Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1891-05-22
CHESHIRE HOG.

The Cheshire is a long, broad hog
u shape which of curse gives heavy
hams and shoulders. The head is very
short in proportion to the length of the
body, the face slightly dished, the ears
thin, small and erect and the nose
straight. Looking at n Il person would
say that the nose, compared with that Of
the Small Yorkshire, was long, but in
proportion to the length of the body it is
quite as short as that of a Yorkshire,
while the head, taken as Il whole. is of
less weight than the head of IL Yorkshire.
The texture of both flesh and bone is
fine and compact, hence, though the
bones are very small, the animals never
break down.
One often hears the remark at fairs:
II don't see how such small bones hold
up such big hogs" This %fincness of eel
lular texture gives the very best quality
Of meat. both lean and fat being firm
and solid. not soft and fabby or lardy,
like the flesh Of many other breeds.
Cheshires have a larger proportion of
lean meat than any other hogs. In this
respect they stand u%neUuuled, and
hence are the best to meet the present
requirements Of the butcher. The de-
mand now is for lean meat, not fat.
Let any one feed Il Cheshire in the same
pen with pigs of other breeds and the
Cheshire will give the most lean meat.
If fed with a small Yorkshire one will
have the two extremes of all the breeds,
the Cheshire giving the most lean meat,
the Yorkshire the least.
At the New York and New England
fair at Albany an aged gentleman came
along and remarked, This is the best
breed of hogs in the world He then
stated that he was a butcher in Albany,
and that the Cheshire was the best hog
to cut up in the market because it had
the most lean meat, and he added, 81
can tell a Cheshire as soon as it goes
into the scalding vat; for it will sink
right to the bottom, and no other hog
will do that" 1 was aware of the fact
that Cheshires weighed more according
TO looks than other hogs, but their sink
ing in the scalding water was new to
me. This must come from their larger
proportions Of lean meat-lean being
heavier than bones or fat.
Another quality, which most people
would probably consider the most i'm
portant of all, is their rapid growth or
early maturity. At nine months or I'M
der Cheshires will outweigh on the aver
age any other breed. The best weights
| can personally vouch for are the fol-
lowing: A pig from a litter from which
most of the pigs were shipped was fat
tened. 1t was dressed when 8 months
and IA days old and weighed 416 pounds.
Forty pounds of lard were taken from
the entrails, which are not included in
the 416 pounds. A litter of seven killed
when exactly 8 months and l day old
averaged 400 pounds. These pigs, of
course, were very fat, but there was a
large amount of lean meat. The feeder
of Cheshires can have lean meat only or
both lean and fat as he may prefer. He
will get the lean meat anyway. If he
wants fat he can get it atop of the lean
by longer and better feeding. Cheshire
pigs OF about 6 months of age, dressing
200 to $50 pounds, are the best that can
possibly be obtained for market purposes.
Farmers call the Cheshires tame. At
narrowing time this tameness is very I'M
portant, especially if the weather is cold.
At such times my practice is to throw a
blanket over the SOW, and as the little
fellows arrive they are placed under the
blanket against the udders of the mother.
In few moments they are dry and warm
and vigorously fighting with their fellows
for choice of position. never have any
trouble in treating sows in this way.
Young sows with their first filters lie as
quietly as those that have raised pigs for
years. 1t is not necessary to take a club
when Il goes into the pen to catch a
pig,