THE BREEDS OF SWINE 397 



corn is abundant. In fact this breed since 1900 has had a 

 wonderful growth in public favor, and many herds of Poland- 

 Chinas and Berkshires have given way to the Duroc-Jersey. 

 The breed is widely distributed over America, but is more 

 especially prominent in Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Mis- 

 souri, Minnesota, Indiana, and South Dakota. 



The Chester White breed of hogs gets its name from 

 Chester county, Pennsylvania, where it has been bred for a 

 great many years. Claims have been made that the early 

 colonists brought over coarse white pigs to Pennsylvania. 

 In 1820 a Captain Jeffries, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, 

 brought some white hogs from England. Others of the same 

 color also found their way into that section. White hogs 

 were brought to Ohio at an early date, and the Todd fam- 

 ily in that state became noted for developing what is known 

 as Todd's Improved Chester White. During the latter part 

 of the nineteenth century, Mr. L. B. Silver, of Ohio, devel- 

 oped a strain of this breed, which is now known as the Ohio 

 Improved Chester White. This is frequently called the 

 0. I. C. hog. All these different families or blood lines 

 represent the same breed, however, and differ only in minor 

 details. The Chester White, as its name indicates, is white. 

 Occasionally, small, black spots occur on the skin, but 

 they are occasionally found in all the white breeds. The 

 head rather resembles that of the Poland-China, in that the 

 face is straight and the ears lopped over. The Chester 

 White is a true lard type of hog. It is a splendid feeder, 

 and, when well fattened, carries a very broad, arched back 

 and has an excellent ham. The quality of bone in the legs is 

 frequently too fine, and mature animals often stand badly 

 on their feet. In recent years, in keeping with the develop- 

 ment of the Poland-China and Duroc-Jersey, breeders of 

 Chester Whites have emphasized scale, and the tendency 

 has been to breed a larger, heavier-boned hog. The Chester 

 White type, however, has not gone through so great a change 



