CHOOSING AND JUDGING SWINE 457 



general the most desirable weight is from 180 to 275 pounds, 

 though heavier hogs sometimes command a premium on the 

 market. Very heavy hogs are often spoken of as "fat backs" 

 because of their broad, heavily fleshed backs. A lard pig in 

 good condition should weigh from 175 to 200 pounds when six 

 months old, and 350 to 400 pounds when one year old. Some 

 hogs under the best of conditions may weigh much more, many 

 others will weigh much less, but those are the weights one can 

 reasonably hope to attain. 



Quality. — The indications of quality are fine hair, freedom 

 from bristles, and a comparatively light, dense, and clean bone. 

 Fineness of the parts in general is an evidence of quality. This 

 is often overdrawn, as too 

 much fineness leads to delicacy, 

 which is sometimes observed in 

 the hogs being too small, facial 

 features too fine or small, and 

 the bone fine to the point of 

 weakness. On the other hand, 

 hogs with coarse bone, coarse Fig. 1S8. — Poland China Boab. 

 hair, and coarse hide are likely Sold for $5000. 



to be poor feeders, and the butcher objects to them because 

 of the large percentage of offal which they dress. The qual- 

 ity of bone, hide, and hair should lie between these two 

 extremes. In addition to being rather fine and free from 

 bristles, the . hair should lie close to the body and the skin be 

 free from wrinkles and undue roughness caused by scurf. 



Constitution. — The indications of a good constitution and 

 much vigor are a deep, broad, and well-advanced chest, thus 

 giving capacious chest capacity and good heart girth. The 

 chest should be deep from the top of the shoulder to the brisket, 

 which should be placed low down; it should be wide, as indi- 

 cated by much width between the front legs, and the brisket 

 should be well advanced between the front legs. The real 



