CHOOSING AND JUDGING SWINE 461 



indicates general coarseness and increases the relative percent- 

 age of cheap meat. 



The shoulders should be long, full, and level on top. They 

 should be long, extending down even with the underline of the 

 body. While long shoulders are not necessarily correlated with 

 a deep chest or constitutional vigor, they give the hog a more 

 symmetrical appearance. They should be full, especially at 

 the lower end, which is often a weak point, and just forward of 

 the shoulders in the region known as the shoulder-vein. The 

 shoulders should not be too heavy, as it is a comparatively 

 cheap cut, nor should the skin be too thick and heavy, as such 

 indicates reversion to ancestral types, because these parts were 

 abnormally developed in the wild hog as a protection in fighting. 



The back and loin should be of moderate length, straight, 

 broad, and evenly fleshed throughout. They should be very 

 carefully considered, as the back and loin furnish some of the 

 most valuable cuts. Here pork chop and pork roasts are se- 

 cured. The back should be strong, and this can best be ob- 

 tained by moderate length, as a too long back is hkely to be 

 weak, particularly just back of the shoulders. It should be 

 straight or, better still, slightly arched, gradually rising from 

 the neck to the center of the back, and from there sloping very 

 gradually to the tail. There certainly should be no depression 

 or sway in the back from the shoulder to the tail. The back 

 should be broad, and this breadth should be evenly maintained 

 from the shoulder to the tail. It should be as broad on the 

 rear as it is in front. Tapering towards the rear — that is, 

 narrower across the loin and rump than across the shoulders — 

 is objectionable. The flesh covering should be even and firm, 

 giving a smooth carcass when slaughtered. 



The sides should be as long as possible and yet maintain suf- 

 ficient strength of back, which is best accomplished by medium 

 length. They should be deep and thick. The ribs should be 

 well arched and continue low down, giving great feeding 



