SWINE. 103 



to all accounts, it deserves to be. A correspondent of the Coun- 

 try Gentleman gives the following account of the Chester hog: 



" The Chester hog is the result of continued careful breeding 

 and judicious crossing in this county during the last thirty -five 

 or forty years. The first impulse to this improvement, it is 

 said, was the importation of a pair of handsome hogs from 

 China, some forty years since, by a sea-captain then residing in 

 this vicinity. Of late years, however, many of our breeders 

 have been laboring to bring the Chester hog up to an acknowl- 

 edged standard of excellence to define its points, and make it 

 as distinctive in character, and as easily recognized, as a Berk- 

 shire or Suffolk. Their efforts, we think, have been successful. 



" The genuine Chester is a pure white, long body and square 

 built, with small, fine bone, and will produce a greater weight 

 of pork, for the amount of food consumed, than any other breed 

 yet tried among us. A very important characteristic of the 

 breed is, that it will readily fatten at any age. Many hogs, it 

 is well known, will not fatten while they are growing, or until 

 they have reached their full size. 



" The average weight of the Chester stock, at sixteen months 

 old, is from 500 to 600 Ibs., and when kept till two years old, 

 they frequently run up to TOO and 800 Ibs. Our spring pigs, 

 when killed the following fall, weigh from 300 to 400 Ibs., 

 which is considered the most desirable weight for pork pro- 

 ducing hams of a more salable size and better quality. As a 

 general rule, our farmers do not care to have their hogs weigh 

 over 350 to 400 Ibs. To reach this weight at nine months old, 

 our hogs, of course, must be well fed. The Chester is not dif- 

 erent from other stock in this respect to thrive well, it must 

 be well taken care of. 



"Experiments have been made in crossing the Chester with 

 other breeds such as the Berkshire, Suffolk, etc., and the re- 

 sult has been an inferior stock to the pure Chester. It dot's 

 improve the Berkshires to cross them with the Chester, but 

 we have found no advantage in crossing the Chester with any 

 other." 



