The Hog (Youatt)/Chapter 5
CHAPTER V.
AMERICA.
Throughout the whole of this quarter of the globe swine appear to abound. They are not, however, indigenous, but were doubtless originally carried thither by the early English settlers, and the breed thus introduced still may be distinguished by the traces they retain of their parent stock; but France, Spain, and, during the slave-trade, Africa, have also combined to supply America with varieties of this animal, so useful to the settler in the wilds and woods, and so much esteemed throughout the whole of the country, as furnishing a valuable article of food.
"It appears that the American zoologists describe no fewer than six species of the hog, some of them so entirely distinct in their general habits and appearance as to prevent their ever breeding or even associating together. Five of these species need only be regarded as objects of curiosity; the sixth is the common wild hog of the eastern continent, which we will describe, in order to illustrate the difference between a good and a bad animal of the same variety; they have long-peaked snouts, coarse heads, thin chests, narrow shoulders, sharp backs, slab sides, meagre, diminutive hams, big legs, clumped feet, the hide of a rhinoceros, the hair and bristles of a porcupine, and as thick and shaggy as a bear's; they have no capacity for digesting and concocting their food in the stomach for nourishment; there is nothing but offal, bones, rind, bristles, and hair, with a narrow streak of gristle underneath, and a still narrower line of lean, as tough and as rank as white leather—their snouts against every man, and every man's hand against them. No reasonable fence can stop them, but, ever restive and uneasy, they rove about seeking for plunder; swilling, grunting, rooting, pawing, always in mischief and always destroying. The more a man possesses of such stock the worse he is off; and he had far better sell his produce at any price, than to put it into such totally worthless creatures."—A. B. Allen.
Stuart says "Hogs are universal in this part of the world, and are well and frequently fed. At first they are kept in the woods, and nurtured on chestnuts and apples; before being killed, they have good rations of Indian corn or barley-meal, and in many cases are likewise well supplied with steamed food. In South Carolina the climate is so mild that they are allowed to wander about the woods during the whole year, feeding on the nuts, acorns, &c., which are there so abundant, and occasionally eating the fallen fruit they meet with. They are very useful in destroying snakes."—Stuart's North America.
In large towns, too, they are apparently as much at home and as common as in the forests, pacing the streets, instead of the glades, and feeding upon the offal and filth rejected by man, instead of the fresh and wholesome fruits supplied by the hand of nature. One of our countrymen gives an amusing graphic account of the swinish multitude, in some of the large towns through which he passed. "We are going to cross here. Take care of the pigs. Two portly sows are trotting up behind this carriage, and a select party of half-a-dozen gentlemen hogs have just now turned the corner. Here is a solitary swine, lounging homewards by himself; he has only one ear, having parted with the other to vagrant dogs in the course of his city rambles; but he gets on very well without it, and leads a roving, gentlemanly, vagabond kind of a life, somewhat answering to that of our clubmen at home. He leaves his lodgings every morning at a certain hour, throws himself upon the town, gets through his day in some manner quite satisfactory to himself, and regularly appears at the door of his own house again at night, like the mysterious master of Gil Blas; he is a free-and-easy, careless, indifferent kind of pig, having a very large acquaintance among other pigs of the same character, whom he rather knows by sight than conversation, as he seldom troubles himself to stop and exchange civilities, but goes grunting down the kennel, turning up the news and small-talk of the city, in the shape of cabbage-stalks and offal, and bearing no tails but his own, which is a very short one, for his old enemies the dogs have been at that too, and have left him hardly enough to swear by; he is in every respect a republican pig, going wherever he pleases, and mingling with the best society, on an equal, if not superior footing, for every one makes way when he appears, and the haughtiest give him the wall if he prefer it; he is a great philosopher, and seldom moved unless by the dogs before-mentioned; sometimes, indeed, you may see him small eye twinkling on a slaughtered friend, whose carcass garnishes a butcher's door-post, but he grunts out "Such is life; all flesh is pork!" buries his nose in the mire again, and waddles down the gutter, comforting himself with the reflection that there is one snout the less to anticipate stray cabbage-stalks, at any rate.
"They are the city scavengers, these pigs, ugly brutes they are; having for the most part scanty brown backs, like the lids of old horse-hair trunks, spotted with unwholesome black blotches; they have long, gaunt legs too, and such peaked snouts that if one of them could be persuaded, to sit for his profile, nobody would recognize it for a pig's likeness; they are never attended upon, or fed, or driven, or caught, but are thrown upon their own resources in early life, and become preternaturally knowing in consequence; every pig knows where he lives much better than any body could tell him. At this hour, just as evening is closing in, you will see them roaming towards bed by scores, eating their way to the last. Occasionally some youth among them who has overeaten himself, or has been worried by dogs, trots shrinkingly homeward, like a prodigal son; but this is a rare case; perfect self-possession and self-reliance, and immovable composure, being their foremost attributes. (Dickens' American Notes.)
And Mrs. Trollope piteously exclaims "I am sure I should have liked Cincinnati much better if the people had not dealt so very largely in hogs! The immense quantity of business done in this line would hardly be believed by those who had not witnessed it. I never saw a newspaper without remarking such advertisements as the following: "Wanted immediately, 4000 fat hogs;" "For sale, 2000 barrels of prime pork." But the annoyance came nearer than this. If I determined upon a walk up Main Street, the chances were five hundred to one against my reaching the shady side without brushing by a snout or two, fresh dripping from the kennel. When we had screwed up our courage to the enterprise of mounting a certain noble-looking sugar-loaf hill, that promised pure air and a fine view, we found the brook we had to cross at its foot, red with the blood from a pig slaughter-house; while our noses, instead of meeting "the thyme that loves the green hill's breast," were greeted by odors that I will not describe, and which I heartily hope my readers cannot imagine; our feet, that on leaving the city had expected to press the flowery sod, literally got entangled in pigs' tails and jaw-bones; and thus the prettiest walk in the neighborhood was interdicted for ever."
The common breed may for the most part be described as large, rough, long-nosed, big-boned, thin-backed, slab-sided, long-legged, ravenous, ugly animals. But latterly great improvements have been made in it by judicious crossing with the Chinese and Berkshire pigs, by crossing these two breeds with each other, and by careful breeding from these two stocks without intermixture.
Mr. Bement of Albany, who has devoted great attention to the rearing and breeding of swine, speaks in the highest terms of praise of the cross between the pure Chinese breed and the original breed of the country, or, "land-shads" as he termed them. He says that the Chinese breed was first introduced about twenty years ago, but that from their size, seldom attaining more than 250 lbs., and from their delicacy, they were not adapted for "a farmer's hog." But with the just-mentioned cross they become all that could be wished. He thus describes the "improved China hogs:" "In color they are various white, black and white, spotted, and gray and white; they are longer in the body than the pure Chinese breed; small in the head and legs; broad in the back; round in the body; the hams well let down; skin thin; and flesh delicate and finely flavored. They are easy keepers, small consumers, quiet in disposition, not given to roam or commit depredations; and when in condition may be maintained so upon grass only."—The Cultivator, vol. ii.
The best Berkshire breeds, as imported into America, vary somewhat in size and appearance; that from which most of the present stock have been raised was taken to America in 1832. This breed has spread rapidly over the country, and fetches a high price from its peculiar aptitude to fatten. Its prevailing characteristics are a fine head, a dished face, rather upright ears, close shoulders and hams, and a short body; animals of this kind mature very rapidly, and produce most delicate meat.
There are now various improved breeds, known for the most part under the names of the improvers, or of the localities in which they are found, arising from crosses of the original American hog with the above-mentioned breeds, or others which may have been imported from England and other countries. The establishment of agricultural societies and cattle-shows, has contributed in the New as well as in the Old World to direct the attention of farmers and breeders to all kinds of domesticated animals, and the advantages which have been obtained in swine alone are sufficiently great to prove incentives to increased care and study on the all-important principles of breeding.
Head, in his journey from Halifax to Upper Canada, again and again alludes to the fine pigs he saw, and the delicious pork with which he was regaled by the settlers he met with in various parts, He says that bears are very fond of pork, for they often get into the farm-yards and carry off a squeaking, struggling victim to regale themselves upon
INDIANA.
In Indiana the breed of swine furnishes the principal supply for food and exportation; great quantities of pork being sent to New Orleans. Great numbers of swine roam in the woods of Indiana, far from, all human dwellings, where they grow very fat upon the abundance of oak and beech mast. In some parts where great numbers of swine are allowed to run almost wild, a triangular yoke is fixed round their necks to prevent them from breaking through fences.—Weld's Travels in North America. They are of a reddish-brown color, with round black spots; there are some quite wild, which any body is at liberty to shoot. These animals are never housed, even in the vicinity of Harmony. In the depth of winter the young ones often perish with cold, or are devoured by the mothers; and then dead swine will be seen lying about in all directions, some partly devoured by others. The negligence and want of feeling with which these animals are treated is very great, and consequently they can never be expected to prosper, or yield those advantages which might be derived from them under proper treatment.
OHIO.
Professor Silliman, in his account of Ohio, says that large numbers of hogs pass the winter in the woods quite independent of the assistance of man, subsisting on nuts and acorns. Single individuals of these are occasionally destroyed by bears and wolves, but a herd of ten or twenty hogs are more than a match for a wolf or panther. Indeed an old hunter once saw a panther spring from a tree into a drove of wood hogs, and scarcely had he touched the ground than the larger ones fell upon him with their tusks and the weight of their bodies, and killed and tore him in pieces in a few moments. Arcana of Science, 1828.
MEXICO.
In Mexico fine breeds of pigs are kept by many persons of wealth as an article of trade as well as of consumption, and the greatest possible care and attention are paid to the cleanliness and comfort of these animals; nay, more, the Mexican pigs may be said to possess the luxuries of life, for two Indian lads are kept to sing the grunting herd to sleep. These boys are chosen for the strength of their lungs and their taste and judgment in delighting the ears and lulling the senses of the porcine harmonists, and they take it by turns to chant throughout the whole day; nor does their performance appear to be unappreciated by their strange audience, but rather to afford exceeding delight and gratification.
HEBRIDES.
The New Hebrides, the Marquesas, the Friendly and Society Islands, and New Guinea, abound with a breed of swine closely resembling the Chinese, and these being almost the only domestic animals which the natives of these islands possess, they accordingly receive great care and attention. This race is small, the belly hanging, the legs short, the tail almost imperceptible, and the color gray. Its flesh is very white and delicate.
COLUMBIA.
In the woods of Columbia there are numbers of swine, but for the most part wild; and the flesh of these wild ones is far superior to that of the few that are domesticated, as that of the latter, from the animals being often fed on stale fish and all kinds of abominations, acquires a rancid and unpleasant flavor. Some of the settlers chiefly live by the sale of the flesh of wild swine, which they obtain by hunting, and then cure or dry it.
Experienced hunters will kill their fourteen or fifteen swine a-day, and a well-trained dog will often destroy two or three of these animals a-day by himself The mode of proceeding is for the dog to keep the hog at bay while the hunter creeps up, and watching his opportunity, throws his lance with such vigor as to pin the animal to the ground. This done, he rushes upon him, seizes the lance firmly with one hand, and with the other dispatches the game with his knife.
In Paraguay and Brazil, swine are likewise abundant, and for the most part wild.
The Falkland Islands were stocked with swine by the French and Spaniards, but little, if any, trace of the original breeds can now be discovered in the fierce, bristly, tusked animals now found there, some of the older ones of which rival the grisly boar in appearance and wildness.
SOUTH-SEA ISLANDS.
The South-Sea Islands, on their discovery by Europeans, were found to be well stocked with a small, black, short-legged hog; the traditionary belief of the natives was, that these animals were as anciently descended as themselves. The hog, in fact, is in these islands the principal quadruped, and is of all others the most carefully cultivated. The bread-fruit tree, either in the form of a sour paste or in its natural condition, constitutes its favorite food, and its additional choice of yams, eddoes, and other nutritive vegetables, renders its flesh most juicy and delicious; its fat, though rich, being at the same time (so says Foster) not less delicate and agreeable than the finest butter. Before our missionary labors had proved so successful in these once benighted regions, by substituting the mild spirit of Christianity for the sanguinary forms of a delusive and degrading worship, the Otaheitans and other South-Sea Islanders were in the habit of presenting roasted pigs at the morais, as the most savory and acceptable offering to their deities which they could bestow.
ASIA.
Throughout the greater part of Asia, swine are to be found. The extensive and magnificent forests which cover much of the Birmese Empire, Siam, Cochin China, and other kingdoms of the south-east, abound with hogs, as well as other pachydermatous animals.
Here are found the celebrated Siamese or Chinese breed, so much esteemed throughout all parts of the world to which they have been exported: distinguished for their small size, fine head and snout, compact deep carcass, large hams and shoulders, short limbs, delicate feet, fine hair and skin, aptitude to fatten and grow, and the sweet, delicate meat they yield.
CHINA AND JAPAN.
The Chinese and Japanese are great pig-breeders, and make the art of crossing, breeding, and rearing swine, which furnishes them with their principal animal food, an object of peculiar attention and study. Merchants who have resided for some time in China, and even travellers who have merely been able to bestow a superficial glance on matters, speak of the great care bestowed on this point; but no author appears to have given any details as to the course of practice adopted. Perhaps from the naturally jealous and uncommunicative disposition of the Chinese, they have been unable to acquire any; and, perhaps, few have thought it worth while to trouble themselves about so degraded an animal as the hog. However this may be, it is much to be regretted that the information is so very scanty, for many valuable hints might probably have been thus obtained.
Tradescent Lay, the naturalist in Beechy's expedition, in his interesting work on China, thus amusingly speaks of the natives and their swine:—"There is a striking analogy between these two. A Chinese admires a round face and the smooth curvatures of a tun-belly, and where opportunity serves, cultivates these additions to personal beauty in himself. The Chinese pig is fashioned on the same model. At an early period the back becomes convex, the belly protuberant, and the visage shows a remarkable disposition to rotundity. Nor is the resemblance merely personal; in the moral character there is an amusing similitude, contrariety and obstinacy being the prevailing characteristics of both men and brutes."
The same author informs us that swine arc rarely driven or made to walk in China, but convoyed from place, to place in a species of cradle suspended upon a pole, carried by two men. But he says, "the difficulty is to get the animal into this conveyance, and this is accomplished by the cradle being placed in front of the pig, and the owner then vigorously pulling at 'porky's tail,' and in the spirit of opposition the animal darts into the place they have prepared for him. At the journey's end, the bearers dislodge him by spitting in his face."
Mr. Lay states that "pork is very plentiful in China, but never agreeable to the European eye, from its shining, flabby appearance; it does not taste either like our pork, and is only tolerable when cut into thin slices and fried in soy to correct the grossness of its natural juices. The natives cut it in long slices or rashers, and dry it in the sun, and thus prepared it is not unpleasant in flavor, although it is then by no means easy to distinguish it from dogs' or cats' flesh similarly prepared."
CEYLON.
In speaking of Ceylon, and its neighborhood, an intelligent traveller says: "The swine here are a long-legged, ugly breed, allowed to run wild and pick up whatever food they can get. I never saw, at any native cottage or farm, a pig penned up or put to fatten, and yet the natives are very fond of hog's flesh, and never hold any feast or festival without this meat constituting the chief and most approved dishes."
HINDOSTAN.
The existence of a breed of swine in Hindostan and the Birmese empire is mentioned by several travellers, but scarcely one gives any account of them. It would seem, however, that they are identical with the Siamese breed. Hogs are also enumerated as among the wild beasts of Central India. Some of the Hindoo tribes use hog's blood for all the purposes to which other nations apply holy water; but pork is not eaten, excepting by Europeans and the lowest caste of Hindoos. In the Eastern Archipelago and the Moluccas, a breed of wild swine exists bearing great resemblance to the Chinese, but rather longer in the legs and lighter in the body, and affording delicious meat.
TURKEY AND ARABIA.
In Turkey, Syria, Persia, Arabia, and the north-eastern parts of Asia, comparatively few pigs are found, and these are of an iron-gray, black, and occasionally brown hue; short-legged, small, round in the body, very apt to fatten, and attaining the weight of from 350 to 400 lbs. And there are two ways of accounting for this, viz.; the prevalence of the Mohammedan religion, and the sandy, open nature of the country; for it is chiefly in well-wooded if not cultivated districts that we find swine, their nature and habits alike unfitting them for dry sandy deserts.
AFRICA.
In this quarter of the globe again, we meet with but few swine, until we approach the south-eastern parts, and for the same reasons which we have just given. In Abyssinia they are to be found, but they are not held in much estimation. They have been imported into New Holland, Caffraria, and the Cape of Good Hope, but are not kept to any extent, on account of the difficulty of feeding them. In most of these places pork is chiefly used as food for the lower classes, and but little care or attention is bestowed upon the animals; and the breeds greatly resemble the Chinese variety, but are somewhat less, being short-legged, round-bodied animals, of a black or dark brown color, the bristles few and almost as fine as hairs, and the tail terminated by a tuft.
The Coast of Guinea used to possess a breed of swine which have been exported thence as an article of commerce, especially to the new settlements in America and to some parts of the East Indies, and were held in high estimation at that time. But the cessation of the intercourse induced by the slave-trade, and the discovery of more valuable breeds, have rendered these almost forgotten. These animals were large in size, square in form, of a reddish color, the body covered with short, bristly hair, and smoother and more shiny than almost any other variety of the porcine race; the tail very long, and the ears long, narrow, and terminating in a point. This variety is also found in Brazil.
EUROPE.
We now find swine almost universal, and every where, more or less, an object of special care and attention, both as furnishing a valuable kind of animal food, and an article of commerce.
MALTA.
Coming up the Mediterranean Sea we find the small black Maltese breed, the bodies of which are almost bare and smooth, and which fatten so aptly and afford such delicate pork. Spain then offers its breeds, none of which are, however, held in great estimation out of their native country. The chief of these is a short-headed, long, yet round-bodied, dumpty-legged variety, of a reddish-brown or copper color; the skin fine and the bristles slender; it is small in size, very prolific, and may easily be fattened to an enormous weight. This breed is also found in Portugal and some parts of the south of Italy; it closely resembles the Siamese pigs, and has doubtless originally sprung from them. The far-famed Bologna sausages are made from the flesh of this animal.
ITALY.
Italy too is in some degree celebrated for its pigs, the best breeds of which, like the Maltese, are small, black, destitute of bristles, and delicate in flesh. The Neapolitan breed has been extensively exported, for the purpose of crossing with other kinds, and has found considerable favor in many parts of England. In themselves these pigs are not sufficiently hardy for general use, but, crossed with rougher breeds, they yield a valuable progeny, fine in form, delicate in flesh, and easy to fatten. There is a much larger race of swine bred in the Duchy of Parma, and generally considered to be the finest breed in Italy, in every point of view.
In Palermo, Bosco, the environs of Rome, and the neighborhood of Bologna, Count Chateauvieux tells us pigs are kept. Those at Bosco, on the Apennines, he describes as a good breed, which the farmers fatten on chestnuts and milk, housing them in the winter and suffering them to run over the mountains during the summer. At the farm of Campo Morto he found a herd of 2000, of the domestic breed, and black. They run all the year on the immense tract of land which extends towards the sea, are fattened on nuts and acorns, and yield excellent meat. They are not indigenous, but have been brought thither to stock the woods, and they are regarded by the proprietor of that farm as the most valuable part of his stock, for their keep costs him little or nothing, and they yield a very good profit.
The pigs he found on the marshy plains of Polesimo, between Bologna and Ferrara, he describes as large, lean, thin-flanked, and long-limbed animals. (Chateauvieux's Letters from Italy.)
GERMANY.
Pursuing our way to Germany we meet with totally different animals, submitted for the most part to an entirely different management. The common breeds of the country are every where described as huge, gaunt, long-legged, lean-bodied, greyhound-like animals, with exceedingly long snouts and coarse bristles, forming almost as much of a mane on the neck and shoulders as those of the wild boar.
In Prussia and many parts of Poland a rather smaller but scarcely less uncouth race are met with, of a yellow or reddish-brown color.
Thäer informs us, that "the chief breeds of pigs known in the north of Germany and crossed in various different ways, are, the Moldavian, Wallachian, and Bothnian, remarkable for their enormous size, iron-gray color, and large lapping ears; and the Polish, or, properly speaking, the Podolian, which are also very large, but are of a yellow color, and have a broad brown stripe along the spine." These two breeds, he says, furnish the large pigs for fattening, but they require a proportionably large quantity of food, and besides are not very productive, the sows seldom bringing forth more than four or five at the most at a birth.
The Bavarian pigs, he states, are much esteemed for their smallness of bone and aptitude to fatten; but the flesh is not liked, it being too flabby and soft. This breed is usually marked with reddish-brown spots. The Westphalian is another breed very generally met with; these animals are large in size and very prolific, bringing forth ten or twelve at a litter.
The next variety mentioned he designates "the English pig," and describes it as being large, full, and deep in the body, and requiring very substantial food. A cross between this breed and the Westphalian is stated to produce an excellent animal. To these he adds the Chinese breed, the Spanish or African black pig, which he estimates very highly from its aptitude to fatten on indifferent or scanty food, its rapid growth, delicate flesh, excellent hams, and the advantages derived from crossing the larger breeds with it; and lastly, the German pig, properly so called. But it appears that this can scarcely be regarded as a distinct breed, but rather as the result of numerous and various crosses, for he says: "This breed is different in its characteristics in different provinces; the color is white, black, gray, or spotted. It is of a middling size and can be supported on a moderate quantity of nourishment. There is no doubt but that by more attention being bestowed upon the breeding, rearing, and feeding of this race, they might be materially improved, but most of the persons who undertake the management of pigs on an extensive scale, seem rather anxious to try the effect of different and new crosses than to improve the old breed." {{dhr}
HUNGARY.
In Hungary, Croatia, and Servia a race of swine resembling that found in Turkey are met with; small, of a dark gray color, and short-legged, yet not apparently deriving their origin from the Chinese. The flesh of the swine reared in Servia is said to be more delicate than will be met with any where throughout the whole of Europe.
In Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the northern parts of Europe, the swine yet retain all the characteristics of their ancestor the wild boar. They are mostly of a red, or dirty brown, or yellow color; long in the body, light and active in make, having long legs, a broad flat head, erect ears, and a nervous, slightly up-turned snout. They are wild in their habits, fierce, not apt, fatteners, or producing delicate meat.
In Holland and Belgium we find numerous varieties and crosses, but the original breeds have large bodies and long lopping ears; the sows are prolific, and if properly attended to, the animals fatten very kindly. There is a variety often met with,—and much esteemed for its productive powers, its disposition to fatten, and the delicacy of its flesh,—which most probably derives its origin from a cross between a native pig and one of the Siamese breed. This animal is of a medium size, rather short on the legs, with a full round body, straight back, broad flanks, and small head. The bristles are white and thinly scattered over the back, but growing rather closer upon the neck and towards the head.
FRANCE.
The original breeds of France are mostly coarse ungainly animals, for the most part white, excepting towards the south, and there we find the native breeds very much to resemble those of Italy. "In the time of Buffon, the greater proportion of the hogs in the north of France were white, as were likewise those of Vivarais; while in Dauphiny, which is not far distant, they were all black. Those of Languedoc and Provence were also of the latter color. Black pigs still prevail both in Italy and Spain. According to the great French naturalist, one of the most evident marks of degeneration (an ill-applied term) is furnished by the ears, which become more supple and pendent as the animal changes into the domestic state. He regards the wild boar as the model of the species erroneously, for it can only be looked upon as formed on the model best adapted to the haunts and habits of a wild animal, the welfare of which requires either the instinct of a cunning concealment or the possession of strength or swiftness. Now concealment in a pigsty is of little avail when the day of terror comes, and the obesity of a well-fed porker is, and must ever continue, entirely inconsistent either with speed of foot or vigor of limb; therefore the proper attributes of the animal in its unreclaimed and domesticated conditions being incompatible with each other, those of the former ought not in any way to be set up or assumed as a model by which the latter should be altered or improved."—Quarterly journal of Agriculture, vol. iii. Of late years French agriculturists have seen the advantages small breeds possess over large ones, and endeavored by judicious crosses to reduce the size of their pigs, and at the same time give to the breeds all the value arising from early maturity, a kindly disposition, and productiveness. M. Magne says, "Our breeds of pigs are in general very defective; they are long-limbed, thin-necked, narrow-chested, and have high curved backs; they are hardy, but far from precocious, fatten with difficulty, and consume an immense quantity of food compared with the flesh they yield."
We are partly indebted to Mr. Wilson's valuable "Essay on Domestic Animals" for the following account of the present chief breeds of swine in France. The most distinguishable of the present races of France are the following:—
"1. The race of the Pays d'Auge, (by some authors called the Normandy breed,) which has the head small and sharp-pointed; the ears narrow and pointed; the body lengthened; the legs broad and strong; the hair coarse, spare, and of a white color; and the bones small. It attains to the weight of 600 lbs." M. Bella considers that this breed are great eaters, but do not fatten kindly.
2. The race of Poitu, of which the head is long and thick, the point projecting; the ears large and pendulous; the body lengthened; the bristles white and coarse; the feet broad and strong; and the bones large. Its weight does not exceed 500 lbs.
3. The race of Périgord, of which the neck is thick and short, the oody broad and compact, and the hair black, short, and rough. This race, when crossed with the Poitou pigs, produces very good animals; and it is probable that the pied swine, so common in the south of France, are descended from this cross.
4. The race of Boulogne. Of considerable dimensions, and well inclined to fatten quickly; ears very broad; general color white. This breed has sprung from a cross between the large English breed and one of the common races of France.
Of other continental races we shall mention the Jutland swine. Of these the ears are large and pendent, the body elongated, the back somewhat curved, the legs long. The size of this breed is considerable, as from 200 Ibs. to 300 lbs. (French livres) of lard are got from them in their second year. They form an important branch of commerce.
The race known abroad under the name of Cochon de Siam is the representative of our Chinese breed. Its ears are short, straight, and flexible; its body is covered with soft and somewhat silky hair, which is stiff and thick on the head and back of the neck, and frizzly on the cheeks and under jaw; on the other parts it is thin, and for the most part hard and black. The skin is also black, except on the belly; the eyes are surrounded by a slight tinge of flame-color; their tails measure nine inches in length; their bodies three feet three inches; their height at the shoulder is one foot eight inches (French.) This breed appears to have spread extensively over most of the southern shores of the old continent.
To these he adds the Turkish hog, the New Guinea hog, De Witt's hog, and the smooth or short-legged swine, the two latter of which evidently derive their origin from a cross with the Siamese and some other breed, and all of which fatten easily and to a great weight, and are good breeders.
The swine in Normandy are, even to the present day, of the large, gaunt, grizzly race, common in some of the south-eastern counties of England and Germany. Mr. Wilson informs us that in the time of Buffon, by far the greater proportion of the swine in the north of France were perfectly white, as were also those of Vivarais; while in Dauphiny, which is not far distant, they were all black. Those of Languedoc and Provence were likewise black. This is a curious fact, and seems to prove, beyond a doubt, that the parent stock of these two opposite colors was totally different, and also that there was little intermixture or crossing among the breeds of these places, but that the races were preserved pure and distinct. He also mentions that latterly a new variety of the porcine race has been introduced under the name of "Le Pore de Nobles" which appears to have been derived from the improved English breed, which originated from a cross between an Anglo-Chinese sow, and an emancipated wild boar. This answers very well, and is much esteemed on account of the delicate flavor of its flesh.
In Champagne the breed of pigs are white, long-limbed, flat-sided, hollow in the flanks, and having large ears.
In Quercy the breed is of a moderate size, has a small short head, little ears, and a curved back; most of these pigs are spotted, but there is more of black than white in them.
In the department of Mayenne, and along the Oudon, some very valuable kinds are found, which have been carefully bred, and reared expressly for the purpose of improving the French breeds of pigs. There are two distinct varieties, the one called the "Craon Breed," which has a long body, short legs, and a back so broad that even when the animals are lean the spine does not project. These fatten well and easily, but do not begin to make much flesh until they are eleven or twelve months old, after which they rapidly develop themselves, and attain an immense weight.
The other variety is designated the "Valley Breed"; here, too, the legs are short, the body of a medium length, the back extremely broad, the ears large and falling to the tip of the snout, which is short and wide; the back is covered with bristles, the tail finished with a tuft of the same, and from the under-jaw two hairy appendages similar to those of a goat depend. Pigs of this breed fatten well, and may be killed at any age.
In the province of Bresse, in the neighborhood of Lyons, of the Dombes, and Carolais, and prevalent through the department of Aisne, is a breed called the Bressane race. These animals are of a moderate size, long in the body, round in form, short-legged, with long, pendulous ears, and of a dark or blackish color, with a broad stripe of white encircling the body : their flesh is delicate, and of a fine flavor.
An attempt was made to introduce some of the English breed of swine into France by an agriculturist, and he thus narrates the results:—"I began with the large Shropshire pigs. They pleased my eye, and for some little time I was perfectly satisfied; but presently I began to remark, that, although they devoured an amazing quantity of food, they fattened but very slowly, and seemed to derive no advantage whatever from the herbage and vegetables which they found in the fields.
"When killed, the flesh, and especially the fat, was exceedingly coarse. The sows, nevertheless, yielded many pigs at each farrow, which, from their size when young, sold well to persons who were tolerably rich, and knew little or nothing about the breeding of pigs.
"I next tried the small Berkshire pigs, and immediately perceived a very sensible improvement. They fattened quickly, procured most of their nourishment from the fields, and their flesh was very superior to that of the last-named breed. But as they were large, I thought to effect a still greater improvement by exchanging them for the Chinese; but here I fell into the opposite extreme. The Chinese were prolific, fattened speedily, and almost obtained their own subsistence; but they were faulty in form, their flesh was not firm, but loose in fibre, as if they had died of disease." And, accordingly, the experimenter returned to some of his best native breeds.
In Flanders and the Netherlands the indigenous swine are long-legged, narrow-backed, flat-sided, ugly, gaunt animals, difficult to fatten; but when in good condition making fine-flavored, excellent pork and bacon.
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.
Jersey.—Great attention has here been paid to the breed of pigs, which have improved by crosses and admixture with the best English and French varieties. The pork is excellent; many declare it to be finer and more delicate in flavor than any English pork. It forms one of the chief articles of consumption during the winter months.
Guernsey.—The swine here have latterly been considerably improved by the exertions and encouragements of the Guernsey Agricultural Society. The original breed resembled the native French and Irish pigs, and were large, coarse, ungainly, and unprofitable, evidently descended from the wild long-legged, flat-sided race; but judicious crosses with the Hampshire and Berkshire breeds, have now made it a well-shaped, profitable animal. The Guernsey pigs of the present day fatten readily and cheaply, and often attain to an enormous size. One was killed not long since weighing 640 pounds, offal not included. The pig here forms part of the establishment of every cottager, and is kept a close prisoner in his sty, where he is well supplied with buttermilk, bran, potatoes, cabbages, and all kinds of vegetables during the spring and summer, and fed almost exclusively on parsnips from September. They are generally killed at about twenty months old, and weigh then from 300 to 400 or 450 pounds. Pork forms the staple food of the Guernsey farmers and cottagers. The author has here to acknowledge his obligation to Colonel Lake, of Woodlands, Guernsey, for the information so kindly contributed by him.
Sark.—The swine here are very similar to those of Guernsey; if there is any difference, it is that they are somewhat larger. They are managed in a similar manner, fatten well, and are profitable animals.
Alderney.—Here, too, the original large breed have been improved by judicious crosses. The fat hogs reach an enormous size, sometimes even outweighing a tolerably fed cow; but 500 pounds is no uncommon weight.
The Isle of Man.—Here the original breed of swine are small, wild, apt to fatten, and that without much care or attention, and yielding excellent meat. Crosses have been introduced, which perhaps have better adapted the animals to the system of sty-feeding; but we question whether they can be said to be improved by having been rendered more dependent upon the care of man.
The Hebrides, or Western Isles. The most common breeds of these islands are generally considered to be aboriginal, and lineally descended from the wild boar. These swine are described as being very small, active, and shaggy, of a grayish or dirty yellow color, grazing wild upon the hills like sheep, their sole food herbage and roots, and receiving no other sustenance or shelter all the year round but what is furnished them by nature, yet being in good condition, and affording excellent meat. When artificially fed, and carefully sheltered and tended, they will attain to a very considerable bulk, without any deterioration of the quality and flavor of their flesh.
The Shetland Islands.—The breed of swine here, very much resemble those we have just been describing. They are small, of a dirty white or yellowish brown color, remarkably strong in the snout, with sharp-pointed ears, and arched back, from which rises a forest of stiff brustles. When poor, the flesh of these animals is coarse; but those which are properly fattened yield sweet and delicate meat, and the hams, when cured, are pronounced by connoisseurs to be excellent. The Shetland pigs are generally suffered to roam about and forage for themselves at will, and the mischief they do is by no means inconsiderable; for with their muscular snouts they plough up the soil, and root out potatoes, carrots, and turnips, and even upturn the growing corn; and, far from being a source of profit, are, from the mischief they do, an absolute loss to the country.
Dr. Hibbert, (Account of the Shetland Isles,) describes the original Shetland pig as "a little brindle monster, the very epitome of a wild boar, yet scarcely larger in size than a terrier dog:—
"His bristled back a trench impaled appears,
And stands erected like a field of spears."
According to his account, "this lordling of the seat-holds and arable lands ranges undisturbed over his free demesnes, and, in quest or the earthworms and the roots of plants, furrows up the pastures or corn-fields in deep trenches, destroying in his progress all the plovers', curlews', and other birds' nests he meets with. He bivouacs in some potato-field, which he rarely quits until he has excavated a ditch large enough to bury within it a dozen fellow-commoners of his own weight and size. Nor is the reign of this petty tyrant wholly bloodless; young lambs just dropped often fall victims to his ferocity or thirst for blood."
The Orkneys. To describe the swine found here would be but a repetition of what we have already said. They are small, of roving habits, do much mischief, yield but poor meat unless carefully fattened, and seldom reach a weight of more than sixty or seventy pounds. Low informs us that the pork rarely fetches more than 2d. per pound, and a butcher never thinks of giving more than 4s. or 5s. a-head for the pigs. Ropes are fabricated from the bristles of these animals, by which the natives suspend themselves over the most fearful precipices in search of sea-fowls' eggs; and, short as the hair or bristles are, the ropes manufactured from them are said to answer better for this perilous purpose than hempen ones would, being less liable to be frayed by the sharp and rugged rocks.
It is in these northern islands that several authors have spoken of swine being used as beasts of draught, but it could not have been these aboriginal and diminutive breeds, we should conceive, but some of the large, heavy kinds imported from England or Ireland.