Shire Album S.
2 primary works
Book 3
Not so long ago, there were local British pigs of every size, colour and shape. Over the centuries different localities had developed their own tastes in what their pigs should look like - often coloured pigs in the Midlands, black nes in the southern counties and white ones in the north - and every county had its own 'breed'. But as urban populations exploded and needed to be fed from the countryside, pig breeders became selective and scientific, concentrating on productivity. Today most of those colourful old local breeds have disappeared; now only three or four highly commercial breeds and a handful of rare breeds remain of that once splendid diversity.
Book 3
Since the eighteenth century British cattle breeds have spread worldwide and have made the names of several counties famous in distant lands. Yet some of those breeds have become extinct and many others have become so rare in their own country that they are in danger of disappearing. In the hope of awakening enthusiasm for the diversity that still makes British cattle so interesting, this book describes all the existing breeds and many of those that have already gone. Diversity is crucial; cattle provide meat, milk leather, muscle power and a wide range of by-products, and each breed was developed to meet specific demands.