THE TAMWORTH 795 



large size of the Tamworth. At six montlis of age, pigs should 

 weigh about 175 pounds, and 300 pounds at twelve months. 



The Tamworth as a bacon pig ranks very high. The claim is 

 made that owring to dissatisfaction with the fat quality of bacon 

 produced in the average pig in England along in the early eighties, 

 the Tamworth came to the front to supply the necessary lean 

 meat. The sides are long and (in good specimens) deep and have 

 a superior admixture of lean and fat of highly acceptable quality. 

 Professor Day states ^ that "the Tamworth produces bacon of 

 exceptionally fine quality, well mixed with lean, and fine in the 

 grain." 



The maturing quality of the Tamworth is inferior, probably be- 

 ing less forward in development than any other breed in America. 

 While growth is constantly made, an early-finished, matured prod- 

 uct does not usually obtain. However, some British feeders have 

 argued that the Tamworth will mature early. Mr. G. M. Allen- 

 der, long a famous British breeder, says : "I find that the Tam- 

 worths feed early, and I have hams now hanging- which exceed 

 20 pounds each in weight, smoked and dried, although they 

 were cut from pigs which were only twenty-seven weeks old." 

 This hardly seems credible. Mitchell Brothers of Birmingham, 

 who won first prize at the Birmingham Fat-Stock Show in 1884, 

 informed Professor Long that the Tamworths they exhibited were 

 only five and one-half months old and weighed 1 2 score per pig, 

 or 240 pounds. These pigs were from a sow twelve months old at 

 farrowing. Professor G. E. Day specifies that for a bacon carcass 

 fit for export the Tamworth will mature at as early an age as any 

 other breed. This will not apply, however, where fat production 

 is involved. 



The feeding quality of the Tamworth is fairly good, the pig 



making considerable growth for the food fed. Mr. E. N. Ball of 



Michigan reports on 3 pigs about sixteen weeks old, which during 



ninety-seven days gained a total of 340 pounds from 1224 pounds 



of grain, or 100 pounds of gain for 360 pounds of feed. Rommel, 



of the United States Department of Agriculture, averaging the 



results of feeding six breeds as brought out in representative 



tests by experiment stations, shows that in sixteen tests involving 



1 Productive Swine Husbandry (1913), p- loi. 

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