Moving to more modern times, there appear to be conflicting origins on the first pigs to reach America. It is said that in 1493 AD, Queen Isabella of Spain insisted that Christopher Columbus carry 15 hand-picked hogs across the Atlantic to introduce the New World to fresh pork. However, it is also said that Hernando de Soto was the first person to introduce North America to hog, after bringing 15 pigs with him to Florida in 1539. Upon his death in 1542, his estate auctioned off 700 hogs - all of which were descendents from the original 15.

It was George Washington who first established pig breeding hogs, ordering special imported animals for such modern types as Berkshire, Chester White, Hampshire, Poland China, Yorkshire, Landrace, Duroc, and Spot.

Pigs helped play an important role in the origins of Wall Street in New York, when during the 17th Century, a heap of untrimmed trees were hauled from the nearby forest and made into a brushwood barrier that extended along the southern tip of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. This wall, designed to keep livestock in and Indians out, was the first of many walls erected to protect the street. Believed to have been named by the British in 1685, it was not until 1792 and the Buttonwood Agreement that its financial center origins began, when brokers met there to handle the bonds that Alexander Hamilton floated to replace Revolutionary War debt.

As America grew, pork processing was such a major force in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, that it was nicknamed "Porkopolis" in 1863.

While the pig is a fast-growing animal with the potential to reach over a hundredfold increase in body weight before 12 months of age, I believe the information about size and weight may have been a bit off, or at least should be made clear that this big-fat pig is not the same pig as the big-long pig.

Before I explain, let me state that a pig can rapidly increase its weight by consuming large quantities of nutrients during its first 12 months. The rate of development of the major body components changes continually while the pig continues to reach its mature size. The chart below shows this information as it relates to an average pig from birth to 300# body weight.

The weight of a pig at its birth is greatly dependent on the size of the litter it was born into. A May 2001 study which Dr. Gary L. Cromwell conducted on 10,898 pigs of different breeds, in 1,020 litters, showed that the average birth weight of all pigs was 3.11# of live pigs. For each additional pig born in a litter, the average birth weight dropped by .083#. For each additional pig beyond that, average birth weight decreased by .066#. The date also indicated that in litters of 9 or more pigs, stillborn pigs tend to be smaller ones, where as in small litters of 7 or more, stillborn pigs tend to be the larger ones. A sow can give birth to an average 8 to 12 piglets, twice each year, with the average for the study placing at 10.66 total pigs, and 9.95 live pigs. The largest number of piglets ever born in a single litter was 34, which occurred in Denmark in 1961. A number of these pigs were stillborn, though, and the largest record of live piglets goes to a British White Wessex sow in Hertfordshire, who gave birth to a litter of 30 in 1979.

To again address the issue of maximum pig growth size, lets look at the record for Big Bill, a Poland China hog who holds the record for the largest pig ever recorded in history. This 5'9" hog weighed in at 2,552# at the time of his death, when he broke a leg right before he was to be exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and had to be put down.
Big Bill - who was so fat that his belly dragged along the ground - was stuffed and exhibited for some time on Tennessee, before being passed to a traveling carnival, and later disappearing mysteriously.

How does that compare to other farm-raised animals, you ask?
Well, the largest recorded horse was a Percheron breed in 1903 that was 21 hands high, and weighed 3,940#. A Suffolk breed in 1930 was 21 hands high and 2810#, and the Brooklyn Supreme, a Belgian breed that lived in the 1930s, was 19.2 hands high, and weighed 3,200#. The Chianina is the largest cow, or bull for that matter. The average Chianina cow weighs between 1,700 and 2,400#. and stands 5' tall at the shoulder. The average bull weighs 3,000 pounds. The largest Chianina bull on record weighed 4,300 lbs. The largest sheep ever recorded was a Suffolk ram named Stratford Whisper 23H. This sheep weighed 545#. and stood 43" tall at the shoulder.

To close out this subject, let me leave you with this information about pig size and how it relates to food production -
At 16 weeks old, pigs weigh 138 to 173#, which is a good size for pork production
At 22 weeks old, pigs weigh 184 to 219#, which is a good size for bacon production
At 26 weeks old, pigs weigh 207 to 276#, which is best for pork pies and sausages

Finally, on the topic of pig flesh being used for skin grafts, I've learned that the process has been in practice since 1965. This is done by taking a thin dermal layer, with the epidermis removed, which is stored frozen to maintain its adhesive properties. The dermis is meshed to allow drainage to seep through, and applied to a cleaned partial thickness burn, followed by dry gauze. In addition to skin grafts and the other items discussed in class which pigs are responsible for, the pancreas of pigs are used to create insulin to help diabetics, and they also help in making items including suede, furniture, clothing, glue, crayons, tires, wallpaper, tape, videotape, sports equipment, ice cream, chocolate, and candies.