THE TAMWORTH 



793 



A generation ago [he says] they were a lean pig, of a very dark red color, 

 which never varied in shade and were provided with a very long snout. Of 

 late the color has altered in shade, having become a sandy or lighter red, a 

 point which is apparently growing in favor, although I question very much 

 whether this color is as pure as the original dark red, for I believe it has been 

 obtained by a not very distant cross with a white pig. 



Spencer has also suggested the white cross and Neapolitan cross. 

 For years the breed was almost unnoticed. In comparatively 

 recent years it has received renewed attention for its bacon value. 



Fig. 364. A Tamworth boar, winner of first prize in class at the 1904 show of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society of England. Exhibited by Robert Ibbotson. From 

 photograph, by courtesy of William Cooper & Nephews, Berkhampstead, England 



In 1847 a Tamworth sow won first honors at the show of the 

 Royal Agricultural Society of England, but the breed was not 

 given a special class recognition until 1885. At the 19 14 Royal 

 Show there were entered 42 exhibits of Tam worths, as compared 

 with 132 of Large Yorkshires. 



The introduction of the Tamworth to America is generally 

 credited to Mr. Thomas Bennett of Rossville, Illinois, who im- 

 ported some pure-bred pigs in 1882. Professor Shaw states that 

 since 1888 large numbers have been introduced into Canada. Most 

 of the importations to the United States have been from Canada. 



Characteristics of the Tamworth. The color is red, varying in 

 shade from light to dark, " a golden red hair on a flesh-colored 



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