lard type and the bacon type. 



Reasons for Two Types. The fat or lard type -of hog is 

 the product of the " corn belt." Corn feeding has a tendency 

 to produce fat at the expense of the muscle or lean meat, and 

 corn is the principal hog feed of the United States. Most of 

 the hogs of the United States are grown in the great corn- 

 producing States, and it is here we find the lard type in its 

 highest degree of perfection. This type plays an important 

 part in the exports of the country. 



But, in addition to the demand for the products of the 

 lard hog, there is an important demand, both at home and 

 abroad, for a leaner class of meat. In some of the large 

 cities of England this demand has taken a definite form, and 

 what is known as the " Wiltshire side " is especially designed 

 to meet this demand. A hog suitable for manufacturing into 

 " Wiltshire sides " is known as a " bacon hog," and breeding 

 stock of a type suitable for producing bacon hogs is said to 

 possess bacon type. Bacon hogs cannot be produced success- 

 fully under a system of corn feeding, and hence we find the 

 bacon hog produced in greater numbers in countries where the 

 feed for the hog is more varied in character, and where the 

 conditions are less favorable for producing the lard hog than 

 they are in the United States. The countries sending the 

 greatest number of Wiltshire sides to Great Britain are Den- 

 mark, Canada, and Ireland. Generally speaking, hogs cannot 



(9) 



