Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-11-29
Success in Stock Raising
Cor, Practical Farmer.

1880 HNNAJ NNNhC hh0N Hb viz WI
foundation of stock raising is the use
of no animals except those of improved
breeds, These are the most profitable
because they have the least percentage
of ofial, hence the least food is used by
them in building up useless parts be.
cause on account of their more quiet
disposition, they do not consume so
much force (the equivalent of fesh) in
useless exercise; BECAUSE, owing to
their habits and inherited qualities,
they digest and assimilate their food
more thoroughly than Scrubs" be.
cause they are more easily handled and
managed, and because their flesh, milk
or wool is of better quality, bringing
higher price in the market,
1t is not necessary for me to consume
space in an effort to convince the pros
pective stock raiser that he cannot
achieve gratifying measure of suc>
cess with scrubs; that has been well
done by many other writers. But |
can assist him by leading him to make
wise selecton--to choose that breed
best adapted to his circumstances and
to produce the result he desires.
Therefore we shall proceed to consider
the various breeds. And as we cam
not properly understand their charac.
teristics without some knowledge of
their history, that will be very briefly
sketched. We will first take up the
BREEDS OF SWINE.
AS the hog is not native of this
country, the ancestors of all American
SWINE must have been imported. 1t is
supposed that the first hogs introduced
upon the American continent were
brought by Columbus on his second
voyage. Ferdinand de Soto, in 1888,
imported the first hogs into what are
now the United States, bringing them
from Cuba to Florida. The first swine
of which any account can be found, as
having made much improvement in
the breeds of the United States, was
pair of pigs sent by the Duke Of Bed.
ford to General Washington, toward
the close Of the last century. They
were fine animals, and gave rise to a
breed highly priced and bred for many
years, but finally lost. Since that time
frequent importations of various Euro.
pean and Asiatic breeds have been
made, coming from nearly all the
countries which have furnished any
immigration to the New World. The
stock thus introduced he's been as va.
ried in form, color and quality as the
sources of supply could furnish. Our
common stock is the legitimate result
of this commingling of such a medley
of breeds. In the early history of the
country but little attention was paid
to the breeding of the hog; happily
this has been changed.
Of our present breeds four-Berk-
shire, Essex, Yorkshire, large and
small (the latter being the same as
Suffolk and Lancashire, are of En-
glish origin.
The Berkshire can boast of long
line of descent. 1t was once Of red.
dish color relieved by small black
spots. This was improved by the early
IUlTOuuCIlOu vi SHlutSo duu pIdIucS6
blood, and later (since 1880 by an in.
fusion of Neapolitan blood. Their fine
hair and skin are due to this latter
cross. At present this breed is IN color
black, with white socks, face, tip of
tail, occasional splash behind fore leg,
and perhaps small spot on some
other part OF the body; white upon
one ear, or bronze or copper spot on
some part of the body does not argue
impurity, but is questionable. The
face is short, fine, and well dished,
broad between the eyes; ears are erect,
small, thin, soft, and showing veins;
jowl full but not deep; neck short and
thick, shoulders short from neck
to middling. deep from back down;
back broad and straight, OR very
slightly arched ribs long and we'll
sprung, giving rotundity of body; hips
of good length from point of coupling
to tail; hams thick, round and deep,