THE BERKSHIRE 



473 



The characteristics of the old type of Berkshire, after the addi- 

 tion of foreign blood, were greatly improved. About 1830 they 

 were classed as large, and, Youatt says, were sandy or whitish 

 brown, spotted regularly with dark brown or black. The body 

 was free of bristles and was covered with long, thin, and some- 

 what curly hair. The ears were erect and fringed with long 

 hair, the head and snout were short, the body thick and com- 

 pact, the legs short, the skin thin, the flesh of good flavor, 

 and the bacon superior. At this time the breed was regarded as 

 one of the best in England, due to early maturity, easy fatten- 

 ing, small bone, hardiness, and the prolificacy of the females. 



Fig. 221. Masterpiece 77000, second-prize Berkshire boar at the Louisiana 

 Purchase Exposition, 1904. Sold by A. J. Lovejoy & Son, Roscoe, Illinois, 

 for $2500 to W. S. Corsa of Illinois. One of the most famous sires of to-day. 

 Photograph from Professor William Dietrich, Illinois University 



According to various early authorities there must have been con- 

 siderable variation in color, size, and type of the early Berkshire. 

 Prominent improvers of the early Berkshire were Richard 

 Astley of Oldstonehall, who is credited by Professor Low as 

 being the great improver of the breed, and Lord Barrington, 

 who died in 1829. Sidney, who was a leading pig authority, in 

 1 860 wrote that Lord Barrington did a great deal toward improv- 

 ing the Berkshire breed, the improved stock of that time nearly 

 all tracing back to his herd. The methods of these two breeders 

 do not seem to have been made public, and little is known of 



