102 TEi.NSACTIONS, 



with a variety of other food, raw and cooked — are quite different 

 from those of his western brother, who rears his pigs on the prairies 

 or oak-openings, and fattens by turning them into his corn-fields. 

 What would be wisdom in one case, might be folly in the other. 

 The breed of swine, for instance, that would be profitable for one, 

 might be poorly adapted to the purposes of the other. This may be 

 illustrated by reference to the last agricultural report of the United 

 States Commissioner of Patents. Before preparing the report, the 

 Commissioner had sent a circular to various parts of the United 

 States, in which he proposed this question, among others, " what are 

 the best breeds of hogs ?" 



New Hampshire answers, " the Suffolk ;" Connecticut, " a mixture 

 of ' old fashioned hogs ' with Berkshire and the China breed, gener- 

 ally does very well ;" New York, by three of her citizens, separately, 

 " Berkshires and Leicesters ;" New Jersey, " a cross with the Berk- 

 shires ;" Pennsylvania, " a cross of the Berkshires and Chester coun- 

 ty;'' Virginia, "Irish grazier and mixed Berkshires are our common 

 stock ;" Georgia, " the best breeds for the climate are the "Woburn 

 and Grazier ;" Mississippi, " the best hogs I have tried are the Berk- 

 shires ;" Texas, " Irish Grazier ;" Tennessee, " the common old Gra- 

 zier mixed with Hindoo breed ;" Kentucky, " Woburn ;" Ohio, 

 " Leicester, Bedford, Chinese and Calcutta ;" Michigan, " the Berk- 

 shires are too small, and are nsarly extinct. "We have the Byfield 

 and Leicester;" Indiana, " Berkshires, Russia and China;" Missouri, 

 " Berkshires, or a cross between the black Berkshire and white Irish ;"' 

 lojva, " China and Byfield. Berkshires aie not much esteemed of 

 late ;" Florida, " for the range, or shift-for-yourself system, the long- 

 nosed Pike stands A No. 1. For a system of 2:)artial feeding, the 

 Corbet, grass, and a cross with the China hog are preferred." 



It is doubtless true that, in some cases, a knowledge of the differ- 

 ent breeds would have led to different answers. But it is quite as 

 true and evident, that no one breed is best adapted to all locations 

 and circumstances. 



The same report may also be cited to show the different results 

 obtained by various individuals, as to the weight of pork produced 

 by a given quantity of food. A question proposed in the circular 

 was, " how viany pounds of meal will one hundred 2^ounds of corn 

 yield- ?" Comparatively few of the responses definitely answer this 

 particular question. But those given vary from eight to forty 

 pounds. Now if there be, in fact, so wide a difference as these an- 

 swers indicate, it appears to us that it must be, in a great measure. 



