400 Pork Production 



is desired chiefly because of the market demand for lard, 

 and also because of its relation to high dressing per- 

 centage. 



Quality (6 per cent). — Quality is fineness of texture as 

 opposed to coarseness. The fat hog should show quality 

 and refinement in every line and feature. His hair should 

 be fine, straight, and lie close to the body. The bone 

 should be medium in size, hard, and clean-cut in appear- 

 ance. The head should be light, the features refined, and 

 the ears light. The skin should be soft and healthy and 

 there should be an entire absence of any tendency to 

 creases. Deep creases about the shoulders and along 

 the sides should be regarded as serious, as should general 

 coarseness of features. Quality is important in the fat 

 hog because fine quality on foot indicates fine texture of 

 the meat on the block. It is important also as it indicates 

 a minimum development of the cheaper parts of the car- 

 cass and a high dressing percentage. Weight, form, condi- 

 tion, and quality are the general points on which decisions 

 are based in judging finished fat hogs. The remaining 

 parts of the score-card permit of a consideration of these 

 same points as applied to the separate detaUs. 



Head and neck (8 per cent). — The head and neck con- 

 stitute a rather unimportant part of the fat hog. To the 

 butcher the head is cheap meat at best and the more re- 

 fined, therefore, the better. A broad head, short neck, 

 and snout are usually associated with a broad back and 

 loin and deep, heavy hams. Quality and refinement in 

 these features are desirable because they indicate fine 

 grain in the carcasses and light offal waste. 



Forequarters (12 per cent). — The shoulders are the most 

 important part of the forequarters. This is indicated on 

 the score-card by the large credit of eight points given it. 



