JUDGING SWINE 57 



down so that the lower wall of the chest is on a level 

 with the under line of the balance of the body. The flanks 

 both rear and front should be full and well let down. 

 This also is an indication of good constitution. Very 

 often the mistake is made by judging the constitution of a 

 hog with a tape line, considering that the individual 

 which has what is called good heart girth has good con- 

 stitution. In such cases allowance is not made for the 

 differences in size and differences in condition, as well as 

 very often differences in conformation. The hog may 

 have a very thick heavy shoulder and have a great deal 

 of fat on the outside of the body which would give him" 

 considerable heart girth, and at the same time he might 

 be very weak in constitution. He might have a small 

 chest capacity which would not leave sufficient room for 

 the vital organs to be of proper size and to do the work 

 that they should. 



The quality -of the ideal hog should be what is called 

 good; that is, the hair should be fine, the bone fine and 

 strong, the skin smooth and fine with a thick covering of 

 firm flesh that is fine in grain, which should be free from 

 lumps and wrinkles, and the hog should have general 

 refinement 'but not be delicate. Quality, as previously 

 stated, is very often overdone ; that is, intensified to such 

 an extent that the hog becomes delicate. Delicacy is in- 

 dicated by over-refinement which may sometimes be ob- 

 served by the hog being too small, having a pointed snout 

 and a very fine tail, as well as having general fineness 

 throughout. 



The hog for breeding purposes should be in proper 

 condition. He should not be in market condition. For 

 breeding purposes, as the standard of excellence speci- 

 fies, the hog should be thrifty, well fleshed, but not ex- 



