SWINE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 438, 10 February 1912, Page 6

SWINE.

THE BEST BACON PICS

The style of animal whicli best meets the bacon curer's ideal has often been spoken about, but the desired standard is not always reached, and this in many cases is due to faulty breeding, says Farm World. To consider briefly one or two of the indications of what is really a good bacon pig, we might start first from the head. Here length of snout,, which partly includes length of jov.'l, and the absence of loose fiabbiness so frequently seen there, indicates as a rule a lengthy animal. The idea has been to reduce the cheap parts of the animal and to increr.se those which are dearer. On that account a light fore end is necessary, but it must not be at the expense of width of back or depth in the pig.

As a rule a pig narrow at the poll, between the ears, is not the widest on his top, nor is he the thriftiest of feeders. There may be exceptions to this rule, but it can be applied generally. The advantage of a prominent eye and a smooth unwrinkled jaw or cheek, as well as width between the eyes are that they invariably indicate a smooth, lean fleshed animal.

The short, heavy head is invariably associated with the very round body and a wide and very fat back, altogether a very wasteful carcass. The neck should not be too long, otherwise it indicates weakness, and a Short neck generally goes with a short sids, which from the bason point of view of course is not desirable. It is important to note the character of the middle pieces. The ribs should spring from the back, but they should not be entirely round. Thsy should rather spring well and allow the animal to be turned out slightly flat in the sides. There will then be less wasteful fat on the top without decreasing the depth of the pig. What is wanted is a pig that contains a maximum of lean meat and an undercut with as much streaky as possible. The loin of course should be well covered and muscular, because so much depends upon good development here. The rump should not be too straight, otherwiss th: hams will invariably be short. There should be no flabbiness tho hams, and a well carried tail puts finish to a pig> which helps it greatly at the time of sale. The quantity of bone should' a 1 so be accompanied by strength of bone, because it is not possible to carry a heavy weight of meat of very fins quality without substance. Round bone should be avoided, as it indicates lack of breeding and is invariably associated with a fat carcass.

The pasterns should not be weak, and the pig should be straight on its legs. This is likewise of great importance, for exercise is necessary in the production of the best class of carcass. These may seem small points, yet they all indicate particular functions which the bacon pig i' upposed to fulfill.