522 THE PIG 



Lord Western. Even prior to 1840 he began to use Essex- 

 Neapolitan boars on hardy, high-class Essex sows. By careful 

 selection and mating he developed what became famous as the 

 Improved Essex breed. Lord Western died in 1844, and on his 

 death Hobbes purchased his best breeding sows. This improved 

 form had more size and constitution than the original Essex- 

 Neapolitan, and for more than twenty years this was maintained 

 by selection from three distinct families. In 1840 Mr. Hobbes 

 received first prizes on a boar and sow at the Royal Agricultural 

 Society Show at Cambridge, which gave the breed much fame. 

 Since the time of Mr. Hobbes this breed has become distributed 

 in England, especially in Suffolk County, adjoining Essex, where 

 the leading breeders reside. In England to-day the Essex is 

 generally known as the Small Black breed or Black Suffolk. 



The introduction of the Essex pig to America dates back to 

 early in the last century. The old-fashioned type of Essex, it is 

 thought, was owned about 1820 in Massachusetts, John Prince 

 having a cross-bred sow, part Essex, part Chinese. In 1839 

 Henry Parsons of Canada imported and kept Essex pigs near 

 Massilon, Ohio. In 1886 S. M. Shepard wrote that of recent 

 years a number of importations had been made and a few herds 

 kept in New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, 

 and a few other states. One of the extensive breeders and 

 importers of twenty-five years ago was William Smith of 

 Michigan. At the present time one hears little of the breed in 

 America, neither is it often seen in the exhibits of swine at the 

 fairs or live-stock shows. 



Characteristics of the Essex pig. This breed has certain very 

 distinguishing features. The color is entirely black. The head 

 is rather short, the face is slightly dished, the forehead is broad, 

 and the ears are small, fine, and carried erect. The joivl is 

 rather broad and full. The neck is short, the back very broad 

 and somewhat short and strongly carried, while the sides are 

 deep and short. The sJwulders are well laid and thickly fleshed, 

 and the hams are thick and deep and of superior merit. The 

 legs, which tend to be rather short, show bone of fine quality. 

 In form the Essex is distinctly of the thick-fleshed, fat, chunky 

 sort, and perhaps no breed in England has been fattened to so 



