318 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



Our conditions demand a type of swine which can consume a 

 ration composed largely of com and utilize it to advantage in the pro- 

 duction of meat and lard. This type of hog is known as the American 

 or lard-type hog, and it has played no small part in the rapid develop- 

 ment of American agriculture and in the prosperity of our farmers. 

 "King Com and the American Hog" have constituted an invincible 

 combination, creating a channel of disposal or market for com, and 

 supplying the people of this and other countries with highly palatable 

 and nutritious meat at a moderate price. 



Present-day swine breeders and pork producers are not unani- 

 mous in their opinions conceming what is the most profitable type of 

 lard hog to produce for the market. The writer has interviewed a 

 large number of pork producers, breeders of purebred hogs, and college 

 and experiment station workers relative to this matter, and the con- 

 census of opinion seems to be as follows: 



1. A very compact, wide, low-set pig matures earliest and fattens 

 most easily, but does not make th6 most rapid or economical gains and 

 cannot be profitably carried beyond a certain rather low limit of weight. 

 Sows of this type are not prolific. 



2. An extremely long, narrow, and leggy pig grows rapidly and 

 attains large size, but is likely to be lacking in capacity of middle and 

 feeding qualities and is often difficult to fatten at market weights (200 

 to 275 pounds). Sows of this type are prolific. 



3. The most profitable market pig is intermediate in type be- 

 tween the two types mentioned above. 



4. The most profitable market pig is the product of a large sire 

 and dam and has inherited the ability to grow rapidly and to make 

 large daily gains on feed. 



5. He must have considerable length of body. 



6. He must have at least medium length of leg. 



7. He must have at least medium size of bone. 



8. He must have a good constitution and good feeding qualities 

 as shown by depth and fullness of chest and middle. 



9. He must be smooth, and free from coarseness in head and bone. 



10. He must be active, and strong in feet, pasterns, and legs. 



11. He must be strong in back and loin, showing a nicely arched 

 top line. 



12. He must be neat in jowl, firm in fieshing, and free from 

 flabbiness along the belly and in the lower part of the ham. 



13. When fattened for the market he should be fairly wide 

 throughout, indicating a good finish, but a very wide type is not desir- 

 able for two reasons: (a) Too frequently it is associated with a short, 

 low-set, chunky, slow-growing type, (b) It indicates an excessively 



