CHAPTER VI.
SCOTLAND.
There can be little doubt but that the aboriginal breed of Highland swine are, like those found in the Hebrides, descended from the wild boar, for until within the last half-century, they retained much of the form, and many of the habits and characteristics, of the wild breed. They also "are small, shaggy, bristled, and wild; wandering about the hills, grazing and seeking out roots and other favorite food, and requiring no care or sustenance at the hand of man, yet keeping in condition, and making excellent pork or bacon. The latter end of the autumn is the best time to kill them, as they are then in good flesh.
Those which have been brought into the low country and artificially fed, have fattened to a considerable size, and yielded fine-grained, firm, and well-flavored meat.
Formerly immense herds of these small swine were reared in the Highlands of Scotland, and brought down to the Lowland markets for sale; the practice of keeping these animals gradually declined some fifty or sixty years ago, but has latterly been revived since the cultivation of the potato has become more extensive. There cannot, however, be a doubt that a great number of this breed of pigs might be advantageously fattened upon every Highland farm where the land and crop is inclosed, both on account of the little artificial food they require, and the roots and various substances they will consume which no other kind of stock would touch. But although the practice of keeping swine in the Highlands and north of Scotland is of very ancient date, there are no records which speak of their existence in the more southern parts of Caledonia; indeed, if we may give credence to several anecdotes related by Mr. Henderson, they were absolutely unknown animals in several parts. Treatise on Breeding Swine.
It would seem that, some hundred and twenty years since, a person residing in the parish of Ruthwell, in Dumfriesshire, received a present of a young pig, which is said to be the first which had ever appeared in that part of the country. This pig strayed from his new home one day into the adjoining parish of Carlavroc, and wandering along the seaside came upon a woman who was keeping cattle. She screamed at the sight of the "strange beast," and ran off to her village, and the pig after her. There she declared she had seen "the deil come out of the sea, and that he had chased her, roaring and gaping at her heels." One of the bravest of the villagers got a Bible and an old sword to "cunger the deil;" but while he was uttering his threats, along came the creature with such a loud "grumph," that the poor man fell down half dead with fright, and all the rest fled, and then from windows and house-tops peeped at the "monster," until one fellow cried out that it was "the gude man o' the brow's grumphy," and gradually the alarm subsided.
This same pig seems to have frightened many persons at different times, as did another which escaped by some means from a vessel which put into Glencaple Quay, just below Dumfriesshire, and was hunted as a wild beast, and at last slain with a pitchfork by a man, who was termed "stout-hearted Geordy" all the rest of his life for the performance of this valorous exploit.
In 1760 there was scarcely a parish in Dumfriesshire which could muster twenty swine, but within ten years of that time they gradually began to increase, and each farmer took to keeping one or two, and from 1775 to 1780 the trade became pretty considerable. This increase was chiefly owing to the exertions of Lord Graham, of Netherby, who encouraged the breeding and rearing of swine among his tenants by every means in his power, and was the chief institutor and supporter of a market at Longtown, in Cumberland, for the sale of swine and pork.
The next step were the establishments of pig-markets in several other principal towns in the southern parts of Scotland, and small premiums offered on every market-day to the owners of the finest pig or the largest number of good swine brought to the market. Where thirty or forty years ago there was not a pig to be seen, as much as 400l. or 500l. worth of hogs and bacon, or pork, are now sold every market-day. This alteration is ascribed by some persons to the extension of the cultivation of the potato, and the consequent increased facility for feeding and fattening swine; but it may, doubtless, be also attributed to the increasing demand for animal food, the more extended views of farmers and agriculturists of the present day, and an appreciation of the profit and advantage arising from the keeping of these valuable animals.
There is a very good kind which are well made, white in color, have short upright ears, fatten quickly and on little food, and come early to maturity. Crosses with the Chinese have been tried, but they produce too delicate an animal, and consequently have fallen into disrepute. It would, however, be needless to enter into an account of all the varieties of swine now existing in Scotland, as, in describing the English breeds, we shall have to speak of all those which of late years have been introduced into Scotland, and either crossed with the original small, dark, prick-eared Scottish pig or with each other, or retained in their natural state. Henderson says that hundreds of pigs and shots (pigs from six to eight months old) are brought over from England every year, and fattened in Scotland.
ENGLAND.
The original breeds of this country are now rapidly losing all traces of individuality under the varied systems of crossing to which they are subjected. Formerly they might have been divided into two principal classes, the small and the large breeds: the former having ears tending to the upright, being dusky in hue, and greatly resembling the wild boar in form; and the latter being long-bodied,
THE OLD ENGLISH HOG.
long-eared animals, mostly white or spotted. The former were chiefly found in Scotland, and on the northern hills; and the latter in the lower and more midland counties of England, where the hog had been more domesticated.
Where individuals of the pure old breed are met with, they will be found long in limb, narrow in the back, which is somewhat curved, low in the shoulders, and large in bone; in a word, uniting all those characteristics which are now deemed most objectionable, and totally devoid of any approach to symmetry. The form is uncouth, and the face long and almost hidden by the pendulous ears. They nevertheless have their guod qualities, although aptitude to fatten does not rank among the number, for they consume a proportionally much larger quantity of food than they repay; but the females produce large litters, and are far better nurses than those of the smaller breeds. They are, however, now nearly extinct, disappearing before the present rage for diminishing the size of the hog and rendering his flesh more delicate; points which, however desirable to a certain extent, may easily be carried too far. Low judiciously observes: "While we should improve the larger breeds that are left us, by every means in our power, we ought to take care that we do not sacrifice them altogether. We should remember that an ample supply of pork is of immense importance to the support of the inhabitants of this country. England may one day have cause to regret that this over-refinement has been practised, and future improvers vainly exert themselves to recover those fine old races which the present breeders seem aiming to efface."
It would be vain to attempt to particularize the breeds of swine at present kept in this country, for they are daily altering their characteristics, under the influence of some fresh cross; we will therefore content ourselves with enumerating those which are allowed to have been the chief and best breeds, and pointing out some of the alterations which have latterly taken place in them.
YORKSHIRE.
The old Yorkshire breed was one of the very large varieties, and one of the most unprofitable for a farmer, being greedy feeders, difficult to fatten, and unsound in constitution. They were of a dirty white or yellow color, spotted with black, had long legs, flat sides, narrow backs, weak loins, and large bones. Their hair was short and wiry, and intermingled with numerous bristles about the head and neck, and their ears long. When full grown and fat they seldom weighed more than from 350 to 400 lbs.
These have of late years been crossed with pigs of the new Leicester breed; and where the crossings have been judiciously managed and not carried too far, a fine race of deep-sided, short-legged, thin-haired animals have been obtained, fattening kindly, and rising to a weight of from 250 to 400 lbs., when killed between one and two years old, and when kept over two years reaching even 500 to 700 lbs.
Mr. Samuel Wiley, of Bransby, to whose courtesy we are indebted for the information, and who has paid much attention to the breeding of swine, keeps only the pure improved Leicester breed, which with ordinary feeding will, at sixteen or eighteen months old, weigh from 250 to 300 lbs.; and, when put up to fatten, attain the weight of 400 lbs. He considers them far superior to, and more profitable than the larger breeds.
Other breeders have crossed with the Chinese and Neapolitan breeds, and with some considerable success the extremes of the large and small kinds happily correcting each other. The Berkshire pigs have also been employed as a cross, and hardy, profitable, well-proportioned animals obtained. The original breed, in its purity, size, and defectiveness, is now hardly to be met with, having shared the fate of the other large old breeds, and given place to smaller and more symmetrical animals. Mr. Smith, of Hoyland Hall, Sheffield, whose kind replies to our queries we have to acknowledge, is another great pig-breeder, and his swine have carried off numerous prizes; they appear to be descended from a cross between a Yorkshire and Lord Western's improved Essex pigs. Their chief characteristics are: smallness of bone, great development of the fleshy parts, symmetry of form, and a strong propensity to fatten. Although hearty feeders, a small quantity of food suffices for them. When matured they readily attain the weight of from 400 to 500 lbs.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
The true Lincolnshire pigs are white, with long, straight bodies, round carcasses, fine skins, and few bristles; the heads are well formed and of moderate size, and the ears erect, pointing somewhat forward, and curling slightly at the tips; the hair is long and fine, but scanty. This breed was formerly considered as superior to any but the Berkshire in point of form and value, they being easily fattened, and the flesh being tender, and of a fine flavor; with care they will reach 600 to 700 lbs.; and many, at a year and a-half old, will weigh 350 to 400 lbs. They certainly do not attain to their maturity as early as some of the smaller breeds, but are, notwithstanding this, profitable animals, and good, sound, handsome stock. A cross between the Lincoln and Chinese pig is productive of an animal presenting great tendency to fatten, and a small eater.
The old breed of this county are long-legged, narrow-backed, ungainly animals, with thick skins, covered with short, thick hair; the head is large, the forehead wide, and the ears set far apart. They are far from profitable animals, being enormous eaters, and fattening but poorly; few attain a greater weight than 250 to 280 lbs.
DERBYSHIRE.
Here there is no prevailing breed. The greater part of the pigs kept in this county come from Cheshire and Shropshire, and these are either left in their pure state, or crossed with some of the small English or foreign breeds, according as the taste or circumstances of the farmer or breeder leads him to prefer large or small animals.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
The old Leicestershire breed was a perfect type of the original hogs of the midland counties; large, ungainly, slab-sided animals, of a light color, and spotted with brown or black. The only good parts about them were their head and ears, which showed greater traces of breeding than any other parts. Mr. Bakewell improved them, and the variety thus obtained was called after him, and was superior in value and beauty to the old stock. Within the last few years various crosses have been tried, and the original breed is now fast losing all its peculiarities and defects.
ESSEX.
The Essex pigs, too, have been indebted for their improvement to crosses with the foreign breeds, and especially the Neapolitan, and with the Berkshire swine. They are mostly black and white, the head and hinder parts being black, and the back and belly white;
LORD WESTERN'S ESSEX BREED.
The most esteemed Essex breeds are entirely black, and are distinguished by having small teat-like appendages of the skin depending from the under part of the neck, which are commonly termed wattles. Some of these animals will attain the weight of 480 lbs., but they are not, according to some breeders, quick fatteners; while others prize them for their rapid growth and aptitude to lay on flesh, as well as for its excellence; it forms small and delicately-flavored pork. Lord Western has been the great improver of the Essex pigs, and his breed is highly esteemed throughout the kingdom.
Some Essex pigs, at only 23 weeks old, carried off one of the prizes at the Smithfield Club Cattle Show of 1846.
SUFFOLK.
The old pigs of this county are white in color, long-legged, long bodied, and narrow back, with broad foreheads, short hams, and an abundance of bristles. They are by no means profitable animals.
A SUFFOLK BOAR, THE PROPERTY OF HIS LATE MAJESTY WILLIAM IV.
and so are the Lincolnshire hogs.
A cross between the Suffolk and Lincoln has produced a hardy animal, which fattens kindly, and will attain the weight of from 400 to 550 and even 700 pounds. Another cross, much approved by farmers, is that of the Suffolk and Berkshire. On the whole, there are few better breeds to be found in the kingdom, perhaps, than the improved Suffolk pigs; they are well-formed, compact, short-legged, hardy animals, equal in point of value to the best of the Essex, and superior in constitution, and consequently better adapted for general keep, and especially for the cottager. The greater part of the pigs at Prince Albert's farm, near Windsor, are of the improved Suffolk breed; that is to say, the Suffolk crossed with the Chinese. They are medium in size, with round, bulky bodies, short legs, small heads, and fat cheeks. Those arising from the Berkshire and Suffolk are not so well shaped as those derived from the Chinese and Suffolk, being coarser, longer-legged, and more prominent about the hips. They are mostly white, with thin, fine hair; some few are spotted, and are easily kept in fine condition; they have a decided aptitude to fatten early, and are likewise valuable as store-pigs. Many of the improved Suffolk breed will, at a year or fifteen months old, weigh from 250 to 320 pounds; at this age they make fine bacon hogs. The sucking pigs and porkers are also very delicate and delicious.
BEDFORDSHIRE.
There is no distinct breed in this county; the animals are mostly Suffolk or Berkshire pigs, variously crossed. Some of the best kinds are distinguished for their aptitude to fatten early, and on a small quantity of food.
NORFOLK.
The pigs of this county do not materially differ from those Oof Lincolnshire, but are rather smaller. They, too, are white, fine boned, long-eared, and well-formed, good feeders, and yielding fine meat. This is especially the case in that part of the county which approaches Lincoln. Various breeds and varieties, are, however, to be met with in Norfolk, and among them some very inferior animals. There is a small variety resembling the Chinese, and probably descended from that breed, which is peculiar to this county, and much esteemed for its aptitude to fatten on a small quantity of food. A cross between the Norfolk and Suffolk pigs produces a fine, hardy animal.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
The old breed of Northamptonshire were large-bodied, large-boned, bristly animals, covered with white, coarse hair. Their legs were short and their ears very long, so much so as often to trail upon the ground. They were capable of being fattened to a considerable size, but not without great trouble and expense. These gave place to a lighter-made animal, equally large, but with small bones, small ears, and greater aptitude to fatten. The Bakewell Leicester pigs are highly esteemed by some of the breeders and farmers of this county.
SHROPSHIRE.
This seems to have been only another variety of the Northamptonshire pigs; they are coarse, ungainly animals, with long heads, pendent ears, arched loins, large bones, flat sides, many bristles, and coarse wiry hair; they are brindled, or of a dirty white-gray, or drab color, with spots of black. They were capable of being fattened to a considerable size, and might be made at two years old to weigh 560 or 575 pounds; but to accomplish this an abundance of food was required. They are by no means adapted for farm stock; but brewers, distillers, and those who have large quantities of refuse wash and grains, hold them in some estimation. Latterly the breed has been very much improved, and rendered more profitable, by crossing it with the Berkshire, Chinese, and other esteemed breeds, under the influence of which the most salient and objectionable points have disappeared, and the animals are now short-legged, fine-haired, straight-backed, and thin-skinned, white in color, and weighing 200 pounds at two years old. Lord Forester of Willy Park, and Sir F. Lawly of Monkhopton, are in possession of the best breeds.
CHESHIRE.
The old breed of this county were some of the largest swine in England, standing from three and a half to four and a half feet high. They were black and white, white, and blue and white; long-bodied, narrow-backed, slab-sided, large-boned, long-limbed animals, having large heads, drooping ears, of such a size as scarcely to permit them to see out of their eyes, and loose coarse-looking skins. Nevertheless they fatten to an enormous weight, and without consuming a comparatively larger amount of food than many of the much more esteemed English breeds. One excellent variety has been obtained by a cross with a Berkshire boar.
Of late years, however, the old Cheshire breed has almost entirely disappeared, and been replaced by a fine boned round-bodied animal, longer from head to tail and wider across the shoulders, coming earlier to maturity and easily fatten; the form of the head, too, is improved, and the ears are smaller and more shapely. These animals are chiefly derived from the old Berkshire and Cheshire breeds with an occasional and judicious cross with the Chinese. There is, too, a slight admixture here and there of the Leicestershire blood. They never attain to the size or weight of the old breeds, but their forms are more compact, their flesh finer grained, and their bones smaller. They are considered by many persons to be equal in value in all points to any breed in Europe.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
The Gloucestershire is another of the large old breeds, gaunt, long legged, and unprofitable, of a dirty white color, and having wattles depending from the neck. It has been supposed to have once been the prevailing breed in England, but is now rapidly disappearing before the alterations produced by the present prevailing system of crossing from small breeds.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
The pigs of this county are of the large class, similar in many respects to the Shropshire swine, and in all probability produced by a cross between those and some one or more of the smaller breeds; for they are smaller, finer-boned animals than the Shropshire pigs, have better-shaped heads and ears, are more compact in form, and have greater aptitude for fattening. They may, in fact, be fed to an enormous size; and with proper management will, at two years old, weigh two or three times as much as most hogs of other breeds at the same age. No farmer need wish to possess finer and more profitable animals than may be found among the Herefordshire pigs; the bacon made of their flesh yields in excellence to none.
Latterly this breed has been crossed with the Berkshire, and the result has been a fine, useful animal, possessing numerous good points, but not much superior to the good old stock.
WILTSHIRE.
Here the old breed was one of the larger class. The Wiltshire swine were long in the body, round in carcass, hollow about the shoulders, and high on the rump; short-legged, large-boned, light-colored, and the ears were large and pointed. They were, like most of this kind of pigs, large eaters and slow to fatten; but when fat attained a fair average weight, and their flesh was fine-grained and highly esteemed, especially as bacon. Crosses with the Chinese and Neapolitan breeds have, however, much improved the original race; they are now smaller boned, not so large in size, and fatten earlier and more readily.
CORNWALL.
The Cornish Breed.— Here again, the march of improvement is decidedly evident; the old Cornish hog, a large, white, long-sided, heavy-boned, razor-backed animal, possessing but little aptitute to fatten, is nearly extinct; and in its place we see a compact, well-made pig, fattening kindly, coming early to maturity, and yielding in excellence and value to few. This variety has been produced by crossing the old breed with the Berkshire, Chinese, Essex, Leicester, and Neapolitan pigs. These animals require little food beyond vegetables and the farm-house wash, excepting at the period of fattening, when about 3 bushels of barley will suffice to bring them, at nine months old, to the weight of from 350 to 400 pounds.
BERKSHIRE.
The Berkshire pigs belong to the large class, and are distinguished by their color, which is a sandy or whitish brown, spotted regularly with dark brown or black spots, and by their having no bristles. The hair is long, thin, somewhat curly, and looks rough; the ears are fringed with long hair round the outer edge, which gives them a ragged or feathery appearance; the body is thick, compact, and well-formed; the legs short, the sides broad, the head well set on, the snout short, the jowl thick, the ears erect, the skin exceedingly thin in texture, the flesh firm and well-flavored, and the bacon very superior. This breed of pigs has been generally considered to be one of the best in England, on account of its smallness of bone, early maturity, aptitude to fatten on little food, hardihood, and the females being such good breeders. Although termed the Berkshire breed, these pigs have been reared in various parts of the kingdom; and some of the very best have come from Staffordshire, from the progeny of the celebrated Tamworth boar. In Leicestershire, also, is a very fine race of them, descending from the stock of Richard Astley, Esq., who devoted much care to the improvement of the Berkshire pigs. Hogs of the pure original breed have been known to attain to an immense size, and weigh as much as 800 to 950 pounds. One bred at Petworth measured seven feet seven inches from the tip of his snout to the root of his tail, and seven feet ten inches in girth round the centre; five foct round the neck, ten inches round the thinnest part of the hind leg, and two feet across the widest part of the back. He stood three feet nine inches high; and, what was most remarkable in this monstrous animal, he did not consume more than two bushels and three pecks of ground oats, peas, and barley per week.
Parkinson, in his Live Stock, vol. ii., gives some extraordinary accounts of the size and weight attained by individuals of this breed, and the profit yielded by them, and also of their aptitude to fatten at grass.
They are not, however, generally of an enormous size, being much smaller than several of the older breeds; their ordinary weight averages from 250 to 300 pounds, and some will at two years old weigh 400 pounds.
BERKSHIRE SOW.
It would be impossible to give an account of the numerous crosses from this breed; the principal foreign ones are those with the Chinese and Neapolitan swine, made with the view of decreasing the size of the animal, and improving the flavor of the flesh, and rendering it more delicate; and the animals thus obtained are superior to almost any others in their aptitude to fatten, but are very susceptible of cold from being almost entirely without hair. A cross of the Berkshire with the Suffolk and Norfolk pigs also is much approved in some parts of the country. A hardy kind is thus produced, which yields well when sent to the butcher; but even the advocates of this cross allow that, under most circumstances, the pure Berkshire is the best.
HAMPSHIRE.
Here there are two varieties, the one larger than the other, in color they are either white or black and white, with long necks and bodies, flat sides, and large bones. The smaller variety are more easily fattened to a considerable size and weight, and make excellent bacon, but the larger kind require an extra amount of food to bring them to perfection, although when this object is attained they will often weigh from 600 to 800 lbs.
Considerable improvement has however been latterly effected by crosses of the Berkshire, Chinese, Essex, and Suffolk pigs, with the large old Hampshire hog. The animals resulting from these intermixtures are better shaped and more profitable; in fact, they bear about them the characteristics of the breed from which they were obtained. There is also a third variety of swine found in Hampshire, called the "Forest pigs," differing materially from the true Hampshire breeds, and in many points strongly resembling the wild boar, from which it is not improbable they derived their de- scent, for the last wild boars known to be at liberty in England were those turned into the New Forest by Charles I., and which he obtained from Germany with a view to the reintroduction of the fine old sport of boar-hunting. The Forest pig is broad-shouldered and high-crested; light and lean in the hinder quarters; has a bristly mane and erect ears; is of a dark or blackish color; and lives chiefly on beech-mast and acorns. This breed is no favorite in Hampshire; the animals are wild, fierce, not apt to fatten, and, from their peculiar make, do not cut up to advantage when killed; it is, however, now losing its distinctive characteristics, and becoming, as it were, more civilized or domesticated.
SUSSEX.
The breed of this county are by some authors supposed to have descended from the large spotted Berkshire swine; while others assert them to be a variety of the black and white Essex pig, if not the original stock. They are of a moderate size, handsomely formed, thin-skinned, and black and white; not, however, spotted, but white at one extremity and black at the other. The hair is fine and long, but spare; the head long and tapering; the ears well set on, and pointing forwards; the eyes quick and vivacious; and the snout fine. The chief fault in their make is, that the bones are somewhat too large. They grow quickly, feed well, fatten kindly, and will, when full-sized, weigh from 250 to 350 lbs.
Some of the finest pigs of this kind ever reared were in the possession of the Western family, at Felix Hall, Essex.
In speaking of the breeds of pigs belonging to this county, we must not omit the now extinct Rudgwick swine, which derived their name from a village in Sussex, and were some of the largest hogs produced in England. They fattened but slowly, and were consequently deemed unprofitable, but yielded excellent meat and in considerable quantities. They have, however, passed away before the alterations produced by the general aim of the present system of breeding.
THE CHINESE SWINE
CHINESE PIG.
From a Sow sent direct from China to William Ogilvy, Esq., Hon. Sec. Zool. Soc.
Although these have been already noticed when speaking of Asia, we cannot now pass them over, as they actually form one of the recognized stock breeds of England. There are two distinct varieties, the white and the black; both fatten readily, but from their diminutive size attain no great weight. They are small in limb, round in body, short in the head, wide in the cheek, and high in the chine; covered with very fine bristles growing from an exceedingly thin skin; and not peculiarly symmetrical, for, when fat, the head is so buried in the neck that little more than the tip of the snout is visible. The pure Chinese hog is too delicate and susceptible of cold ever to become a really profitable animal in this country; it is difficult to rear, and the sows are not good nurses; but one or two judicious crosses have in a manner naturalized it.
This breed will fatten readily, and on a comparatively small quantity of food; and the flesh is exceedingly delicate, but does not make good bacon, and is often too fat and oily to be generally esteemed as pork. They are chiefly kept by those who rear sucking-pigs for the market, as they make excellent roasters at three weeks or a month old. Some authors point out five, some seven varieties of the Chinese breed, but these are doubtless the results of different crosses with our native kinds; among these are black, white, black and white, spotted, and blue and white, or sandy. Many valuable crosses have been made with these animals; for the prevalent fault of the old English breeds having been coarseness of flesh, unwieldiness of form, and want of aptitude to fatten, an admixture of the Chinese breed has materially corrected these defects. Most of our smaller breeds are more or less indebted to the Asiatic swine for their present compactness of form, the readiness with which they fatten on a small quantity of food, and their early maturity; but these advantages are not considered by some persons as sufficiently great to compensate for the diminution in size, the increased delicacy of the animals, and the decrease of number in the litters. The best cross is between the Berkshire and the Chinese,
IRELAND.
Here the hog is, in the fullest sense of the word, a domesticated animal. The Irish pig is born in the warmest nook of his master's cabin, reared among the children, and often far better fed and more carefully tended than the ragged urchins who play around him, for the peasant will half starve himself and children in order to have more food for his pig; and while the former have only potatoes, and few enough of them, the porker frequently gets not only a good meal of potatoes, but some porridge, or bran, or refuse vegetables in addition. He is in fact the chief person in the household; on him the poor man reckons for the payment of his rent or the purchase of the necessaries of life. Swine abound in all parts of Ireland; scarcely a peasant's cot but numbers a pig among the family; and the roads, lanes, and fields in the neighborhood of every village, and the suburbs of every large town, are infested with a grunting multitude.
Until lately, however, notwithstanding the value set on these animals, the real Irish pig was a huge, gaunt, long-legged, slab-sided, roach-backed, coarse-boned, grisly brute; with large flapping ears which almost wholly shrouded the face; of a dirty white, or black and white color with harsh coarse hair, and bristles that almost stood erect. It was also far from being a profitable animal, requiring a very considerable quantity of food, and when fat producing only coarse-grained meat. But since the facility of export has become greater, considerable improvement has been effected by the introduction of Berkshire and Chinese boars and sows, and crossing the old breed pretty extensively with these. Thus the unwieldiness of size and coarseness of bone have been diminished, and greater aptitude for fattening communicated, which latter qualification is invaluable to the poor peasant. There is, however, great room for still further improvement, and we trust that before long some enterprising individuals will devote their energies to the task, and thus become the means of bestowing a great benefit on the peasantry of the "sister isle."
Steam navigation has wonderfully increased the trade in pigs between England and Ireland, for we find that in 1821 only 104,501 of these animals were brought into Liverpool; while in 1837, 595,422 were imported. The cost of conveyance has been so materially decreased by the facility of steamboat and railway conveyance, that this is not at all to be wondered at.
Irish pork or bacon is not so fine-grained or so finely flavored as the English; and although imported in considerable quantities, sells for a much lower price than our own. This has been attributed by some to the pigs being entirely fattened on potatoes, but it is also referable to the innate coarseness of the animals themselves.
Martin says:[1] The improvement in our breeds of domestic swine during the last few years has been very decided. And not only so; the general system of crossing now pursued, tends to the establishment of a uniform race throughout every county, that is, a race presenting the same outstanding characteristics. Changes are rapidly taking place, and the fear is, that the improvements may be carried so far as to result in the formation of a stock of animals smaller in size than comports with utility, and delicate in constitution. We say there is a fear of this: at the same time, we well know that the farmer will not lose sight of his own interests. It cannot be denied that our breeds, for ages occupiers of the land once tenanted by their wild and fierce progenitors, needed great alteration. They were large, coarse, unthrifty animals, with a long broad snout, large flapping ears, low in the shoulders, long in the back, flat-sided, long in the limbs, and large-boned, with a thick hide covered with coarse bristles. Their color was generally white or yellowish, sometimes more or less spotted with black. They were enormous feeders, but slow fatteners, consuming more food than was repaid by their flesh. At the same time, the females were peculiarly fertile, and this is almost the only thing that can be said in their praise.
Such, then, was the old, coarse, uncouth breed, spread, with trifling degrees of difference, over the greater part of England. In the northern counties, and especially in the north of Scotland, a smaller race, with sharp and almost erect ears, greatly resembling the wild boar in form, long existed, and is yet extant. These animals were dusky or brownish-black, wild in their habits, and very hardy. We say were, but in fact such is still the race in the Orkneys and Hebrides. They are small, rough, semi-wild beasts, depending principally upon their own means of gaining a subsistence, and are evidently the descendants of a wild stock. Their degeneracy in size may be attributed to climate and deficiency of nutrition while young; for when brought into more southern districts, and fed in the ordinary way, they rapidly acquire an increase in size, fatten kindly, and return excellent meat.
These mountain hogs are in tolerable condition after their summer fare, and should be killed in autumn. During the long rigorous winter these animals must suffer extremely, and in some islands many probably perish.
This breed, which not a century since was common in the Highlands, where vast herds were kept for the sake of sale in the Lowlands, is less thoroughly reclaimed than were the old gaunt flap-eared breeds of England. The latter had undergone a certain degree of modification long before the improvements effected in modern days. Among these old breeds was one described by Mr. George Culley; it prevailed in Yorkshire and Lancashire; the animals were of large size, and white, with huge ears hanging over their eyes. "They were very plain, thin, awkward hogs, with very long legs; but what distinguished them most was two wattles or dugs, not unlike the teats of a cow's udder, which hung down from their throats, one on each side." This breed appears to be altogether extinct in our island.
It is not often that we now hear of hogs of enormous size being slaughtered; formerly such overgrown monsters were not uncommon. The old Berkshire breed, which in its improved state still belongs to the class of large swine, not unfrequently produced huge specimens. The surprising weight that some of these hogs have been fed to, would be altogether incredible, if we had it not so well attested. Mr. Young, in one of his Tours, gives an account of a hog in Berkshire which was fed to 1130 lbs.; but a still more extraordinary pig was, some years since, killed in Cheshire:—"On Monday, the 24th of January, 1774, a pig (fed by Mr. Joseph Lawton, of Cheshire) was killed, which measured from the end of the nose to the end of the tail, 3 yards 8 inches, and in height 4 feet 512 inches; it weighed 12 cwt. 2 qrs. and 10 lbs. when alive (1410 lbs.); when killed and dressed, it weighed 10 cwt. 3 qrs. and 11 lbs. avoirdupois (1215 lbs ) This pig was killed by James Washington, butcher in Congleton, in Cheshire."—Calley, on Live Stock.
In the month of December, 1846, a large hog was slaughtered at Buxton. It was white, and two years and two months old. Its height was 3 feet 9 inches, the carcass when dressed weighed 660 pounds, exclusive of fat to the amount of 98 pounds. It was fattened upon Indian meal, pea-meal, &c. It was of the improved old Cheshire breed.
In taking a survey of our improved breeds, we can do little more than generalize, although a few breeds may require a somewhat particular notice; we mean those to which other strains owe their improvement.
Among the early improvers of swine must be enumerated Mr. Bakewell. Before his time the Leicestershire hogs were of the same coarse ungainly kind which prevailed generally throughout the midland counties. He commenced by a judicious selection of stock destined for breeding, and by persevering in this system greatly modified the characters of the old race; in due time the Bakewell breed extended into other counties, superseding or influencing the ordinary races. This was the case in Yorkshire, the old breed of which county was of large size, gaunt, greedy, and unthrifty, coarse in the quality of the meat, flat-sided and huge-boned. By crossing with the new Leicester stock great improvement was soon effected; the cross-breed lost in size but gained in every good quality; it became deep-sided, short-limbed, small-boned, and fattened readily. The coarse wiry bristles were exchanged for fine thin hair, and the whole aspect of the animal underwent a transformation. The hogs at about two years old averaged from 420 to 840 lbs., younger animals weighing in proportion.
Some of the Yorkshire breeders preferred the pure new Leicesters, and these are still reared by judicious farmers, who esteem them as superior to most others, and certainly more profitable than most of the larger kinds. They fatten kindly, often attaining the weight of upwards of 420 lbs., at the age of sixteen or eighteen months. Other breeds, however, besides the new Leicester, have found advocates in Yorkshire: among these are the Berkshire, crosses between which and the Yorkshire are deservedly esteemed, as are also crosses between the Yorkshire and Lord Western's improved Essex variety. The latter cross is remarkable for smallness of bone, rotundity of figure, and aptitude for fattening. The hogs when fat average 420 lbs. The Chinese and the Neapolitan pigs have been tried by several breeders, and judicious crosses between these and the Yorkshire race are excellent, both as regards good symmetry and fattening qualities. In fact, the large old Yorkshire stock may be regarded as extinct.
The new Leicesters, even in their own county, have undergone modification since the time of Mr. BakewelL Excellent crosses have been made between them and the Berkshire and Essex breeds. The improved Berkshire hog belongs to the tribe of large swine, or, perhaps, rather did. Formerly, hogs of the pure breed were often found to weigh from 800 to 960 lbs.; and it is recorded that one bred at Petworth, in Sussex, measured 7 feet 7 inches from the tip of the snout to the root of the tail, 7 feet 10 inches in girth round the centre, 5 feet round the neck, and 2 feet across the span of the back. Height 3 feet 9 inches. It was remarkable that this huge animal was a moderate consumer of food; his allowance being about two bushels and three pecks of ground oats, peas, and barley, per week.
The present Berkshire breed are moderate-sized beasts, roundly made, short in the limb, and with a short arched neck, with heavy cheeks, sharp ears, an abruptly-rising forehead, short in the snout, well-barrelled, broad-backed, and clean in the limbs; some are sandy-colored or whitish, spotted with black, but most are either white or black, or half white and half black, a coloring indicative of a mixture of the Neapolitan and the Chinese, as well as of the Suffolk strain.
We believe that rather small (not too small) and quickly fattening breeds are, from first to last, the most profitable; indisputably they afford the best meat, in whatever way it is prepared.
The new breeds now to be seen in Berkshire are but thinly clothed, and are said to be somewhat tender, a circumstance in that sunny county of little consequence, for the farmer's straw-yard supplies abundant shelter and comfort.
Around Henley in Oxfordsire, on the banks of the Thames, and about Dorking in Surrey, cross breeds of the Berkshire strain prevail; although in the latter county the improved Essex breed is held in great estimation.
There are few counties in England into which the Berkshire breed of pigs has not penetrated; it is everywhere valued for its excellent qualities, its fair, moderate size, its small bones, its thin skin, its fattening qualities, and excellence of its flesh. First-rate hogs of this breed have been reared in distant counties. Through Middlesex, Hartfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Leicestershire, the Berkshire breed has extended itself, modifying the old races, not without other crossings; indeed, it must be confessed that the modern system of interbreeding renders it difficult to tell the original stock on which the grafts have been made; or rather, what strain shows itself the most prominently.
In Berkshire it is the general custom to singe the hogs after being killed, and not to remove the bristles by means of hot water and scraping; nor do they as a rule smoke the flitches after salting, but merely dry them. The same remark applies more or less to the adjacent counties; for example, the bacon sold in Henley is unsmoked. In fact, the taste for smoked bacon and hams seems to a certain degree to be confined to London, as far as England is concerned. In Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and some of the neighboring counties, smoked bacon is a rarity. However, the porky or the smoky flavor is a matter of taste.
Wiltshire is celebrated, and deservedly, for bacon, as Yorkshire for hams. The old Wiltshire hog was of large size, short-limbed, but heavily-boned, long in the body, but round and high on the croup. The ears, though large, were pointed. These animals were slow feeders, and great consumers of food; nevertheless, when at some cost they were fattened, they produced meat of excellent quality, especially fitted for converting into bacon. They were probably a mere variety of the Berkshire strain, and certainly possessed good qualities; but they are greatly improved, owing to the judicious crossings with the Chinese and Neapolitan stocks; and though, as might be anticipated, they are smaller in stature than formerly, they are finer-boned, more compact in contour, far quicker fatteners, and consequently ready for the butcher earlier. At the same time, the superior quality of the meat has suffered no decline, indeed quite the contrary. Wiltshire bacon commands a high price. The Hampshire are excellent hogs, generally black, and middle-sized, with rather a long snout, but compactly made; are a modification of the old large-sized Hampshire stock, individuals of which in former days were of huge magnitude, and some carried about for show. This colossal breed is now seldom to be seen, but it had its good points: when fattened (and time and much food were required to effect this) it returned by the way of payment a weighty carcase. As in all such cases, however, the question comes in, Was it profitable? Was the repayment for food and time in a just ratio? The answer must be, quick fattening, even with a smaller carcass, a gain of time and of provision being included, is one of the points in which the farmer finds himself the best remunerated. Slow feeders, however weighty their carcass at last, will not be found profitable when all expenses are calculated. The present Hampshire hog is compounded of the old race, and the Essex, the Chinese, and the Neapolitan, with an admixture also of the improved Berkshire.
A semi-wild breed of pigs are peculiar to the New Forest; they are termed Forest pigs, and differ materially from the ordinary stock cultivated by the Hampshire farmers. Though far inferior in size to the true wild hog, these animals exhibit much of the characteristics of that animal, and probably owe their origin to a cross between the wild hogs introduced into the forest by Charles I., and some of the ordinary breeds of his period. These animals are heavy in the fore quarters, but light and meagre behind; the withers are high, the ears short, the mane thick and bristly, the color black or brindled; the disposition is fierce and distrustful, and they display extraordinary activity and acuteness. The troops are headed by leaders, which take alarm at the slightest appearance of danger, and are ready on an emergency to act on the defensive. This Forest breed, however, is now rarely to be seen in its purity—in fact, it is passing away, or perhaps rather merging into a more domestic and mingled stock, thereby losing its pristine characteristics.
Lincolnshire is one of the counties noted for an excellent breed of pigs. The old race were gaunt, slow-feeding, unprofitable animals, with heavy heads and flat sides; but the improved breed of the present day are well-formed, of moderate size, easily fattened, and produce excellent flesh; they are white, with fine skins, and sparingly covered with bristles, which are slender; the ears are erect and pointed, the body long, straight, and round. These pigs, deservedly esteemed, may be fatted to about 630 lbs., and when at the age of a year and a half, many are found to range between 280 and 420 lbs. A cross between the Lincoln and Chinese breed though of diminished size is found to attain more rapidly to maturity than the pure Lincoln, and fattens quickly upon a very moderate allowance of food.
Norfolk produces excellent pigs, somewhat smaller than those of Lincolnshire, but closely agreeing with them in characters; they are well-formed, fatten quickly, and yield fine meat. Besides this breed, a smaller race prevails in many parts of Norfolk, descended, as it would appear, from the Chinese, which it greatly resembles. These pigs are in great estimation; they fatten readily on a small quantity of food, and their flesh is delicate.
Suffolk, now noted for its improved breed, formerly possessed only a coarse, lank, and thriftless stock; but this has given place to a mixed race, admirable for symmetry, and quick and early fattening. The most generally approved breed is a cross between the Suffolk, Berkshire, and Chinese. These animals are rather small, but compact, short-legged, and small-headed; the body is round, and they fatten readily. At the age of a year, or a year and a half, many are found to weigh from 240 to 300 lbs., and produce first-rate bacon. The flesh of the sucking-pigs and of the porkers is esteemed for its peculiar delicacy.
Besides this breed, which stands first, there is an excellent cross between the Suffolk and Lincoln; the pigs attain to a considerable weight, ranging from 420 to 560 lbs. and upwards; they are hardy, and fatten readily. Another breed is between the Berkshire and Suffolk, and this has its admirers; it is easily kept in good condition, fattens quickly, and makes excellent bacon. It is, however, longer in the leg and less compact in symmetry than the tri-cross between the Suffolk, Berkshire, and Chinese. The improved Lincolnshire race is much valued in Suffolk, as is also the improved Essex breed, established by Lord Western, and esteemed throughout the kingdom. It is black, short-nosed, deep-jowled, short and thick in the neck, with small, sharp ears; the limbs are short and fine-boned, the barrel is rounded, the hams very full, the hair is spare and short, the skin fine; some have small wattles or appendages of skin depending from the neck. These animals fatten quickly, grow rapidly, and yield very superior meat; as porkers they are admirable, the meat being peculiarly delicate. The hogs, when fattened, will sometimes weigh 360 to 400 lbs., often 250 to 280.
This black breed is greatly crossed with the Neapolitan, and we believe the Sussex.
A modification of this breed is often seen in Essex; the pigs, like the Sussex, are generally black and white the head and hinder parts being black, and the central portion of the body white. They are admirable in shape, with a deep round carcass, and fine skin, fine in the bone, and full in the hind quarters. The flesh is excellent. The sows produce large litters, but are said not to make the best nurses. We did not, however, hear this complaint from any of the Essex farmers, during our frequent visits to Rochford and the adjacent country. We suspect, however, that the Essex breed is delicate, and requires care, as indeed do all high-bred domestic quadrupeds.
Sussex possesses a breed very much like the last particolored race, of which it appears to be a variety. These pigs are well-made, of middle size, with a thin skin, and scanty bristles; the snout is tapering and fine, the ears upright and pointed, the jowl deep, the body compactly rounded. These pigs arrive early at maturity, and fatten quickly; the bacon hogs averaging a weight of 280 lbs. The flesh is excellent. Their bone, perhaps, is larger than in the Essex breed, but then the improved stocks of this latter race are remarkable for smallness of bone, and we doubt whether they are more bony than the improved stocks of the old Berkshire strain. The breed is undoubtedly valuable, and well adapted for crossing with the Essex, Neapolitan, or Chinese.
Sussex once boasted of a gigantic race of pigs, known by the name of the Rudgwick breed, (Rudgwick is a village in that county,) some of which were among the largest swine ever reared in our island. As is the case with all huge breeds, these animals were slow feeders and huge feeders; but yielded an enormous weight of excellent meat. Nevertheless, they became more and more influenced by the intercrossings of new breeds, till at length the old stock has become obsolete, its celebrity depending upon records and notices of the last century.
Bedfordshire has sent some admirable pigs to the great cattle-shows in London. Nevertheless, the animals could not be called truly Bedfordshire as to peculiarity of breed. They were crosses of various kinds, in which, as it appeared to us, the Suffolk strain was prevalent.
Crossings and intercrossings are everywhere taking place, and all the old stocks have become so altered, that the hog race of England is generally assuming an approach to universal uniformity. The modified New Leicesters and Yorkshires, the improved Berkshires, the Essex, and the New Suffolks, with various intermixtures of the Chinese and the Neapolitan races, are everywhere extending themselves. The gaunt, lanky, old breeds, flat in the sides and heavy in the bone, are now rare, and regarded as curiosities.
Among this diversity of intercrossings, certain strains are brought to high perfection by the breeder's skill and patience, and are deemed the highest even of the race to which they may belong. Thus, for example, in Berkshire we have the Coleshill strain, the pure Wadley strain, and the old Crutchfield strain; in Essex we have Lord Western's strain; and the same observations apply to other counties. But too often exorbitant overloading of fat is too much regarded—a point of less consequence than shape, fertility, and aptitude to fatten upon moderate rations; inasmuch as the wealthy have at their command the means of forcing animals unnaturally, and think little of the waste thereby incurred in order to accomplish their object. Pigs are shown not only incapable of standing, but also of seeing, from the enormous volumes of fat with which they are loaded. Such an accumulation of fat is in itself disease. Think what must be the state of the heart, the condition of the circulation, and the character of the muscular fibres. We have heard of mice burrowing in the fat of such animals, without appearing to occasion any pain or inconvenience. In cattle-shows there is, in many respects, sufficient evidence of the general and marked improvement which has taken place in this class of domestic animals; but we form our judgment rather from those which show their points, are really well fed, and not fattened up till they appear like bloated skins of lard—as destitute of definite shape, as of the power of moving about. What a waste of money must the forcing of such a monster occasion! The outlay would have sufficed to bring three pigs into fine and profitable condition. And what is the object? To show in how short a time a pig can be rendered a mass of fat, and upon what sort and quantity of food. The better aim would be, to show how many pigs could be well fattened in a given time upon a stipulated quantity of food—what breeds fattened the most kindly, and would be found the most profitable.
In Shropshire, Gloucestershire, Cheshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, and other counties, the old races of pigs have passed away, and crosses with the Berkshire, and also with the Essex and the Chinese, have taken their place. In short, the change is universal; and even in the southern parts of Scotland, where formerly but few pigs were kept, and those of an inferior sort, excellent breeds prevail, and pigs are largely reared by the farmers.
In the Channel Islands—Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark—the pig is an important animal, pork being the staple animal food of the Islanders during the winter. It is said to be very delicate, even more so than any in England. Almost every cottager keeps a pig, and is enabled to feed it the more easily, as his garden yields an abundant supply of produce.
The Channel Island breed, once gaunt and coarse, and of French extraction, is now greatly improved, and fattens rapidly. The pigs are kept in styes, and fed during the spring and summer months on buttermilk, bran, potatoes, cabbages, and all kinds of vegetables; in the autumn, almost exclusively upon parsnips, Bacon hogs are generally killed at about twenty months old, and average from 300 to 450 lbs. Sometimes, hogs attain to a much larger size; and instances have been known in which they have weighed 640 lbs., exclusive of the offal.
In the Isle of Man, the native breed closely approaches that of the Orkney and Shetland Isles. The animals resemble the wild boar in miniature, and roam about at liberty; yet they fatten readily, and yield excellent meat. Within the last few years, crosses from England have been introduced, and the plan of sty-feeding has been practised; but not with much success.
It is now time that we turn to Ireland, whence so much of the salted pork and bacon sold in England is exported.
The modern Irish pig has, within the last few years, become greatly improved. Formerly, it was a gaunt, flat-sided, large-boned, rough beast, long in the leg, sharp along the spine, long in the snout, and with huge flapping ears. It was a slow feeder, and yielded coarse meat. Latterly, the introduction of some of our best breeds, with which to cross the old Irish swine, has been attended with decided success, although there is still room for further improvement. The sides are sent, roughly salted, to certain houses in London, (and other large towns,) and are there finished off for the market.
Irish bacon is not to be despised, and, as we have said, the breed of pigs is generally much improved. Berkshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire, and even Chinese boars and sows, have been introduced, and by intercrossings, produced a considerable change—a change, however, neither quite so decided nor quite so general as is desirable. Besides, the plan of fattening upon potatoes is not calculated to do justice to the most improved stocks.
The Irish bacon is not of such good quality as that fed in England, as the animal is generally fattened on potatoes only, while the best practice here is, when half fat, to finish off with peas-meal, or barley-meal. The agricultural laborers, in counties where their condition is most comfortable, know that it is most profitable to buy the higher-priced English bacon, which swells in the boiling, and is at once more palatable and substantial than the potato-fed bacon of Ireland. In order to obtain the advantages of the English market, great improvements have taken place in the breed of pigs kept in Ireland.
As the Chinese pig is naturalized in our country, a few remarks upon it may not be out of place.
The Chinese pig is seldom kept in its pure state: its flesh indeed is exquisitely delicate, especially that of the sucking pig: and though it fattens rapidly and at little cost, yet, from the unctuous character of the fat, the sides are not calculated for making prime bacon. Besides, it is tender, susceptible of cold, and difficult to rear, the more so as the sows do not generally make good nurses. At the same time, as a source of improvement among our indigenous breeds, by judicious intercrossings, too much cannot be said in its praise; indeed, it has been one of the most successful means of introducing reform among our old stocks; it has corrected the faults of gauntness, of heavy bones, of slow feeding, of coarse flesh, and of a dense skin. True, it has caused a reduction in size, but not in hardiness, by its intercrossing; yet what advantages have not been gained by that very practice?
Thus far have we endeavored to illustrate the various influential breeds of our own country, including Scotland, Ireland, and the smaller islands. To have rigidly analyzed, or rather attempted an analysis, of the varieties peculiar to each county or district, would have been folly—the thing is impossible. Mixtures and intermixtures are perpetually taking place, and individuals are from time to time establishing their own favorite crosses. In every county is this system of improvement in operation; the whole is fluctuating, yet the broad strong current bears on towards improvement. Nevertheless, in this tideway impulse, the strong hand of a judicious steersman is the more necessary: the mark may be overshot. We mean that deficiency of profitable size, weakness of constitution, and infertility, may, unless judgment in crossing be exercised, detract from the merits of an otherwise most valuable stock.
It would be interesting, could we truly ascertain the amount of property invested in the United Kingdom, not only in the porcine race, but in other descriptions of live stock; all the attempts of the kind are merely approximations, yet they are not therefore valueless—they give, at least, general ideas on the subject, and not unfrequently surprise us.
M'Queen, in his Statistics of the British Empire, has thus stated the enormous value of live stock in the United Kingdom, exclusive of domestic poultry (by-the-bye no trifle.) It appears that there are 2,250,000 horses, of the total value of £67,000,000, [the pound sterling is $4 86,6] of which more than 1,500,000 are used in agriculture, and valued at £45,000,000; the number of horned cattle in the kingdom is about 14,000,000, of the value of £216,000,000; the number of sheep 50,000,000, whose value is estimated at £67,000,000. The extent of the capital invested in swine is still more extraordinary, when we reflect how little it is thought upon or taken into account. The number of pigs of all ages, rearing, and breeding, is calculated to be upwards of 18,000,000, which, taking one third at £2 each, and the remainder at 10s.. each, gives a value of £18,870,000, as the capital invested in pigs alone.
This is of course only an approximation to the truth, for the stock of all our domestic quadrupeds is liable, from various circumstances, both to increase and decrease; nevertheless, the statement, with every deduction, is calculated to excite some degree of surprise.—Martin.