426 Pork Production 



among the breeders to give less attention to the "finer 

 points" of breed-type, the breed's admirers feel confident 

 that the high position which it has attained will be success- 

 fully maintained. 



THE CHESTER-WHITE (PLATE X) 



The Chester-White breed as it now exists has been 

 developed from a foundation stock made up of three 

 principal strains. The first was the white hogs bred in 

 Chester and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania. These 

 descended from some white pigs imported from England 

 in 1820, and later from the same source some white hogs 

 with black and sandy patches of hair, said to have been 

 Chinese stock. The second strain was developed in Ohio 

 and was known as Todd's Improved Chester-Whites. 

 These were produced by selection and crossing from stock 

 originally imported to Connecticut from England and 

 called the Norfolk Thin Rind pigs, the Byfield breed in 

 Massachusetts, the Large Grass breed in Ohio, and a 

 Normandy boar of French ancestry. The third strain 

 was also developed in Ohio and went under the name, 

 Ohio Improved Chester-Whites, the "O. I. C.'s." These 

 were developed from white pigs purchased in the eastern 

 states in 1865. 



The Chester-White is, therefore, one of the oldest 

 breeds of hogs which has had an American origin. Due 

 to the large size and mellow feeding qualities for which 

 the white hogs were early noted, it played a leading role 

 with the farmer in his invasion of the rich corn lands of 

 the Middle West. The breed has always been a popular 

 farmer's hog. The sows are noted for their ability to 

 produce good-sized litters, the pigs are good gainers and 



