1921.] 



Pigs for Bacon. 



723 



an indication of the quality of the meat, whilst a pig which is long on the 

 leg is generally coarse in the bone and usually far from restful and contented. 



The jowl should be light, as its market value is limited, whilst a large 

 head is generally associated with a heavy and a somewhat coarse body, a 

 long head frequently indicating the opposite, with a limited aptitude to 

 fatten. 



Hair. — As to the kind and quantity of hair which a pig suitable for the 

 bacon curer should possess, there is a diversity of opinion. In Cumberland 

 and certain parts of the province of Ulster a pig with compai-atively little 

 hair is preferred, whereas in most other parts of the British Isles a covering 

 of fine silky hair is sought after, on the ground that pigs which are sparse 

 of hair are frequently deficient of lean meat. Generally speaking, straight 

 hair is preferred to curly hair, as pigs possessing the former are considered to 

 furnish meat of a finer grain. This view is not held in Lincolnshire, the 

 home of the curly-coated pig, but this may arise from the fact that the 

 demand in Lincolnshire is for- a class of bacon different from that 

 required in most parts of the kingdom. The pig with harsh and coarse hair 

 is not now a favourite in any part of the country, as it invariably fattens 

 slowly and furnishes pork of an inferior quality. 



Quick grov)ih and early development are particularly necessary in the bacon 

 pig, as bacon manufactured from young pigs is greatly preferred, and there 

 is a great advantage to the feeder, the quantity of food consumed for the 

 mere upkeep of the pig, body heat, locomotion, etc., being much reduced 

 and its cost saved. 



Colour. — Another point which is considered of some importance by many 

 curers is the colour of the pig slaughtered, white sides of bacon having a 

 nicer appearance than black ones. Some bacon curers encourage their buyers 

 to send in white pigs for slaughter by offering sixpence per head more for 

 white than for coloured pigs. Some few years ago the wiiter was at a factory 

 in Iieland where one thousand pigs were slaughtered in one day, and 

 after cateful inspection failed to find a single coloured pig, so that on one day 

 alone this firm would be paying about £25 in order to secure pigs of a white 

 colour. The extra cost during the year would therefore be some thousands of 

 pounds, showing the incorrectness of the assertion that the preference for 

 white pigs is only fancy. 



Feeding. — One other requirement on the part of the curer 

 is that feeders should be careful to supply such food to their 

 pigs as will produce pork of good quality which can be con- 

 verted into firm bacon with lean of a nice colour. This may 

 make a difference of several shillings per cwt. in the market 

 value of the bacon, and the extra cost of the more suitable 

 food may make little or no monetary difference to producer 

 of the pigs. An excessive proportion of potatoes, of maize, 

 or of sharps in the ration results in the production of soft 

 and oily bacon, which wastes much in cooking; an excess of 

 beans or bean meal makes the lean portion of the bacon hard. 

 Some curers also complain of the use of fish meal in the feed- 

 ing of pigs, on the ground that the bacon from pigs so fed is 



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