82 SWINE 



Scrofa type, is essentially a cross between hogs of en- 

 tirely different types. Improvement of this character 

 (cross-breeding) was completed as early as 1780. Even 

 though the small type of hog was used, the offspring 

 were selected so that the resulting Berkshire had the size 

 of the northern hog combined with the quality and the 

 early-maturing characteristic of the southern hog. The 

 modern Berkshire also retained the good characteristic of 

 having the large proportion of lean meat that was present 

 in the original Berkshire. 



Since the Berkshire after its original improvement was 

 a cross between hogs of two entirely different types, and 

 on account of the laws of breeding according to which the 

 characteristics of the ancestors may reappear in the off- 

 spring, especially when such are not easily blended, it 

 was found that the tendency of the Berkshire was to re- 

 vert toward the original type of the Old English Berk- 

 shire. Consequently an occasional out-cross with the 

 Neapolitan, Siamese and Chinese was made as late as 

 1842 to counteract this continual outcropping of the char- 

 acteristics of the Old English Berkshire. The latter im- 

 provement was made entirely by selection, care and feed- 

 ing. 



The breeder who would succeed best with the Berk- 

 shire must bear in mind the manner in which the breed 

 was developed and know how to select individuals that 

 V ill not develop according to either extreme, the Old 

 English Berkshire or the southern type of hog as illus- 

 trated by the Neapolitan, Siamese or Chinese. 



Berkshires were imported into the United States in 

 1823. At that time it was a well developed and highly 

 improved breed in England. The next importation came 

 in 1832, and in 1839 a large consignment was brought 



