MARKETS AND SWINE PRODUCTS 279 
may be said that the tendency of the American market during 
the past ten years has been towards a lighter and leaner hog. 
The most desirable weight for butcher and packing hogs is 250 
pounds, though, as previously stated, there are times when heavy 
hogs command a premium. It is also worthy of note that 
“butcher” hogs represent the best market hogs of the fat or 
lard type. 
Hog Products.—The market for live hogs is somewhat. eom- 
plicated, but the market for hog products is very much more 
complicated than the former, The speculative provision market 
quotes only “ pork,” “ ribs,” and “lard.” These are the only 
pork products traded in on the Board of Trade in the way of 
options. To a certain extent they govern the prices of other 
pork products. 
“ Pork” refers to standard mess pork, which is made from 
the sides of well-fattened logs. The hams and shoulders are 
removed, and the sides cut into strips about six inches wide. 
These pieces are packed in barrels with salt and brine, the 
number of pieces to a barrel varying from seven to sixteen. 
Barrel pork is quoted on the market on the basis of 200 pounds 
net to the barrel. 
There are other classes of barrel pork, such as prime mess 
pork, in which the shoulder is included with the side, extra 
prime pork, and extra shoulder pork, taken from the shoulders 
alone, and numerous other kinds which it would be scarcely 
profitable to describe, because each packer has his own methods 
of cutting pork, outside of certain standard products. 
“ Ribs,’ or short rib sides, are cut from the sides, leaving 
out hams and shoulders, in the same wav as standard mess 
pork. These are dry salted and packed in boxes containing 
500 to 525 pounds net, or shipped loose in the car, salted. 
Lard is usually divided into two giades,—namely, “ choice 
