The Portland daily press., 1877-10-24
POETRY.
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
OrIginating breeds.

At late meeting of the American lnsti-
tute Farmers Club, as reported in the New
York World. paper was read on the
originating of breeds OF hogs as
follows: Breeders of stock know
well that animals not only bring forth
Young after their kind, but propagate pecu-
liarities of individual form and development
of peculiar parts in individuals. In sparselv
settled counties, large portion of which is
covered with forests, in which the hogs can
live almost entirely upon natural products,
large, active herds, requiring two or three
years to mature are usually preferred, as the
expense Of keeping is small, and these breeds
continue healthy, upon a scant supply of
food. AS the counties become settled, and
the forests are cleared, smaller, more compac
less active and early maturing breeds become
desideratum, since their food must consist
mainly of artificial. and hence costly products
of agriculture. The old English hog was
large, narrow and long legged, and difficult to
fatten before two years old. This answers
very well for roaming the forests, but was
unsuited for inclosed pastures. China aud
Italy, more densely inhabited, reared small
breeds which fatten rapidly at any age.
These were introduced into England to mod
ify the coarseness of the native hog.
The cross of the small-boned, dumpy Chi
nsse and Neapolitan hog upon the large
English has given us such admirable results
as the Berkshire and Essex. The size of the
improved breeds depends upon whether the
preponderance in the cross was given by the
large or the small parent stock.
The breeder has an idea of the form and
character of stock desired, and by carefully
selecting both sexes for a number of genera
tions, with special reference to the effects in
view, finally secures the peculiar type COM
bining the points desired, he then selects
with great care his breeding stock from those
In which this type is transmitted with the
greatest exactness until its transmission to
offspring is invariable. The breed is then
established, and its offspring is called thor
oughbred. There is no such thing, accord
ing to Mr.. james, as an original pure breed
of hogs outside of the wild stock. All of the
present breeds are results of various crosses,
conducted with definite object in view.
Some portions of the carcass being more
valuable than others, breeders select animals
having these valuable parts well developed
for breeding purposes. Defects on one side
are naturaliZed byan unusual development on
the other, and thus symmetry is secured, and
breeds possessing the most desirable qualities
are established.
The paper concluded with the following
classification which embraces every variety of
the hog family: First-Thoroughbred, or
such as have been bred in direct line suffi-
GENTLY long to establish fixed type, which
is perpetuated uniformly in each successive
generation. To this class belong the Berk-
shire, Essex, Poland, China, Chester white,
New Jersey red, and others of less note.
Second-Cross- bred, or the offspring of a
thoroughbred SOW of one breed by thor
oughbred boar OF another.
Third-Grade, or the result of cross OF
the thoroughbred or Gross bred of either sex