Small White pig

Small White
Traits
A Small White, late 19th century
Conservation status	Extinct
Other names	Small Yorkshire
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Pig Sus scrofa domesticus

The Small White or Small Yorkshire was a breed of domestic pig originating in the United Kingdom and which was common during the nineteenth century. It is now extinct, but its characteristics were used in producing the Middle White and other breeds.

History and characteristics

The Small White was developed in the early nineteenth century by cross-breeding the traditional Old Yorkshire, a large white pig, with imported Chinese pigs.^[1] This created a small animal with a pure white ground colour, pricked ears, the short, wide head of the Chinese breeds and their characteristic short upturned snout.^[2] In common with the Chinese breeds, it reached maturity early and rapidly put on fat. The Small White was further refined and "improved" during the period by agriculturalists such as Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 2nd Earl of Ducie amongst others.

The Small White was always intended as a show pig rather than as a porker or bacon pig.^[3] It was particularly popular with aristocratic and "hobby" breeders, as opposed to farmers or smallholders.

Creation of the Middle White

Further information: Middle White

The Small White proved a popular cross with both the Cumberland pig (now extinct) and the Large White, another Yorkshire breed. This was to lead to the creation of a new type after an incident at the 1852 Keighley Agricultural Show, when pigs belonging to Joseph Tuley, a weaver, were refused entry to the Large White class as they were considered too small; they had been bred by crossing Large White sows with Small White boars.^[1] Tuley's pigs were, however, considered good enough that a new breed was created, the Middle White, which went on to be one of the most popular breeds of pig during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: it retains the distinctive pricked ears and short snout of the Small White.

Extinction

The popularity of the Middle White led to the decline of the Small White breed, and by the turn of the century it was nearly extinct; it finally became extinct in 1912.^[1] The breed likely survived in the United States where it was generally called the "Small Yorkshire"—for a few more years.

References

1 2 3 The Middle White, British Pig Association, accessed 23 February 2010
↑ Spencer, S. Pigs: Breeds and Management, Vinton, 1897, p.24
↑ Middle Whites, Eaves & Lewin, accessed 23 February 2010

Livestock breeds of the British Isles

Cattle

Beef cattle	Angus Belted Galloway Devon Dexter English Longhorn Hereford Highland Luing Shorthorn South Devon Sussex Welsh Black

Dairy cattle	Ayrshire Guernsey Jersey Milking Shorthorn

Dual purpose	British White Gloucester Pembroke Red Poll

Primitive	Chillingham wild cattle Vaynol White Park cattle

Sheep

Extant	Beulah Speckled Face Bluefaced Leicester Border Leicester British Milk Cheviot Clun Forest Cotswold Dalesbred Derbyshire Gritstone Devon Closewool Devon Longwoolled Dorset Down English Leicester Exmoor Horn Galway Greyface Dartmoor Hampshire Herdwick Hill Radnor Kerry Hill Lincoln Llanwenog Lleyn Lonk Norfolk Horn Oxford Down Portland Romney Rough Fell Ryeland Scottish Blackface Shetland Shropshire Southdown sheep Suffolk Swaledale Teeswater Welsh Mountain Wensleydale Whitefaced Woodland Wiltshire Horn

Primitive	Boreray Castlemilk Moorit Hebridean Jacob Manx Loaghtan North Ronaldsay Soay

Extinct	Scottish Dunface

Pigs

Extant	Berkshire British Landrace British Lop British Saddleback Essex Gloucestershire Old Spots Hampshire Large Black Large White Middle White Oxford Sandy and Black Tamworth Welsh Wessex Saddleback

Extinct	Cumberland Grice Lincolnshire Curly-coated Small Black Small White Yorkshire Blue and White

Goats

Anglo-Nubian Bilberry British Alpine Golden Guernsey Irish

Poultry

Chickens	Burford Brown Cornish Derbyshire Redcap Dorking Ixworth Marsh Daisy Modern Game Modern Langshan Norfolk Grey Old English Game Old English Pheasant Fowl Orpington Rosecomb Scots Dumpy Scots Grey Sebright Sussex

Ducks	Abacot Ranger Aylesbury Orpington Khaki Campbell Magpie Shetland Welsh harlequin

Geese	Brecon Buff Shetland

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