CHAPTER XI. 



THE TAMWORTH BREED. 



Description — The Tamworth ranks with the Large York- 

 shire in size. It has a rather long, straight snout, and usually 

 has little or no dish to the face. The ear is large, firmly 

 attached, generally inclined slightly forward, and fringed with 

 fine hair. The ear should be quite thin, and it is rather more 

 pointed than that of the Large Yorkshire. The Tamworth 

 has a very light jowl, and a light neck and shoulder. (Fig. 27.) 

 The back and loin are of medium width, and the side of good 

 length, but only moderate depth as compared with a fat hog. 

 Quite commonly the ham is deficient (Fig. 28), and breeders 

 are making an effort to strengthen this point. The bone is 

 fairly heavy, and the leg looks long compared with that of a 

 fat hog. 



According to the standard of the National Pig Breeders' 

 Association of Great Britain, the Tamworth should have 

 " golden-red hair on a flesh-colored skin, free from black," 

 but the shade of red varies considerably in individuals and a 

 chestnut shade is quite common. The color generally grows 

 darker with age, and the color of some aged animals is such 

 a dark shade of chestnut that the casual observer might easily 

 mistake it for a dull black. (Fig. 27.) 



Origin and History. — The Tamworth is of English origin, 

 and takes its name from Tamworth in Staffordshire. The 

 breed is of ancient and uncertain origin, no well-authenticated 

 account of where it came from being available. Originally 

 it was an extremely leggy, narrow type of hog, and it is not 

 clear whether improvement was effected entirely by selection 



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