Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



323 



The sides of the hog should be long from shoulder to ham and 

 should carry down straight and deep from back and loin to belly and 

 flanks. Very short hogs raised and fed for market are open to objec- 

 tion because such a type does not grow rapidly. On the other hand, 

 extreme length is often secured at the expense of constitution and 

 feeding qualities. Extremes are to be avoided. When fattened for 

 the market, the sides should be thickly and smoothly fleshed so that 

 every point along the side fills out to meet the same straight line from 

 shoulder to ham. Wrinkles in the skin along the side are objectionable 

 because they injure the smoothness of appearance which is so desirable, 

 and if the wrinkles are very deep and are permanent, that is, do not 



Fig. 117. — Duroc-Jersey barrow, grand champion at the 1922 International. 

 Bred, fed, and shown by the Oklahoma Agricultural College. Note his good form, 

 excellent finish, smoothness, and quality. 



disappear when the hog changes position, they are called "creases" or 

 "seams" and are highly undesirable. Creases most often occur just 

 behind the shoulder, but they may occur all along the side. They 

 involve not only the skin but also the flesh underlying the skin, so that 

 when the fingers are inserted into them they are found to be deep and 

 pronounced. They indicate lack of quality and lack of evenness in 

 fleshing, and are especially objectionable because they remain in 

 the side meat after it has been pressed and cured by the packer, 

 thereby injuring the appearance of such cuts and affecting their selling 

 price. 



