332 JUDGING SWINE 



Small bone, an overabundance of fat, weak, low pasterns, 

 spreading feet, and stilted carriage usually indicate forced 

 maturity. This condition necessarily indicates the posses- 

 sion of objectionable qualifications. The comparison used 

 should not be taken as absolute but rather as indicative of 

 the fundamental meaning of the two conditions. In the mar- 

 ket animal these conditions should not be in evidence to an 

 extreme degree. The principal requirement in such animals 

 is a sufficiently strong bone to maintain the finished weight 

 providing no ill effects are caused otherwise. As a breeder, 

 however, where normal size, weight for age, constitution, 

 capacity, and reproduction are involved, such a condition 

 as the above is highly objectionable. Such animals, judged 

 from the breeding standpoint, should be subject to extreme 

 criticism, and likewise in market animals, where utility is 

 depreciated. 



Dressing Percentage. A well-bred hog with pronounced 

 individuality should normally dress from 75 to 85 per cent, 

 of the live weight. The dressing percentage is of necessity 

 dependent upon the type, age, breeding, individuality, and 

 condition. An inferior-bred individual, low in condition, will 

 dress a low percentage, as the conformity of the animal to the 

 accepted standard and the condition attained influence the 

 percentage of edible product obtained from the live animal. 

 Young pigs or unfinished shoats will not dress as high as 

 older or finished animals respectively. The accumulation of 

 fat throughout and over tne body parts is largely responsible 

 for the ultimate ratio between the live and dressed weight. 



Exceptional individuals or lots of hogs have been known 

 to dress as high as 87 to 88 per cent. This is an extreme 

 condition, however, and should not be taken as the average. 

 A hog in average condition will dress about 75 per cent., and 

 one in high condition about 80 per cent. These figures are 

 based on averages obtained under normal conditions of breed, 

 individuality and condition. 



Percentages of Yield. The variety of cuts into which a 

 hog can be divided varies considerably. The total yield of 

 the various cuts mentioned in the following table will vary 

 with the market, and to a certain extent depending upon the 



