THE PIGGERY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1290, 19 November 1896, Page 6

THE PIGGERY.

BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF PIGS.

** The fecundity of the pig is one of its most remarkable characteristics. Their natural life—if permitted—extends to fifteen or twenty years, and they are capable of reproduction at nine months. The production of fifteen or twenty in a litter is not infrequent, and instances have been known of thirty-seven. The celebrated naturalist Vauban has made a calculation of the probable production of an ordinary sow during the space of ten years He has not included the male animals in his estimate. The result shows that the product of a single sow in eleven years, which is equivalent to ten generations, will be 6,434,838, or, allowing for accident and disease, in round numbers, six millions of pigs,” bo quotes a writer in Farm and Home.

DENTITION OF THE PIG.

When full grown, say at least two years of age, the pig has forty-four teeth, divided as follows: Twelve incisor teeth, six upper, six lower; four canine or tusks, two upper, two lower; four pre-molars or wolf-teeth, two upper, two lower ; twenty-four molars, twelve upper and twelve lower. The following summary will enable one to determine the age of swine : The animal is born with eight teeth four corner incisors and four tusks. At about a fortnight old appears the second or third temporary molar. At about four weeks old the four nippers, the central incisors appear —two in the upper, and two in the low T er jaw. At the fifth or sixth week the foremost temporary molars appear in the upper and lower jaw. At the age of three months the intermediary incisors have appeared above thegums. At the sixth month the so called wolf teeth will have appeared, and at the same age appear the third permanent molars. At the twelfth month the permanent nippers will be in view. With the twelfth and thirteenth months the three temporary molars will have been shed, and their permanent substitutes, which at fifteen months of age will have fully appeared, are now just cutting through the gums. With the eighteenth month the permanent intermediary incisors and the hindermost permanent molar will have made their appearance, and with the twenty-first month they will be fully developed. It is not my intention to particularise the various breeds of pigs, a great number of which are now extinct. I will confine myself to a few of the more modern breeds, both black and white. The Berkshires. —This very excellent breed has been bred in Berkshire and in adjacent counties from a very early day. Their origin is thus reported : The family of hogs in Berkshire, which was the foundation of the present improved breed, was of a sandy or buff colour, about equally spotted with black, was of a large size, a slow feeder, and did not fully mature till 24 or 3 years old. But such as it was, however, it was always highly esteemed for the proportion of lean to fat in the meat, and for the superior weight of the hams and shoulders. The improvement is reported to have commenced during the last cehtary, through the importation of a Siamese boar, which was mated with thb Berkshire sows. This breed (the Siamese) were generally of a black colour ; of medium size, quick to mature, very fine on all points, with short, small legs and head, thin jowls, a dish face; slender ; erect ears ; broad, deep, compact body; well ribbed up, extra heavy ham 3 anti shoulders, a slender tail, thin skin, and firm, elastic flesh. After using the Siamese boar to the old style of sows as long as it was considered necessary, he was discarded, and the cross pigs then bred together. The following may be accepted as a standard of the marks and characteristics of the improved Berkshire. Colour black, white on feet, tip of and occasional splashes of white behind the shoulder. While a small spot of white on other portions of the body does not condemn the animal as being impure, yet it is to be discouraged, as uniformity of colour is highly desirable. Markings of white other than that above mentioned are suspicious, and a pig so marked should be rejected for studbreeding purposes. The face should be short, fine and well dished, broad between the eyes; ears almost always small, thin, soft, and showing veins ; jowl full ; neck short and thick; shoulders short from neck ; back broad and straight, or very little arched ; ribs long and well sprung, giving rotundity of

body; hips good length from joint of hips to rump; hams thick, round and deep, holding their thickness well back and down to the hocks ; tail fine and small; legs set wide apart ; size medium : length meciuni (extremes are to be avoided); bone fine and compact ; offal very light; hair fine and soft; skin pliable. A well-bred Berkshire will attain a weight of 450 to 500 pounds at eighteen months old if well fed.

The Suffolk, Essex, or small black pig is of medium size, and is largely used for crossing with coarser animals with a view ot improving their fattening qualities. The best specimens are entirely black in colour, face short and dished, ears small and soft, standing fairly erect; carcase long, straight, and deep; hams heavy and well let down : bone fine ; hair generally rather thin ; fattening qualities very superior. Although the Suffolk is dark skinned, like most other black pigs, when dressed the skin is beautifully white and clean. He is quiet and contented and is said not to be so susceptible to disease as the common pigs of the district. The Suffolk has been much improved by the introduction and use of the Neopolitan boar. Lord Western, an Essex landowner, while travelling in Italy, secured a male and female of this breed, which he used with good results upon the Essex breed of pigs of his day.