BREEDS OF SWINE 73 



England. The popularity of this breed is increasing. 

 The origin is obscure, but it has been developed in the 

 east and the south of England. The breed is large, as 

 the name implies; the bodies are long and of bacon 

 tendencies, with a general coarseness of all parts, es- 

 pecially of the head, which has a long, pendent ear. The 

 individuals of this breed are good feeders and do 

 well under conditions of adverse food supply, es- 

 pecially where the food is obtained by considerable effort. 

 The breed is quite prolific, and litters usually average 

 between 10 and 12. The interests of the breed in this 

 country are looked after by the American Large Black 

 Pig Society, Lexington, Ky., of which Mr. J. F. Cook is 

 Secretary. 



Big Guinea hogs. — This is the only breed of hogs that 

 can be classed as strictly southern. It originated in the 

 South. Forty or 50 years ago it was quite popular. 

 While this was a distinct breed, no attempt has been 

 made to record them and keep them pure. They have 

 been kept pure only in a few places. The origin of the 

 breed is more or less obscure, but the Essex is reputed to 

 have had a part in their improvement. They also show 

 evidences of Berkshire blood. In color they are either 

 solid black or else black and white spotted, like the 

 spotted Poland-China. The ears are short and thin and 

 stand erect ; they have a nose of medium length, which is 

 straight ; the body is only average in dimensions ; the 

 hair is thin and sometimes wavy; they are character- 

 istically short of leg and at first glance they appear 

 dumpy; they rank intermediate in type, and are reputed 

 to have a high dressing percentage, yielding a pork of 

 high quality. 



