134 RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS IN SWINE FEEDING 



is affected. A really soft side is practically worthless, and 

 even a slight degree of tenderness detracts very seriously from 

 the value of the bacon. 



The Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, and the Central 

 Experimental Farm, Ottavsra, Canada, have conducted ex- 

 haustive experiments in connection v?ith the causes of soft 

 bacon, and following are the principal points brought out in 

 the investigation: 



1. Lack of Maturity. — Generally speaking, the more im- 

 mature a hog is, the greater the tendency to be soft. Almost 

 invariably the largest percentage of softness occurs among the 

 light sides of bacon. 



2. Lach of Finish. — ^Thin hogs have a marked tendency 

 to produce soft bacon. Marketing hogs before they are finished 

 is, no doubt, responsible for a great deal of softness. 



3. Unthriftiness in hogs, no matter what the cause may 

 be, almost invariably produces soft bacon. 



4. Lack of exercise has a tendency to produce softness, 

 but this tendency can be largely overcome by judicious feeding. 



5. Exclusive meal feeding is perhaps one of the most com- 

 mon causes of softness, especially when hogs are not given 

 exercise. Some kinds of meal are more injurious than others, 

 but wherever exclusive meal feeding is practised and the ex- 

 ercise is limited, more or less softness is always sure to result. 



6. Com. — Of the grains in common use, com has the 

 greatest tendency to produce softness. Its injurious tendency 

 can be modified by mixing it largely with other meal, or by 

 feeding skim-milk, green feed, and roots, but its tendency to 

 produce softness is so strong that it must be regarded as an un- 

 desirable food for bacon hogs. 



Com appears to give a good quality of meat in the case 

 of the lard hog, but it must be remembered that the bacon 

 hog is marketed at lighter weights and in thinner condition 



