THE PIG
CHAPTER I
NON-PEDIGREE PIGS
Although the more general use of so-called pedigree pigs has tended to modify the characteristics of the various local breeds of pigs, yet it is possible to find a certain number of pig breeders who adhere to the type of pig which has been in the past most generally found in their district. This type was undoubtedly fixed by the wants or fancies of those resident in the particular portions of the country.
In the past it has been the practice when describing these local breeds to write as though they were confined to certain counties. It may be that pigs of a peculiar or characteristic type are more numerous within the borders of various counties, but this is by no means always the case. The habits and pursuits of the inhabitants rather than the soil and climate—as with horses, cattle and sheep—have the greatest influence on the form, size and quality of the local pigs, whilst use and custom appear to determine the colour of the pig. We are of opinion that it will be more instructive if we give a short description of some of the more common types of these local breeds of pigs, and mention the names of those counties in which they are more generally found.
Amongst the most distinct of these local breeds is that which is variously termed the sheeted or saddle-backed pig, which in the United States has a society to look after its interests, and where it bears the name of
The Hampshire
Just why our American cousins should have decided to call these sheeted pigs Hampshires is not on the surface, since the oldest writers on pigs give to the county of Sussex the credit of being their original home. The description given by Sidney of the Hampshire pig is that "it is a coarse and useful black pig, inferior to the Berkshire, and not in the same refined class as the Essex." Richardson writes "The Hampshire breed is not infrequently confounded with the Berkshire; but its body is longer and its sides flatter; the head is long and the snout sharp. The colour of the breed is usually dark spotted; but it is sometimes black altogether, and more frequently white."
The sheeted pig has also been bred in the county of Essex for over a century, but it is recorded that it was introduced into this county by a Mr. Western who subsequently became Lord Western, and whose estate was situated in Essex.
In Sidney's book The Pig, we read, "West Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Shropshire and Wales had indigenous black or red and black breeds of swine; and between the whites, the blacks and the reds the parti-colours were produced which have since in a great degree disappeared under the influence of prizes, generally awarded to pure breeds of single colours."
Sidney also states "that Youatt and all the authors who have followed him down to the latest work published on the subject, occupy space in describing various county pigs which have long ceased to possess, if they ever possessed, any merit worth the attention of the breeder."
The Rudgwick, which is another name for the sheeted pig, is included in the list. Richardson at a still earlier date describes the Sussex breed as "black and white in colour, but not spotted; that is to say, these colours are distributed in very large patches; one half—say, for instance, the fore part of the body white and the hinder end black; or sometimes both ends black and the middle white or vice versâ; these pigs are in no way remarkable; they seldom feed to over twenty stone. They are well made, of middle size, and their skin covered with scanty bristles. The snout tapering and firm, the ears upright and pointed, the jowl deep and the body compactly round. They arrive at early maturity, fatten quickly, and the flesh is excellent."
Richardson also writes, "There is another improved Essex breed, called the Essex Half-Blacks, resembling that which I have described in colour, said to be descended from the Berkshire. This breed was originally introduced by Lord Western, and obtained much celebrity," etc. etc.
He then quotes from The Complete Grazier, sixth edition, as follows: "They are black and white, short haired, fine skinned with smaller heads and ears than the Berkshire, but feathered with inside hair which is a distinctive mark of both; have short snubby noses, very fine bone, broad and deep in the belly, full in the hind quarters, but light in the bone and offal. They feed remarkably fast and are of an excellent quality of meat. The sows are good breeders, and bring litters of from eight to twelve; but they have the character of being bad nurses." If this allegation were true at the time it was written, it is not at the present time as the Half-Blacks or sheeted sows are both prolific and first-rate mothers.
Malden describes the Sussex: "A large breed called the Rudgwick, was one of the largest in England. There appears to be a doubt as to whether the coloured pig was descended from the spotted Berkshire or the black and white Essex. They were of medium size, of good quality generally, but of somewhat heavy bone." The generally accepted view is that the Essex sheeted pig was descended from importations from the county of Sussex. These sheeted pigs are still occasionally met with in Essex, but the system of crossing which is generally followed by pig breeders in the county is gradually reducing its number, although even amongst the cross-breeds the peculiar marking occasionally shows itself. At the time of writing there is a movement on foot to form a society for the purpose of reviving the breed. From the utility point of view the sheeted pig has much to recommend it, but whether or not one or more of the breeds of pigs whose pedigrees are already recorded do not possess at least equal merits must be left for decision by others.
Spotted Pigs
In many districts are found other parti-coloured pigs, but in these the black, the white, and the red colours show themselves in spots of varying size and extent. Probably amongst the best types of these spotted pigs is the one found over the greater part of the county of Northampton, and portions of the counties of Leicester and Oxford adjoining. In the former county the pigs have more of black than white in their colouring, whilst in the two latter red spots are more often seen. This is probably due to a stronger infusion of the blood of the Staffordshire red pig which is now known as the Tamworth. The blood of the Neapolitan pig through the Berkshire or the Small Black is credited with being the origin of the darker coloured Northamptonshire spotted pig. The qualities claimed for these spotted or "plum pudding" pigs as they are locally termed, are prolificacy, quick growth, hardihood, and the production of pork possessing a large proportion of lean to fat meat. They are also good grazers, and grow to a size quite the equal of the Berkshire. In form they are perhaps more suited for the fresh pork trade than for the manufacture of bacon of the kind now so much in demand.
The Large White and Blue Pigs
Those large, coarse-boned pigs with hair of a white colour and skins more or less mottled with blue are gradually giving place to pigs with finer hair, skin, bone, and quality of meat. The coarse lop ears are being reduced in size and thickness, whilst the pig itself is becoming less gaunt and its early maturity considerably increased by crossing with the better quality Large White and the quickly maturing Middle White. These coarse white with blue markings pigs were common in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, the Isle of Ely and Lincolnshire, and in the counties of Bedford, Cheshire, etc.
White Pigs
Within the memory of persons now living, white pigs of varying types were found in various parts of this country. Many of these white pigs found in Norfolk, Suffolk, Shropshire, and Wales had little to recommend them as they were flat sided, long legged, hard feeders, and required to be comparatively old before they could be turned into pork. A vast improvement has of late years been effected in these unprofitable swine by crossing them with compact and early maturing pigs of different colours, but mainly white pigs until the last few years, when Large Blacks and even a few Gloucestershire Old Spots boars have been introduced in Norfolk.
At one time white pigs of a small size were by no means uncommon in Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, Yorkshire, and parts of Berkshire, and other counties. The origin of these small, compact, and early maturing pigs appears to have been a cross of the imported Chinese on the neater and shorter country pigs of a white colour. For a period these handsome pigs were quite fashionable amongst the well-to-do, but the general public objected to the pork produced by them, owing to its excessive fatness. The bacon curers still more strongly objected to the short sides and the very small amount of lean meat in the cured carcases. During the last thirty years comparatively few of these pretty, but useless, pigs have been bred.
Black Pigs
The description given of the two main types of white pigs would apply equally well to the Black pigs common in this country, save with respect to colour. The long flat-sided black pig was found in Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, etc. These pigs were noted for their prolificacy, hardihood, and quick growth, whilst the sows furnished a full supply of milk to their youngsters, but they were such slow feeders that it became necessary to cross them with pigs which matured more quickly. A type of black pig similar in form to the Small White was also found in Essex and Suffolk, whilst in Devonshire, Dorset, and one or two other counties the colour of the pigs was blue rather than black, and of a somewhat larger size, but possessing the same weakness, too large a proportion of fat to lean meat.
CHAPTER II
PURE BREEDS
The task of writing a description of the various breeds of swine has been rendered less difficult by the formation during the past half-century of societies for the registration of the pedigrees of the pigs of the different breeds, and by the setting up of scales of those points which pigs for entry in the particular herd books should possess. The first of these societies was the National Pig Breeders Association, of which the present writer was the honorary secretary for two years. At the time of its formation the breeds of pigs most generally recognised were the Berkshire, the Large, Middle, and Small Whites or Yorkshires, and the Small Black breed. It was intended that the pedigrees of the pure bred pigs of each of these breeds should be recorded by the Association and published in one herd book.
There is no doubt that this would have been an ideal plan, and would have resulted in a saving of much labour and expense, and decidedly more convenient for those connected with the export trade. For reasons into which it is not now necessary to enter, the breeders of Berkshires determined to have a separate herd book; therefore, they started a society which they named the British Berkshire Society, to distinguish it from the American Berkshire Record.
Subsequently the Tamworth breed of pigs became recognised by the Royal Agricultural Society, and the breeders of the red pig joined the National Pig Breeders Association. Then the demand for Small White and Small Black pigs ceased, so that eventually the pedigrees of Large White, Middle White, and Tamworth pigs only were registered in the N.P.A. Herd Book.
Subsequently the breeders of Tamworth pigs formed themselves into a society presumably for propaganda work, and to conserve the interests of breeders of Tamworth pigs. Of late years other breeds of pigs have been brought to public notice, and have had herd books, and societies specially devoted to their particular interests. The Large Black, Large White Ulster, the Lincolnshire Curly Coated pigs, the Gloucestershire Old Spots, and the Cumberland pigs have their pedigrees recorded. An attempt was made some years since to resuscitate the Oxfordshire Spotted pig, but it was not a continued success. It is quite possible that other local breeds of pigs may find sufficient admirers to form societies to bring before the public the many good qualities possessed by the pigs of these breeds, but apart from local interest it is at least doubtful if any permanent benefit will supervene from this multiplication of herd books—save that it may increase the interest in pig breeding, a result devoutly to be prayed for.
The issuing of the scales of points of those breeds of pigs whose pedigrees are recorded in the various herd books has rendered it unnecessary for us to endeavour to formulate the good qualities which are presumably those which are more or less completely possessed by these pedigreed animals, nor does the necessity exist for us to mention those particular qualities which each breed is supposed by the admirers of other breeds to lack. There is no doubt that each breed possesses certain points which render it specially suitable for differing localities and varying purposes.
Some persons who look upon a pig solely as an animal, as a converter of various substances into pork, are of opinion that the tendency of those responsible for the running of these societies is towards fancy points to the detriment of the practical points. There appears to have been some grounds for this view. The Small White, the Small Black, the Berkshire, and the Large White have all been affected by the acts of faddists. The three first-named breeds suffered from the aims of certain of the breeders to reduce the size and to increase the so-called quality until the consumers of pork refused to follow the fashion; whilst the craze which has seriously affected the utility of the Large White pigs has been exactly the opposite, i.e. an endeavour to so vastly increase the size that they ceased to supply the kind of pork and the size of joints which the general public demanded. It may be natural for fanciers to declare that a Small White or a Small Black pig must be a small animal, but this is only on comparison with the large breeds of the same colour and characteristics. The usefulness of the pig in the commercial world must be studied if any breed of pig is to hold its own on the market.
The opposite extreme to that followed by the breeders of the small breeds is that of the breeders of Large Whites, who look upon mere size as the most important of the points to be studied. The mere increase in bulk, in length of head and leg and weight of bone may appeal to the mere fancier or faddist, but by paying undue attention to these fancy points the actual object of the breeding and fattening of pigs is lost sight of, and the consumer who is after all the one whose wants must first receive study, is estranged and the commercial market is lost.
In the following pages will be found full particulars together with the scales of points, as issued by the various societies, of the chief breeds and varieties.