1108 Gloucestershire Old Spots Pigs. [Mar.,. 



may be pointed out that the first volume of the herd book, 

 published in 1915, contained the pedigrees of 39 boars and 

 217 sows, or a total of 286, whereas the seventh volume, pub- 

 lished last year, contained the entries of 1,407 boars and 5,382 

 sows, or a total of 6,789 entries. 



So enormous an addition in so short a period to the number 

 of breeding pigs of this particular breed must necessitate the 

 seeking of some outlet for its fat pigs other than the fresh 

 pork trade. The requirements of the bacon curer must be 

 studied so that the surplus fat pigs can find a good market. 

 It is quite possible that the Gloucestershire Old Spots pig, 

 having been bred for so many years with a view to the supply- 

 ing of the fresh pork markets and the old style of bacon 

 manufacturers, may be in need of some slight alteration in its 

 general character, as the form and degree of fatness of a 

 side of bacon of the present day varies very considerably from 

 one of, say, forty years ago. Length of side of the pig is now 

 most important, and squareness of hindquarters is an indication 

 of a fashionably shaped ham — for, strange as it may seem, 

 there is such a thing as fashion in hams, or a compliance with 

 the needs or fancies of purchasers, irrespective of some increase 

 in the cost. Another point which producers of bacon curers' 

 pigs should study is the fineness of bone, or perhaps it could 

 be more clearly described as lightness of offal . This reduction 

 in the weight of the head, the legs, the tail, etc., affects the 

 pork purveyor and the bacon curer far more than the butcher 

 is affected by the weight of the offals of cattle, sheep, and 

 calves, since in the latter case the offals are given in with the 

 fat animal, whereas in the former instance the offals are pur- 

 chased at the same price as the body of pork. Reduction in 

 the weight of the bone in the carcass of the pig, therefore, 

 may at first sight appear to affect only the consumer, but its 

 effects are greater, as a manufacturer gains or loses credit by 

 his success or failure to satisfy his customers by furnishing to 

 them an article which best answers their purpose. The object 

 in calling attention to various points in these articles is not 

 for the purpose of criticism, but to offer suggestions which in 

 the writer's opinion might, if adopted, prove of benefit to the 

 admirers of the different breeds of pigs. What is termed by 

 the Gloucestershire Old Spots Society as "a standard for a 

 typical G. O. S. Pig " is as follows:— 



Head—Medhun length and wide between the ears, nose wide and medium 



length, slightly dished. 

 Ears — Rather long and drooping. 



