390 A STUDY OF FARM ANIMALS 



The early forms of the domestic hog were found in sev- 

 eral countries, but more especially in Great Britain, south- 

 ern Europe, and China. Large herds of swine, according to 

 Youatt, were in existence in England prior to the Christian 

 era. It is said that in Greece large droves were cared 

 for by swineherds perhaps 3,000 years ago. In Italy these 

 animals have long been valued, and the blue-skinned, thin- 

 haired, long-legged Neapohtan hog of that country was im- 

 ported into England perhaps two centuries ago to improve 

 the Berkshire and the coarse white hogs of Great Britain. 

 The Chinese produced a class of white pigs that American 

 and British sailors bought on their travels and brought home, 

 which were used to improve the native stock. Red hogs 

 bred on the west coast of Africa were also brought to America 

 over a century ago, and their blood mingled with our com- 

 mon stock. From this ancestry, after long years of careful 

 breeding, in Great Britain and the United States, have come 

 our present highlj'- improved domestic breeds of swine, of 

 which the following are of interest. 



The Berkshire hog is a native of England, and receives 

 its name because of its early development in the shire of 

 Berks. This is a region of mild temperature in south-central 

 England, well suited to live stock. The Berkshire was 

 known as a breed late in the eighteenth century. Then it 

 was black, or reddish-brown in color with black or light 

 spots, and had large ears hanging down in front. It was 

 small-boned and fattened easily for those times, and fre- 

 quently weighed over a thousand pounds. It was improved 

 by the use of Neapolitan and Chinese blood in particular. 

 In the middle of the nineteenth century, when it was re- 

 garded the best breed in England, the Berkshire was still 

 reddish or sandy-colored, with more or less black spots, but 

 was not so large and coarse as those of the previous century. 

 In the early daj^s, Richard Astley and Lord Barrington did 

 much to improve the Berkshire. This hog was first brought 



