CHAPTER XXIX 
FATTENING FOR MARKET 
Fatrenine swine for market covers that part of the 
pig’s life from the time he is put on full feed until he is 
ready for slaughter. Usually a pig weighing from 80 
to 125 pounds is known as a feeder, and is put on fatten- 
ing feed to finish him for pork. 
Fattening, as the term implies, increases not only the 
absolute weight of fat in the pig’s body, which is one of 
its main purposes, but increases the proportion of fat to 
other constituents. Since lean meat contains a greater 
proportion of water than does fat meat, making a pig fat 
also decreases the amount of water in the carcass. This 
renders curing easy without hardening of the meat by the 
abstraction of too much water, and without the meat 
taking up too much salt. Making the pig fat increases 
the dressing percentage and, within reasonable limits, 
improves the flavor and quality of the meat. The butcher, 
therefore, insists on purchasing a fat pig and will pay more 
for it since the fat pig yields better meat and more of it. 
A thin pig may not dress over 70 per cent, while a fat one 
will dress 75 to 80 per cent. The feeder wishes to have his 
pigs fat when he sells them, for fat is usually put on at 
less outlay for each pound than it costs to grow the pig’s 
frame, while the fat pig will bring from 1 cent to 1} cents 
a pound more for slaughter than will the same pig in 
thin condition. In addition to those noted, other signifi- 
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