12 BIGGLE SWINE BOOK. 



A great deal is said about the * ' corn belt ' ' of the 

 central West, but it is an error to suppose that all the 

 pigs of the country are produced there. The fact is 

 that the Southern states produce great numbers. 



The U. S. Government, through the Bureau of 

 Animal Industry, now makes a scientific and careful 

 inspection of all meats intended for interstate or foreign 

 commerce. " The sanitary value of the system," says 

 a recent report, * ' is beyond computation. It protects 

 life and health. Inspection will become so general 

 and so perfect that not a single pound of unwholesome 

 meat will find its way from the United States to 

 foreign markets, nor will any be sold at home which 

 does not carry a certificate of inspection." During a 

 single year, recently, the inspectors examined micro- 

 scopically 979,380 specimens of pork, either whole 

 carcasses or pieces, and found 11,000 samples con- 

 taining trichinae. 



The cost of Government inspection of meats is 

 stated as being a little over one-fifth of a cent per 

 pound. 



There is at present no official inspection of home- 

 consumed pork or of pork intended for sale in the. 

 markets of the state where the hogs are grown and 

 fattened. 



It has been asserted, though I cannot say how 

 truly, that there are more swine in the United States 

 than in all the rest of the world combined. This is 

 doubtful, though it is quite probable that no other 

 part of the world produces such a bountiful supply 

 of excellent hog foods as the United States, with 

 corn of course at the head of the list. 



