1921.] 



Pigs for Bacon. 



721 



the principal Danish farmers who were interested in the private 

 and in the co-operative factories. The improvement in the form 

 of the pigs from the native race when mated with the large 

 white boars was so great as to form one of the principal topics of 

 conversation on the chief bacon markets in Britain. One of the 

 largest firms of bacon curers in Canada forwarded an order to 

 their London agent who had been engaged in the shipment of 

 some boars to Denmark to purchase boars and gilts similar to 

 those exported to Denmark, and thus the Canadian ba^on which 

 was becoming popular in this country was still further improved. 



Improvement of Irish Bacon. — In the meantime the bacon 

 curers in Ireland had not rested on their oars, but had jointly 

 taken steps to improve the form and quality of their bacon, 

 which even then had so high a position on our markets. One 

 of their first steps was to issue a sketch of tw^o sides of bacon 

 showing the position, size and value per lb. of the different 

 joints into w^hich each side was usually divided when sold on 

 the retail market. This gave Irish farmers a clear idea of the 

 kind of pig which would make the highest price on the markets. 

 They even went further, and purchased a number of thick- 

 fleshed, short-legged large white boars of fine quaHty and distri- 

 buted them among the pig breeders in the neighbourhood of 

 the different bacon factories. The Dutch were also considerable 

 purchasers of a certain type of large white boar. 



Influence of the Danish Trade. — The improvement in the 

 bacon imported from Denmark was so marked that two of the 

 principals of one of our chief firms of bacon curers journeyed to 

 Denmark to ascertain how^ it had been brought about, and to 

 study the systems of pig feeding general in that country. On 

 their return the firm took immediate steps to purchase nearly 

 two hundred thick-fleshed, lengthy, large white boars of the 

 same t}^e as those exported to Denmark. These boars were 

 exchanged for the old fashioned boars of those who supplied the 

 firm with pigs, and an an-angement was made for the general 

 use of the boars. The results were entirely satisfactoiy to all 

 parties. The evolution of the present t}^e of bacon curers' pigs 

 has been somewhat fully considered owing to the success which 

 has attended the efforts of pig breeders and bacon curers. 



The great improvement in the form and quality, and even in 

 the feeding of the bacon pig, has extended to well nigh all those 

 countries which export bacon to this country. Even Russia, 

 which had begun to send us considerable quantities of bacon, 

 had already imported a number of English pigs for the purpose 



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