336 
REVIEW — THE PIG. 
The greedy propensities of the poor animal are worked upon ; he 
is shut up, often in darkness, and fed and suffered to gorge himself 
until he can scarcely move or breathe, and often dies of suffocation, 
or is obliged to be killed, from the simple exertion of being 
brought to the show in the most easy and careful manner. A 
premium would be far better bestowed upon the most useful and 
profitable animal, the one most likely to make good bacon or pork, 
than on these huge masses of obesity, whose superabundance of 
fat is fit for little else but the melting-pot. As much money is 
often wasted on one of these monsters as would purchase food for 
half a dozen really profitable animals. And to what purpose 1 
Simply to test the elastic powers of a pig’s skin ? ‘ No,’ reply 
the advocates of this species of monomania, * but to discover 
which breeds can be fattened to the greatest size in the shortest 
time, and on the smallest amount of food.’ And to this plea we 
can only reply, that, while we admit the value of such knowledge, 
we think it might be attained without the sacrifice of a fine 
animal, at much less expense, and far more satisfactorily. Let 
the animals be fat, but do not let them be a mere bladder of lard, 
' of shape undefined,’ every point lost and buried. It is fine and 
profitable breeds we require, not monstrosities. The grand aim of 
agricultural societies is to promote the improvement of the breeds, 
and, consequently, the profit of the breeder and general advantage. 
We trust that this will shortly be fully understood and carried 
out, and the cattle-shows become, as it were, model-rooms, instead 
of mere exhibitions of over-fed, panting, unshapely beasts.” 
Our limited space denies us the pleasure of turning over the 
remaining leaves of our lamented colleague’s last production. 
Were we to say it was equal to any of his former works, we 
should be asserting what nobody who has perused those works — 
and who that is agriculturist or veterinarian has not ? — would 
subscribe to. It must be remembered, however, that this book 
comes to us as “ the child of his old age;” and, moreover, that 
the subject of it is one which does not present the same field for a 
writer as do the more prized and companionable animals, the horse 
and dog : and yet, despised and neglected, and proscribed as the 
sorry pig is, poor Youatt, with his wonted happy tact, has com- 
posed really a very entertaining little volume about him, and one, 
too, that contains all the information required concerning him for 
ordinary or agricultural purposes, evidently designed as it is, as 
we said before, to fill up the vacant space left by the side of the 
ox and the sheep, and so to complete his popular veterinary 
library. The farmer will therefore find the acquisition of the 
work indispensable ; nor will the veterinarian Test contented with- 
