The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-09-03


late IN the modern British pig, not through
the taste of the fancier, but through the
mora practical If less artistic demands of
the bacon curer The fact is that curing
has been revolutionized. Formerly the lean
Of bacon and ham used 10 be hard, I'M
pslatable and fearfu.ly aud wonderfully
salt, and the fat. as fat, was good enough
not even the system kpoBn, as mild
curing" the lean is eScellent. 1t MAJ
easily be understood, therefore, that during
tue dark ages of bacon curing the chief OBJ
gect Of the pig fattenerse was to pro-
duce the largest possible amount
Of fat TO lean, whereas at present
1t Is TO produce the greatest posi-
BILE proportion Of lean to fat There have
been changes, again, IN the ideal shape of
thep and those have been brought about
by the alterations in the prices given per
pound IN the market for certain portions Of
the pigs carcass For instance, the shoulder
and neck are now about the least valuable
parts Of his body, Consequently the i'm
menseiy developed crests and shoulders,
which used to excite SO much admiration.
are now odious in the eyes of the practical
breeder. Without entering into the details
OF sides Of bacon" such as prime
streaky.n thin reaky." middle of gam
mon, fore end etc., we may remark
that there are about seven distinct prices
for tho seventeen different parts of the
'sides,7 to say nothing of the head and
| trotterS
II We were asked which modern breed
was probably the most direct desce 1dant of
| thu aboriginal pig Of this country, We should
| be inclined 70 say the TamwCrth. This
| breed has been steadily increasing in favor
during the last few years. The common
| idea OF Tamworths color IS dull red, with
black spots but it varies from a deep, rich
red to brick-dust tint, and in some cases
"a n a darkr eIo Hha
waited Tamworth is hardy, ugly, leggy,
| long-nosed, and slow in growth; the I'M
proved Tamwortn is also hardy and long
| in the nose, but he puts in lean quickly
and fat slowly, which makes him the pig
of the period for curing on tue modern sys-
tenn. The black Berkshire is still
very popular pig, and for many
than any other, although he had to make
hard struggle to overcome strong preju-
dice which existed in certain localities
against his color This pig, as well as the
| Essex, was improved many years ago BY a
cross OF Neapolitau blood. The probability
that the Berkshire breed has been black tor
a very long period has been questioned.
Black pigs with white points can be traced
back for seventy years in Berkshire yet it
has been confidently asserted that the pig
of the district use1 to he tawny, with black
spots. At any rate, crosses of Berkshire with
white pigs frequently produce offspring
with certain amount of red, which
shows that this breed, like the Tam worth,
originally sprang from the old red pig of
the country. The produce of a Berkshire
SOW by white boar is almost always white,
but, curiously enough dark colors often
appear in later crosses The chief faults to
be guarded against in buying Berkshires are
light TANKS, short, dropping quarters, some
approach to legginess, unduly coarse hair.
and deeply furrowed skin. They should
not be marked with white except on the
nose, forehead, tip Of the tail, and feet; but
if they have no white upon them at all it is
probably that they have a cross Of Essex
| blood in them.
The Essex is quite black and is some
thing between the Berkshire and small
Yorkshire in shape If not very we'll known
he is very good pig, and shows considera-
BILE breeding. It has often been commended
that the large Yorkshire is the truest living
representative of the aboriginal pig of the
country. So far Gs his dropping quarters,
large head, long nose, strength of bone, fat
sides ana tendency to narrowness are con-
cerned, we willingly admit it; but we can
not truthfulIy say that this enormous, white,
farmvardy looking pig is exactly our idea of
wild boar. A few years ago pigs of this
breed used TO be fattened until they
weighed, in some cases, as much as bullocks
one which was winner at the Royal
Agricultural SOciety's shows at Carlisle
and Derby weighed nearly half "a ton-but
they are killed much younger now, and,
being rather lean pigs until they reach a
certain age, they are well suited to the
present demands of bacon-curers The
small Yorkshire is a breed formed by cross
ing the large Yorkshire with the Chinese.
lie represents the highest pinnacle to which
art can attain i'll the production of fat,
and for this very reason he does not meet
with the approval of the modern curer.
His breed, too, has been very much i'm
bred with the usual results of delicacY
and unprOductivenesS. II may be obser we'd
here that ell breeds much crossed with the
Chinese are less in favor than they were a
few years ago The middle white York
shire is "a variety of the small white, and il
may be that that breed has a great future
before it. Thus far it is somewhat unde-
fined in its form and uncertain in its prod
uct. The Lincolnshire pig is. like the pike.
"a Voracious feeder" AMI it is large, lop-
cared, and ugly. The common white pig OF
Scotland is a long-snouted, leggy animal
something of the large Yorkshire type, and
q slow fattener. Nevertheless he makes an
admirable cross with the Berkshire.
Gallant Little Wales" also has its pig,
and from its red and black hue-plum.
pudding color, as it is profanely called-it
may claim to be descended from the alb.
original wild boar, which used to be hunted
by those wild Welsh kings, from whom
nearly every Welshman claims to be
descended. Both the Welshman aud the
Welsh pig have become a little mixed in the
course Oh their long descent, and the pig is
an excellently vulgar looking beast, whose
only value consists in his making a hardy
outCross with other breeds.
Que great drawback to pig breeding
and observe that this is not the fault of the
pgs--is the violent fluctuation which is
constantly taking place in their prices.
When your bailiff urges you to sell because
you have got sadly too many" you get
wretohed prices, and tAe only consolation
to you Is that "pigs il very low" Wher
pigs are "up" and YOU want to sell vol
eitheritind that you have noae to spare, OF
else your bailiif declares that II would be "a
thousand pities" to part with them now
that there's such lot o. keep" Al
average pig fattens most quickly
from the time he weighs nine stone
TO the time he weighs twelve
stone, and, in the present condition of taste
in bacon, it pays best to kill him when he
weighs about twelve stone. Slows should be
fat.ened after they have produced a second
or third litter, however great the tempta,
ton to have lust one more" 20, that we
were all as fit to die Is that pig!n said the
pious farmer; but it is not SO easy to say
exactly when a pig is fit TO die as some
people suppose. In Diminishing the subject
let it be said, to his credit, that the pig il
the most economical moat producer on q
farm, and that he is about the only living
creature about q gentleman's establishment
that pays at all.