The Ideal Pig

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17947, 26 November 1932, Page 14

The Ideal Pig

TN view of the controversy in the Gisborne district in regard to the typo of pig required for bacon or for pork, the following from the London Times in regard to bacon pigs will be of interest.

The Pig Industry Council and the bacon curers themselves have told farmers that they regard the Large White of the right type, and its crosses, as ideal for tho production of first quality bacon.

If our bacon industry is afforded the 'promised opportunity of expansion it is evident that the Large White breed will come still more to the fore. It is then important that breeders of Large White pigs should develop the type of the breed best suited to present-day requirements. In the current issue of the N.P.B.A. Gazette, which is published by the National Pig Breeders’ Association, it is pointed out that in the early days of registration the Large White was a good deal thicker and not' as long as fashion dictated in later years. Then came the day of the long pig with fine shoulders and a long nose. With the evolution of the famous Bourne King David and Bourne Bonetta by Mr. Edmund Wherry, fashion changed again in favor of the neater and more compact pig which would mature earlier.

Now there is danger, in the opinion of some, of the pendulum swinging too far in this direction. A deep, square pig may be, and often is, thick over the neck, which is a most undesirable point in tho side of bacon. Market requirements indicate that a short, fat, thick Large White is not sis good a proposition as a well-propor-tioned, lengthy, fine-shouldered pig with a profitable loin and the minimum of waste round tho neck and jowl. Tho ideal bacon pig with length and fine shoulders can indeed stand higher eff tho ground than some of the winners seen at the summer shows this year.