THE BACON BREEDS OF SWINE 453 
it has too much bone and too coarse a skin, and lacks in 
quantity and quality of flesh. It is also a somewhat slow 
feeder, and is therefore objectionable from a farmer’s 
standpoint. The most desirable type has sufficient length 
of side to make a good packer’s hog, and has constitution 
and quality to such a marked degree that it is unexcelled 
from a feeder’s standpoint. 
574. Uses of Large Yorkshire hogs. — As previously 
intimated, the Large Yorkshire is especially valued for 
bacon-production, where a long side abounding in lean 
meat, and a light shoulder and neck are especially desir- 
able. The large size and strong bone of this breed make 
it valuable for crossing on breeds that have become un- 
duly fine in the bone, and lack size. It crosses remark- 
ably well with the Berkshire, Chester-White and Poland- 
China, as well as other fat breeds, increasing the size and 
the proportion of lean meat without impairing the feed- 
ing qualities. 
The Large Yorkshire is frequently spoken of as being 
“slower maturing” than the fat types of hogs, but this 
is not a fair way of stating the case. From the bacon 
curer’s standpoint, the breed will reach desirable market 
weight and condition at as early an age as any existing 
breed, and there are few breeds that equal it in this respect. 
Therefore, from the standpoint of the farmer who is feed- 
ing hogs for the bacon trade, no breed excels the York- 
shire in point of early maturity. For the production of a 
fat carcass at an early age, however, the Large Yorkshire 
is not so well adapted. It is a special-purpose breed, and 
must be regarded as such. 
From the fact that the Large Yorkshire grows rapidly 
and develops bone and muscle more readily than it 
develops fat, feeders are inclined to regard it as an expen- 
