The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1935-07-18
The Razor back Still Lives.

gon to look after the companys inter-
ests here.
The Razor back Still Lives.
There is another thing in the South
the traveller from the North will notice
with considerable establishment ! had
supposed the razor-b back hog was a
thing Of the past That | was badly
mistaken was soon borne in upon me
The zor-back still lives in all his
pristine glory and apparently there are
thousands Of them in the land of corn
pone and ham They were seen IN
countless numbers along the highways,
running in and out Of the brush and
feeding along the roadway The dead
carcass of a zor-back was not an in
frequent sight along the highway,
killed by passing car
The or-back is mighty poor
specimen Of pig. He is slim and short,
and his head and snout are just about
half Of the carcass. the distance rom
his ears to his snout being about equal
to the distance from his ears 10 his tail
Some may doubt this statement but 7
rely upon Clerk Of Court Clark 10
verify it. Clerk Clark at one time lived
in the South In conversation with him
since my return ! referred to this char
acteristic Of the or-back and he
said my description was correct. You
know it used to be said, 7 remarked Mr.
Clark. that true razor back could
be JUDGED by picking him up by his
ears. If the carcass balanced evenly
il was genuine razor back, the weight
Of the head and snout being equal 10
that Of the body"
Speaking of pigs and pork recalls
tasty morsel later enjoyed during
the delightful week I spent with my
brother and his wife in Tampa. My
sister in-law served us ham one day,
the most delicious ham | ever have
eaten. When | remarked about its de-
liciousness she explained that the hog
had been fattened on peanuts. It was
far superior to any corn-fed pork |
had ever encountered.
Another thing that elected my won
der was the number of cattle encount-
cred throughout this district, especially
down the west coast of Florida. Much
Of the district is not fenced and the cat
tie have the free run of the highways.
They were frequently a considerable
nuisance. One day a passing shower
had left all the small depressions of the
roadway filled with water This called
the thirsty cattle onto the highway
where they walked along slipping the
water from the slight depressions. We
drove upon them thus occupied and
had to work our way slowly through
them.
Poor Stuff
II those cattle are intended Tor beef
purposes they certainly are inferior
stuff. They are Of light build, decidedly
of the dairy type. They were seen in
great numbers apparently living off
a desolate Florida range, range onto
which no dairyman would have put his
dairy stock. And later | read that the
cattle industry in Florida is a large
one, which strengthens my conviction
that the cattle ! saw were range stock.
They made me think in contrast OF
the heavy, stocky, white-face cattle
that range throughout Montana and
one Of which would dress out nearly
as much beef as would two Of the light
weights | saw in and around Tampa
| wondered why they didn't import
some heavy bulls and breed up the
stock. Later in conversation with my
brother ! was told that an experiment
had been tried of shipping in some
bulls of the sacred cow breed Of India
the cattle with the hump over the
shoulders and crossing them with The
local stock. During drive out from
Tampa one day ! saw some of these
imported bulls on the range.
That seemed to me a strange expert