the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Encyclopedias
Pig
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or (a word of obscure origin, connected with the Low Ger. and Dut. word of the same meaning, bigge), a common name given to the domesticated swine of agricultural use. (For the zoology, see Swine.) British breeds of pigs are classified as black, white and red. In some places, notably Wales and Gloucester, a remnant of a spotted breed lingers; and a large proportion of common pigs, often parti-coloured, are mongrels. The white breeds are liable to sun-scald, and black pigs (like black men) are much better adapted than white to exposure in strong sunlight, conforming to the rule that animals in the tropics have black skins.
The Large Whites may have in the skin a few blue spots which grow white hair. The head is long, light in the jowl, and wide between the eyes, with long thin ears inclined slightly forward and fringed with long fine hair. The neck is long, but not coarse, the ribs are deep, the loin wide and level, the tail set high, and the legs straight and set well outside the carcase. The whole body, including the back of the neck, is covered with straight silky hair, which denotes quality and lean meat. Pigs of this breed are very prolific, and they may be grown to enormous weights - over 11 cwt. alive.
The Middle Whites are built on a smaller scale than the Large Whites. They are shorter in the heads and legs, and fuller at the jowl, thicker and more compact in the body. The sows are quite as prolific as those of the Large White breed, and, as their produce matures earlier, they are much in demand for breeding porkers.
The Small White pigs are beautifully proportioned. The head and legs are very short, and the body short, thick and wide; the jowl is heavy, the ears pricked, and the thin skin laden with long silky, wavy, but not curly, hair, whilst the tail is very fine. A deficiency of lean meat is a common characteristic of the breed, which is almost extinct.
The above three breeds were designated Yorkshire Whites, and are still so named at times. The Middle White, formed by crossing the large and the small breeds, is not so symmetrical as the parent stocks, and the type is not uniform.
The Lincolnshire Curly Coated or Boston pig is a local breed of great size and capacity for producing pork. It is very hardy and prolific, but somewhat coarse in the bone. It has an abundance of long curly hair, a short face and a straight nose, and the ears, not too long and heavy, fall over the face. It crosses well with the Large White, the Large Black and the Berkshire.
The Large Black breed, which vies with the Large White breed for size, and is probably its superior as a bacon pig, has only since 1900 received national show-yard recognition; but there is ample evidence that, with its characteristic whole black colour with a mealy hue, length, fine hair and lop ear, the Large Black existed in the south of England for generations. It has been continuously and carefully bred in Cornwall, Devon, Essex and Suffolk, and from these centres it has rapidly spread all over the country. Large Blacks are exceedingly docile, and the ears, hanging well forward over the eyes, contribute materially to a quietness of habit which renders them peculiarly adapted to field grazing. On account of their hardiness and disposition to early maturity they have proved valuable for crossing purposes. The Large Black Pig Society was incorporated in 1899.
