THE TYPES OF SWINE 277 



fied by a fullness which makes them rounded out behind 

 and to both inside and outside. They should, however, 

 be firm and show development of muscle, rather than com- 

 posed largely of fat, which makes them soft and flabby 

 and requires extensive trimming before they can be 

 cured. The essential thing, so far as the legs of the fat 

 hog are concerned, is that they shall be sufficiently straight 

 and strong to carry their weight through the feeding 

 period and finally to the shambles. This latter formerly 

 meant much more than now, as hogs were at one time driven 

 over land considerable distances, while the trip from the 

 farm to the car and from the car to the slaughter is 

 comparatively short now. This matter of legs is of 

 much greater importance in breeding animals, but it is 

 nevertheless essential that market hogs should stand well 

 up on their toes. Broken down pasterns, knock or buck 

 knees and crooked hocks are the common defects in the 

 conformation of the legs. 



288. Quality in hogs influences both the texture of the 

 carcass and the dressing percentage. It is indicated by 

 the size and shape of the head and ears, the smoothness 

 of the shoulders, the character of the bone in the cannons 

 and joints, the amount, texture and course of the hair, 

 the trimness of the jowl and the under line, and the general 

 refinement of the hog throughout. 



289. Condition. — Most hogs are marketed at weights 

 which make them less mature at slaughter time than the 

 majority of cattle are. They are, therefore, fattening as 

 they grow, which is equally true of cattle only in the case 

 of baby beeves. Condition, comparatively speaking, is of 

 less degree, so far as actual ripeness is concerned, although 

 a thin hog is, in reality, fatter than a finished steer because 

 it is more his nature to be so. Furthermore, for the same 



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