SWINE RAISING. The Texas census of 1848 recorded 223,358 pounds
of pork produced at a value of $315,855, although swine
production in the state had begun prior to that year. In 1866
Galveston exported 97,230 pounds of bacon valued at fourteen
cents a pound. The raising of hogs was popular among early Texas
settlers, particularly German farmers. In the era of the open
range, hogs were managed like cattle, running semiwild and
foraging the countryside for a great deal of their food.
Counties noted for their swine in the 1860s included Hill,
Kendall, and Gillespie. The Swine Breeders' Association of Texas
was organized in 1899. Marketing problems and insufficient corn
crops presented difficulties to swine producers at the start of
the twentieth century. The 1908 census credited Texas with
3,304,000 hogs valued at $18,502,00. The meat-packing plants in
the state had to import hogs in 1910, though Texas ranked fourth
in the nation in swine production. In 1913 there were an
estimated 2,493,000 hogs valued at $20,94