The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1876-04-27

the Berkshires excel; also in weight
OF carcass at maturity. An impor-
tant item with all farmers in order to
success in raising hogs, especially in
this latitude, is to have success with
his pigs at farrowing. A good litter
OF April or early May pigs well cared
Tor may be sold off in December at
three hundred pound weight; while
summer pigs will have to be carried
through the winter.
AS successful mothers, the Berk-
shires are not excelled by any breed.
The pigs when farrowed are strong
and active. Not large, but full OF
life and energy. The dam, If kindly
handled is as docile as cat. | have
never had Berkshire pig overlaid
or killed by its mother, nor any troub
lie with sows farrowing, although US
ually my sows at farrowing, are fat
enough for pork. While with an ex.
perience of fifteen years with other
broods | have lost number OF sows
farrowing and every spring, more or
less, whole litters by being overlaid
by the dam, sometimes from consti-
tutional weakness in the pigs, and
at other times from downright indif-
ferance on the part of the dam to
care for her pigs. | have no doubt,
from the experience that | have had,
that the Berkshire will make more
pork from the given quantity Of food
consumed than either of the larger
breeds. | think that they masticate
their food better, eat more leisurely
aud being full of health they make
the most out OF the cora consumed.
While the improved Berkshire is
not classei among the large breeds,
yet the weights attained to them are
equal to the weights usually reached
by those who raise and fatten the
larger breeds. For series OF years
| raised Chester Whites. | fattened
them at ages ranging from twelve to
eighteen months, in lots of forty to
eighty, and an average of 325 pounds
per head was about my Standard
The Berkshire will weigh at maturi-
ty 100 to 500 pounds, which is large
enough to secure the best price, and
larger than packers prefer.
Now | close this hastily written ar
ticle by giving the standard charac-
teristics of the Berkshire adopted by
the National Swine Breeders Conven-
ton:
"Color, black, with white on feet,
face, tip of tail, and an occasional
splash of white on the arm. While
small spot of white on some other
part of the body does not argue an
impurity of blood, yet it is to be dis
couraged, to the end that uniformity
of color may be attained by breeders.
White upon one ear, Or bronze or
copper spot on some part of the body
argues no impurity, bu. rather re-
appearing of natural colors. Face
short, fine and well dished; broad be-
tween the eyes; ears generally al
most erect-but inclined forward
small, thin and showing veins; jowl
full; neck, short and thick; shoul-
ders, short from neck to middle, deep
from back down; back, broad and
straight; ribs, long and well sprung,
giving rotundity of body; short ribs
Of good length, giving breadth and
Ievelness Of loin; hips, good length
from point of hips to rump; hams,
thick, round and deep, holding their
thickness we'll back and down to the
hocks; tail, fine and small, set on
high up; legs, short and fne, but
straight and very strong, with hoofs
erect, legs set wide apart; bone, fine
and compact; hair, fine and solt-ro
bristles; skin, pliable."
ROBERT MARSHALL.