Photo by Hills. 



Tamworth sow, KATY BELL, a very prolific sow that reared thirty- 

 three living pigs in one year, while in the herd at the Iowa State 

 College. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TAMWORTH SWINE. 



THIS ENGLISH breed has be.en bred with care during the past sixty years 

 without any infusions of foreign blood, consequently the representatives 

 of this breed are very uniform as to color and type. The color should be a 

 cherry red or a dark chestnut and very uniform in shade throughout with- 

 out any black spots in skin or patches of hair other than the color indicated. 

 The form should show the type that is desired for bacon production, this 

 means a hog that is exceedingly light in offal with a long trim body and 

 especially very smoothly covered with firm flesh indicating a desirable mix- 

 ture of fat and flesh. The head should be slim, the snout fine and not un- 

 duly long, the ear of appropriate size for the head with the neck sharp be- 

 tween the ears and light, swelling easily to cover a deep shoulder smoothly. 

 Depth of shoulder desirable but without any roughness. The shoulder should 

 not bulge out beyond the body or the hips for this detracts from the general 

 appearance of trimness and smoothness which is so very desirable. The back 

 should be long and strong with a gradually rising arch over the shoulder to 

 the loin and then a corresponding descending line from there to the end of the 

 tail. Width of the back is not demanded but extreme smoothness and an even 

 covering of firm flesh is absolutely essential. The ribs should drop as deep as 

 possible making the body appear from the side as if it had abundance of 

 depth. The loin is even in width with the shoulder and back well covered. 

 The hind quarter lacks the width characteristic of the lard hog as this should 

 not be any wider than the parts which precede it. Length of ham or gam- 

 mon is a peculiar feature which should be looked for. A long ham, fleshed 

 firmly towards the hock without folds of fat is eminently desired. The lead- 

 ing features of the type throughout are length and depth with trimness and 

 smoothness in all regions. See official scale of points, page 186. 



