394 Pork Prodvction 



These figures mean that if hogs weighing an average of 

 225 pounds and dressing 70 per cent are worth 10 cents 

 a pound, hogs of the same weight dressing 75 per cent are 

 worth 10.71 cents a pound, and so on. That is to say, for 

 every increase of 1 per cent in dressing yield, the selling 

 value on foot is enhanced between 14 and 15 cents a hun- 

 dredweight. 



In actual practice, such wide variations in dressing per- 

 centage as given in this table are not common with hogs 

 of the same weight. Variations in dressed weights are 

 due chiefly to difPerences in weight, condition, and fill. 

 The supply and demand for lard on the one hand, and for 

 fresh pork cuts on the other, are largely responsible for 

 the failure of the selling price of live hogs always to har- 

 monize with the dressing percentage. 



The weight, condition, shape, and quality of the carcass 

 also bear an intimate relationship to the price which the 

 buyer can afford to pay for the hog on foot. With respect 

 to weight, the carcasses in greatest demand are furnished 

 by butcher hogs weighing from 200 to 260 pounds alive.^ 

 The most profitable cutting carcasses are broad, thick, and 

 of medium length, symmetrical in shape, even in their 

 lines, and uniform in width and thickness. There should 

 be no tendency towards stagginess, shown by coarse and 

 extra heavy shoulders, the loin should not be weak nor 

 the hams light. The carcass as a whole should present a 

 plump smooth surface, the skin being thin and free from 

 creases, blotches, or bruises. The fat covering should 

 be thick and of uniform depth. After chilling the fat 

 should be firm and ivory white, rather than yellow, 

 stringy, or oily. The lean meat should be bright and fine- 



' E. R. Gentry, general hog buyer, Armour & Co. 



