CHAP. L 



THE BREEDS OF PIGS. 



531 



fully bred out. The head should be of fair length, light in the jowls, and 

 wide between the eyes ; the neck long, but not coarse ; shoulders light, 

 and ribs deep and well sprung ; loin wide and level, not slack ; quarters 

 loner and deep ; tail set high ; arms and second thighs muscular ; legs 

 straight and set well outside the carcass ; and the whole body covered 

 with silky and straight hair, this denoting quality and lean meat. 



The MIDDLE WHITE (fig. 136) is on a smaller scale, shorter m the head, 

 thicker in the body, and with more hair. Sows of this breed are equally 

 prolific with those of the Large White breed, and their produce mature 

 somewhat earlier. Hence they are more in demand for breeding 

 London porkers. 



The pigs of the SMALL WHITE breed are much smaller than the Middle 

 Whites, their heads and legs being very short, and their jowls heavy. 



Fig. 136. Middle White Sow, " Holywell Beauty and Litter." 

 Bred by Mr. Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts. 



Their carcass is thick, and rather deficient in lean meat, and they are 

 covered with a profusion of silky hair. These pigs were considered very 

 handsome. 



At an early date after its evolution from the black and white and sandy 

 spotted pig of the midland counties, the BERKSHIRE (fig. 137) became a 

 prime favourite with breeders of improved stock, both in our own and 

 in foreign countries. It was hardy, prolific, and stylish, and furnished 

 a splendid carcass of pork. But the attempt to breed it to the show-yard 

 form, and colour of black, with the feet, the tip of the tail, and the 

 mark down the face white, led to some breeders seeking either a 

 cross with the Small Black, or breeding only from those specimens 

 which more nearly approached the form of pigs of the latter breed. 

 The head was shortened, the jowls became heavier, the shoulders 

 thicker, the legs shorter, and the bone finer, whilst there was increased 

 aptitude to lay on fat. Unfortunately, these breeders were only too 



