On the question of the size and hang of the ears a variety of opinion exists; pigs with long ears, and pigs with short ears are found possessing good carcases. It is the quality of the ear rather than its size and hang which seems to indicate the character most. A pig with a thin and firm ear is usually of fine quality, whereas a pig which has a thick, coarse ear is generally coarse in bone, skin, flesh, and hair.
The neck of the boar should be muscular as indicating constitution and natural vigour; the shoulders fine and obliquely laid, the ribs well sprung, the loin wide, the quarters long and square, not drooping, the hams full and extending quite down to the hocks, and without any of that loose skin which is far too common amongst the largest of our breeds of pigs, and which is a sure sign of coarseness. The flank should be thick and well let down, as this indicates constitution and lean meat, the legs should be fairly short and set well apart so that the heart, lungs, and other organs have plenty of room to perform their share of the work of the pig. The skin should be fine and the hair straight and silky, as well as plenty of it. Sparsity of hair is generally an indication of shortage of lean meat, whilst curliness and coarseness of hair are far too frequently associated with excessive fat and coarseness of meat.
With regard to the reproductive parts of the boar there are one or two points which should receive special attention. A boar with excessively small testicles should be avoided, as such a one is often barren. Again, a boar with one testicle of normal size and the other smaller, ordinarily suffers from the same disqualification to a lesser extent. A ruptured boar should not on any account be used, as this weakness is strongly hereditary. The weakness may not possibly show itself in the first generation, but it is certain to appear sooner or later. Not only is it a sure index of weakness of constitution, but pigs so affected occasionally die suddenly, whilst there is always a certain amount of risk from the operation of castration.
Occasionally one or more of the boar pigs of a litter will be found to be malformed, in that only one of the testicles is apparent. Generally speaking, the other is found when the pig is killed to be attached to the inside of the pig, and thus is unable to descend into the scrotum or purse, so that the act of castration is only partially performed. A boar pig with only one testicle down is commonly termed a rig. The removal of one of the testicles does not deprive the rig of reproducing its species, and it is thus a source of continual trouble when herded with a lot of sow pigs now that the general custom is to allow the female pigs of a litter to remain unspayed. It is, therefore, necessary to fatten a rig either alone, or with male pigs which have been operated upon. In addition to this extra trouble, the flesh of a rig pig if it be kept fattening after it is some five or six months old is almost certain to be strong in flavour, like unto that of a boar. It is, therefore, advisable to fatten a rig quite early in life and convert it into a porket or porker carcase of pork.
It may appear strange to some readers to specially mention the teats of the boar, but it is equally as necessary to avoid boars having small teats, teats unevenly placed, and commencing any distance from the fore legs, and blind teats, as it is in the case of the sow, since any weaknesses of the kind are equally as hereditary from the boar as from the sow.
CHAPTER VI
SELECTION OF THE SOW
It is impossible to agree with the view held by so many persons that the necessity for the same care is non-existent in the selection of a sow as in the choice of a boar. We hold that the desirability for studying the forbears, especially the dam, of a young sow intended for breeding purposes is fully as great as when selecting the young boar, since many, if not most, of the qualities which we desire the brood sow to possess are strongly hereditary. Take, for instance, the question of gentleness or a quiet disposition, it follows from dam to produce with a regularity equal to that of bad temper, and the latter is wellnigh a certainty. Again, whoever found that the female produce of a sow deficient in the maternal instincts proved, if saved for breeding purposes, to be a really good mother? As a rule the daughters of a sow which gives but a small quantity of milk, and that of an inferior quality, are also cursed with the same grievous failings, but this does not appear to be universally the case, since the milking qualities of the dam descend through her sons, so that if the female progenitors of the boar have been good milkers it is probable that the boar's daughters may be able to rear their pigs successfully, even if their dam had not been in the habit of suckling her pigs well.
Still, it is quite safe to assert that with this one exception we may fairly anticipate that the good qualities which we seek in a sow are far more likely to be found in the sow pigs of a sow herself the possessor, than from one which does not possess them. We are inclined to the belief that the alleged failure of some pedigree yelts to make good brood sows is in the main due to the continued selection for breeding purposes of those pure-bred yelts which show early maturing and flesh-forming qualities, rather than that motherly look which is almost invariably to be found in a sow which is prolific, a free milker, and a really good mother. There is a marked difference in the formation of a milk-giving and a fat-producing sow—the latter is generally somewhat heavy in the shoulders, has a muscular or fat neck, is rather short in the head and heavy in the jowl, and is altogether more compactly built, whereas a good brood sow has rather a long face, is wide between the eyes, has a light muscular neck, is fine in the shoulders, possesses long and square quarters and appears to be heavier in the hind than in the forequarters. She is somewhat more loosely built and often shows less of quality. Thickness of flank and length of side are desirable, the first as indicating substance and flesh, whilst the second gives plenty of room for her pigs to suck. The bone should be of good quality; the same remarks apply to the skin and hair.
About half a century since there existed a fancy, which almost amounted to a craze for sows of small size; they could not be too neat, and showing too much so-called feminine character. The almost certain result of selecting the neatest of the female pigs followed, the fat pigs sent to market were light in weight, deficient in lean meat and rightly named "animated bladders of lard." Within about the same distance of time it was the common practice of exhibitors of pigs at the Smithfield Club's Shows to provide pillows in the form of round pieces of wood on which the fat pigs rested their heads so that these were raised in order to prevent the pigs becoming suffocated. In addition, the pigs were fed on forcing foods until they were at least one and a half year old and allowed to take, or were given little exercise, with the result that the pork consisted mainly of soft fat or lard. To such an extent had this craze for neatness been followed that the bacon curers and consumers of pork wellnigh ceased to purchase or consume pork.