JUDGING THE BACON TYI'K OF SWINE 537 



against it. The top of the neck, however, should not be 

 too narrow and ridge-like near the head. It should rather 

 round up over the top in full form as one evidence of neces- 

 sary vigor. 



The f orequarters of the bacon hog: include the shoulders, 

 breast and forelegs. The shoulders, as a first essential, 

 should be smooth, light, and neatly laid in, and bacon hog 

 judges emphasize these features. This being one of the 

 cheaper parts of the body, a heavy shoulder is not wanted. 

 Another feature of conformation, also, is rather an upright 

 carriage of shoulder, for the reason 2 that when in this 

 position the animal is * ' comparatively short from the back 

 of the shoulder to the snout, but long from the back of the 

 shoulder to the rump." "When viewed from above, the 

 shoulders should appear compact on the top, and well cov- 

 ered, rather than open and lacking in covering. The thick- 

 ness over the shoulder tops should not exceed the general 

 back width, in fact it should be slightly less. If it is 

 notably more, then the conformation is heavy and the out- 

 side of the blade is not well covered. The breast should 

 be wide and full, the sternum projecting even with the 

 front of legs or beyond, indicating constitution. Depth of 

 breast is also sought for, but with the bacon type this is not 

 emphasized as with the lard type. If the chest lacks ma- 

 terially in depth, then there will be a lack in depth of side, 

 which is highly undesirable. The forelegs, excepting for 

 length, should possess the same general characteristics found 

 in the lard hog. They incline to be long, however, and 

 should not be severely scored by the judge, unless their 

 length is associated with a shallow depth of body. 



The body of the bacon hog furnishes the most important 

 and highest-priced cuts of pork, for in it we find the back, 

 loin and side. The back, as a first essential, must not be 

 too wide, but rather of medium width, for the wide back is 

 usually associated with fat production. It should be well 

 carried, arching very slightly, ^specially at the loin, and 



2 Productive Swine Husbandry p 17 



