148 JUDGING SWINE 



broad and deep. To fill out the form desired there should 

 be some development of the brisket, though as a rule there 

 is very little of this in the fat hog. 



195. Front Legs — Short, Straight; Pasterns Strong. 



The front legs should be short, straight, strong and tap- 

 ering. The pastern should be strong and the feet com- 

 paratively short and of medium size. What are known 

 as "bucked knees" or pasterns are sometimes observable 

 in hogs that bend over in these parts. Long, slim pasterns 

 are very undesirable, for hogs having them readily break 

 down when carrying much flesh. The fat hog should 

 stand firm and high on the toes without any evidence of 

 weakness of the pasterns. Viewed from in front the leg 

 should be straight. A rather common defect here is 

 crooked knees which come too close together, but the re- 

 verse defect is very rare among hogs. 



196. Chest — Low, Wide. The floor of the chest 

 should be as low as possible, for it is the depth and width 

 of this part that adds to the girth. With width between 

 the fore legs there is usually width above on the shoulder, 

 though this is not always true. The girth should be 

 large, for it is undesirable to have any shrinkage just be- 

 hind the fore leg at the fore flank. 



197. Sides — Deep, Fleshed Evenly. The sides 

 may be deep and yet supported with a round rib. Usually 

 depth of side is associated with flatness of rib, but there 

 are many decided exceptions to this to be found among 

 fat hogs. When the rib springs from the back, well 

 arched, and continues to follow the circumference of a 

 circle it gives the hog the appearance of not only being 

 leggy, but also lacking in depth of body. The rib, how- 

 ever, not only should lie well sprung, but it should also 

 be long, giving roundness and smoothness of body with 

 more depth than appearance would indicate. The sides 



