Poland China

The Spotted China is a breed of domestic pig, first bred in the Ohio, United States, in 1816, deriving from many breeds including the Berkshire and Hampshire.[1] It is the oldest American breed of swine. Poland China hogs are typically black, sometimes with white patches, and are known for their large size. Big Bill, the largest hog ever recorded at 2,552 lb (1,157 kg), was a Poland China. Poland Chinas rank highest in U.S. pork production in pounds of hog per sow per year.

Poland China
Poland China boars in Florida circa 1917
Country of originUSA
Traits
  • Pig
  • Sus scrofa domesticus

The Poland China hog was first bred on the Hankinson Farm in Blue Ball, Warren County, Ohio.[2] A monument to this accomplishment still stands near the place where the hog was originally bred. The monument was moved slightly when the farm was sold for development of the Towne Mall, Middletown, Ohio in the early 1970s, and now stands across the street from the mall property on Cincinnati Dayton Road.

Photo of bronze plaque, attached to the granite monument. The patina is uneven.

Competing claims are made that the first Poland China breeder was David M. Magie, who lived at the Austin-Magie Farm near Oxford, Ohio.[3]

In the 1920s and 1930s, agricultural reformers introduced the Poland China pig into China, with mixed success. The pigs were not adapted to the climate, and Chinese farmers were more interested in a pig's ability to produce fertilizer than its meat capacity.[4]

References
  1. Although origin of the term Poland China is a bit murky, it unquestionably arose from the initial American farmers' perception of interbreeding Polish pigs with Big China pigs. See "What is the origin of the name Spotted China". Askives. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  2. "The Library Lens". middletownlibrary.contentdm.oclc.org. Archived from the original on 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  3. Curry, Larry. "The Felix Fryman Farm House", Ohio Historical Society, 1978-07-03, 3. Accessed 2012-12-31.
  4. Sigrid Schmalzer, "Breeding a Better China: Pigs, Practices, and Place in a Chinese County, 1929-1937," The Geographical Review 92.1 (January 2002): 1-22.

Media related to Poland China pig at Wikimedia Commons

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