The Southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1895-1909, 1902-10-01

been said about the Tamworth
breed of swine that for a long
time I have been on the lookout
for some authentic evidence from
their place of origination as to
their characteristics, breeding,
etc. At last have found in an
old English agricultural paper
an article credited to the work:
"The Cattle, Sheep and Pigs of
great Britain" which seems so
fair and Just that 7 quote from 1t
very largely in this article. 1t
SAYS in effect that there is no
variety of pig known IN the Brit
ish islands which has been i'm
proved so judiclously in recent
years and has and has emerged
from coor parative obscurlty as
breed as the Tamworth. 1t is
no new pig, for there are breed
ers who rene mber it for the
past sixty years, and who de-
clare that it was then, and had
been during the lifetime of their
predecessors, a whole-colored
deep red pig, prolific, kind
mother, an admirable forager
which could almost be left to find
it's own living and at the same
time pig which provided bacon
of the highest quality. There
were two opposite opinions of
them in one respect, equally bas-
ed upon personal experience, and
the conclusion is arrive at that
there were at the beginning of
the 10Th century two distinct
strains of the Tamworth, or one
which had been much more i'm
Iroved than the other for where
both are described as alike in
outward characteristics as SIM
liar, yet one strain is stated to
have been difficult to fatten, and
the other to fatten readily. That
the Tamworths we're prolific
there was never any doubt, and
this valuable point they still re-
tain in pelhaps higher degree
than any other breed. Some of
best breeders of to-day say that
young animals do not fatten till
they have reached certain age,
and that the more highly they
are fed the more they grow. On
the other hand others have shown
that young ramworths will grow
and tatten at the same time. The
Tamworth is naturally a large
pig, and remem boring the great
improvements which have re-
cecently been made. 1t would
not be surprising to find, in a
few years, specimens that would
tip the scale at 90 or more pounds
At the same time we would rath-
err see them grow in size than
manifest a greater capacity to
fatten, for they are, above all
things, bacon pig, and their
flesh is equally by that of no
other variety in the even distrib-
ution of both fat and lean. Tam
worth breeds have to bear in
mind that their favorite speciality
is in connection with this point,
hence great care will need to be
exercised both in modifying the
type and the size of the pig. The
Tamworth has long body for
its size, together with great depth
of side, but it does not equal some
other breeds in either chops or
hams, if regarded from the point
of view as to size. worths
of high type can be made to weigh
300 pounds at six months of age
with ease, and 500 at year old,
and this should show that they
are breed which cannot be
despised by anyone. The Berk-
shire has long been claimed by
some as bacon curer's special
variety; but there is plenty of
evidence that the Ia worth sur
passes the Berkshire for this pur.
pose. A firm of bacon curers in
the west of England offered
premium on Berkshire pigs sent
them. provided thew contained ..