It may be not amiss to group together what is deemed desirable under
this head. No one should be led away by mere name in his selection of a
hog. It may be called a Berkshire, or a Suffolk, or any other breed most
in estimation, and yet, in reality, may possess none of this valuable
blood. The only sure way to avoid imposition is, to make _name_ always
secondary to _points_. If a hog is found possessing such points of form
as are calculated to insure early maturity and faculty of taking on
flesh, one needs to care but little by what name he is called; since no
mere name can bestow value upon an animal deficient in the qualities
already indicated.
The true Berkshire--that possessing a dash of the Chinese and Neapolitan
varieties--comes, perhaps, nearer to the desired standard than any
other.
The chief points which characterize such a hog are the following:--In
the first place, sufficient depth of carcass, and such an elongation of
body as will insure a sufficient lateral expansion. The loin and breast
should be broad. The breadth of the former denotes good room for the
play of the lungs, and, as a consequence, a free and healthy
circulation, essential to the thriving or fattening of any animal. The
bone should be small, and the joints fine--nothing is more indicative of
high breeding than this; and the legs should be no longer than, when
fully fat, would just prevent the animal's belly from trailing upon the
ground. The leg is the least profitable portion of the hog, and no more
of it is required than is absolutely necessary for the support of the
rest. The feet should be firm and sound; the toes should lie well
together, and press straightly upon the ground; the claws, also, should
be even, upright and healthy.
The form of the head is sometimes deemed of little or no consequence, it
being generally, perhaps, supposed that a good hog may have an ugly
head; but the head of all animals is one of the very principal points in
which pure or impure breeding will be most obviously indicated. A
high-bred animal will invariably be found to arrive more speedily at
maturity, to take flesh more easily, and at an earlier period, and,
altogether, to turn out more profitably than one of questionable or
impure stock. Such being the case, the head of the hog is a point by no
means to be overlooked. The description of head most likely to
promise--or, rather to be the accompaniment of--high breeding, is one
not carrying heavy bones, not too flat on the forehead, or possessing a
snout too elongated; the snout should be short, and the forehead rather
convex, curving upward; and the ear, while pendulous, should incline
somewhat forward, and at the same time be light and thin. The carriage
of the pig should also be noticed. If this be dull, heavy, and dejected,
one may reasonably suspect ill health, if not some concealed disorder
actually existing, or just about to break forth; and there cannot be a
more unfavorable symptom than a hung-down, slouching head. Of course, a
fat hog for slaughter and a sow heavy with young, have not much
sprightliness of deportment.
Color is, likewise, not to be disregarded. Those colors are preferable
which are characteristic of the most esteemed breeds. If the hair is
scant, black is desirable, as denoting connection with the Neapolitan;
if too bare of hair, a too intimate alliance with that variety may be
apprehended, and a consequent want of hardihood, which--however
unimportant, if pork be the object--renders such animals a hazardous
speculation for store purposes, on account of their extreme
susceptibility of cold, and consequent liability to disease. If white,
and not too small, they are valuable as exhibiting connection with the
Chinese. If light, or sandy, or red with black marks, the favorite
Berkshire is detected; and so on, with reference to every possible
variety of hue.