340 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



Gentry of Armour and Company state ^ that butcher hogs, which are 

 "most sought by the packers at all seasons of the year," should not be 

 "overfinished and extremely lardy, neither should they be so unfinished 

 as to lack the substance, quality, and flavor of cuts the consumer re- 

 quires." 



3. Quality. — The carcass is said to have quality when it is smooth 

 in shape, firm and smooth in flesh, fine and smooth in skin, fine in 

 head and shanks, fine in texture of flesh, bright in color of lean, and 

 white in color of fat. Creases in the skin, bruises, staggy necks and 

 shoulders, and seedy bellies all indicate coarseness. Barrows and 

 smooth, clear sows yield carcasses of the best quality. 



Wentworth and Gentry indicate the importance of good finish and 

 quality in the hog carcass in the following comparison: ^ "The corn- 

 fed hog, hung in the cooler to chill and harden for 48 hours, will come 

 out firm, while the grass-fed hog may be as soft and flabby as when it 

 went in. The corn-fed hog cuts easily and there is a layer of pure 

 white fat on the back. The loin cuts out shapely, and the flesh is 

 pink and fine grained. The ham has the proper depth of fat and the 

 belly has the right thickness and is properly streaked with lean to 

 produce a high-grade bacon. On the other hand, the carcass of the 

 grass hog fails to harden, no matter how long it is chilled; there is a 

 tough rind over the loin and a sheet of gristly fat. The fat is yellowish 

 and the flesh is stringy. The belly makes a coarse, inferior bacon and 

 the cuts shrink away and present a dried -up appearance when smoked. 

 Furthermore, because of the softness of the carcass, it is difficult to 

 produce the standard cuts, and such cuts as are produced must be sold 

 at a low price or be used for sausage or rendering." 



Soft pork. — Corn, barley, rye, and wheat produce firm pork be- 

 cause the fat has a high melting point. Peanuts, mast, and sometimes 

 soybeans are known to produce soft, oily fat having a low melting 

 point, and hogs fed on these feeds yield soft pork. For this reason 

 hogs from the southern states are often discriminated against in price, 

 sometimes to the extent of 2 to 4 cents per pound live weight. Soft 

 hogs yield inferior lard, usually have a lower dressing percentage, and 

 the percentage of condemned livers, kidneys, hearts, and casings is 

 reported to be greater. ^ Varying degrees of softness are found. The 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture conducted extensive tests involving 

 800 hogs and found that the loss in weight from the cooler to the end 

 of the curing and retaining period was over 2 per cent greater in soft 

 pork than in firm pork. Soft carcasses yield cuts of poor shape and 



1 Progressive Hog Raising, Armour and Company, Chicago, 1922, p. 74. 

 2Ibid, p. 70. 

 'Ibid, p. 48. 



