Part 7 (1/2)
Many persons hold that in the selection of a boar one of the princ.i.p.al points is size. They contend that size, in pigs especially, is imperative if a profitable return is to be made. This view may have arisen to a greater or lesser extent from the want of method and observation which is characteristic of so many stock owners. The one point which to them is of the greatest importance is the selling price of the fat or store animal sold being fully up to the average. Little or no thought is given to the value of the food eaten by each animal. If it had been, very frequently it would have been found that the smaller animal of a lot had actually given the best return for the food it had consumed. It is not the size alone of the animal which determines its value as the producer of meat, but more than anything it is the feeding qualities of the animal fattened. In addition to this there never was a time when the consumer more strongly demanded small joints of meat, and these of the best quality and with as little bone as possible.
Apart from this a very large boar is a mistake as it is invariably awkward when serving--it can be used only for large and strong sows, and its average period of usefulness is decidedly shorter than that of a medium sized and compact boar. A large boar generally possesses an undue proportion of bone, its shoulders are heavy, and its ankles round, and feet large and spreading. Now these are all objections. The bone of a boar should be solid, not porous; the ankles compact and the feet small, and the pasterns short. The head should be wide so that the brain can be well developed, the head inclined to be short rather than long, since an animal with an extremely long head is certain to be deficient in natural flesh.
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, coa.r.s.e ear is generally coa.r.s.e in bone, skin, flesh, and hair.
The neck of the boar should be muscular as indicating const.i.tution 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 coa.r.s.eness. The flank should be thick and well let down, as this indicates const.i.tution 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 coa.r.s.eness of hair are far too frequently a.s.sociated with excessive fat and coa.r.s.eness 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 t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es should be avoided, as such a one is often barren. Again, a boar with one t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e 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 const.i.tution, 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 t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es 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 s.c.r.o.t.u.m or purse, so that the act of castration is only partially performed. A boar pig with only one t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e down is commonly termed a rig. The removal of one of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es 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 quant.i.ty 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 a.s.sert that with this one exception we may fairly antic.i.p.ate 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.
At the present time we are afraid that the tendency is in the opposite direction, and mere size is receiving far too much attention. At some of our agricultural shows the judges select for honour great unwieldly sows which could not possibly perform with any amount of success those maternal duties which a brood sow is supposed to be kept solely to perform. An extremely large sow is very frequently a poor milker, the quant.i.ty of milk she gives is not large, nor does she continue to give even this reduced supply for a period long enough to allow her young to grow strong enough to make a good start in life on their own account.
Another great objection to a sow of extreme size is that her produce almost invariably take after her to such an extent that it is difficult, if not wellnigh impossible, to make them fat until they are from nine to twelve months old, and by that time they are too large and heavy for the general demand which is at the present time, and likely to become still more so in the future, for small joints of meat which carry a large proportion of lean and a limited quant.i.ty of bone. The most successful manufacturer is he who most nearly supplies the consumer with that which he requires or fancies. We are not moved by the contention of breeders of pedigree pigs that the most valuable pig is the one which possesses in the greatest degree those special points which are characteristic of the breed, as, for instance, size in the pigs of the Large White, the Large Black, and the Lincolns.h.i.+re Curly Coated pigs, therefore the biggest pigs should be held in the highest esteem. In our opinion the best, as it is in the long run the most profitable, is the pig which furnishes to the greatest extent exactly the kind of meat in the most general demand.
In addition to these objections to an extremely large and ungainly sow is the fact that such an one is invariably clumsy in the breeding pen, she is almost certain to lay on some of her pigs. It is even alleged that her period of usefulness as a breeder is shorter than that of a sow of ordinary size.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, Sport and General._
TAMWORTH BOAR: BISHOP OF WEBTON. Owner, C. L. c.o.xon. 1st and Champion, Royal Show.
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[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photo, G. H. Parsons, Rostrevor._
GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT SOW. From the herd of Lord Sherbourne.