610 INTELLIGENCE OF THE HOG. 



were taught in their law to hold the animal in the same light in which it had been regarded by 

 those to whom they had been accustomed to look with reverence. By some persons it is 

 thought that the flesh of the Hog is harmful to those who reside in hot countries ; but even 

 granting this to be the case a matter which is by no means certain it affords no clue to the 

 cause why the Hog should have been held as a vile and unclean beast by the polished and 

 learned Egyptians, who depicted so accurately the various animals found in their country, and 

 employed them so largely in their symbolical literature. 



In its wild and domesticated state, the Hog is a most prolific animal, producing from eight 

 to twelve pigs twice in each year, when it is in full vigor and in good health. Gilbert White 

 records a sow which, when she died, was the parent of no less than three hundred pigs. 



We are rather apt to speak libellously of the Hog, and to ascribe to it qualities which are 

 of our own creation. Although it is a large feeder, it really is not more gluttonous than the 

 cow, the dog, or the sheep, for each of these animals will eat to repletion if furnished with a 

 large amoxint of food, and will become inordinately fat in consequence of such high feeding. 

 In its wild state it is never found overloaded with fat, and, as has already been seen, is so 

 active an animal that it can surpass a horse in speed, and is so little burdened with flesh that 

 it can endure throughout a lengthened chase. Neither is it naturally a dirty creature, for in 

 its native woods it is as clean as any other wild animal. But when it is confined in a narrow 

 stye, without any possibility of leaving its curtailed premises, it has no choice, but is perforce 

 obliged to live in a constant state of filth. 



The Hog is also thought, and very wrongly, to be an especially stupid animal. It appears 

 stupid for the same reason that it appears to be gluttonous and dirty, merely because no atten- 

 tion has been paid towards developing its intellectual qualities, which have been left to exer- 

 cise themselves in the narrow confines of the stye and on the daily supply of food. 



When, however, its owner chooses to look iipon the Hog as a living being, and not merely 

 as a piece of animated pork or bacon, he finds that it is by no means the stupid animal that 

 it has been supposed to be. "Learned" pigs are familiar to us all, and though the animal 

 does not display any very great amount of literature, it exhibits a capacity of observation and 

 obedience which would hardly have been expected from so maligned an animal. 



The senses of the Hog are wonderfully acute, and are capable of being turned to good 

 purport. So delicate is its sense of smell, that it has been trained to act as a pointer, and in 

 this capacity acted its part so thoroughly, that it would often find birds which the dogs had 

 missed. "Slut," as this animal was called, was very fond of the sport, and would frequently 

 walk a distance of seven miles in hopes of finding some one who was going out with a gun. 

 She would point at every kind of game with the curious exception of the hare, which she 

 never seemed to notice. Although she would willingly back the dogs, they were very jealous 

 of her presence, and refused to do their duty when she happened to be the discoverer of any 

 game, so that she was seldom taken out together with dogs, but was employed as a solitary 

 pointer. So sensitive was her nose, that she would frequently point a bird at a distance of 

 forty yards, and if it rose and flew away, she would walk to the place from which it had taken 

 wing, and put her nose on the very spot where it had been sitting. If, however, the bird only 

 ran on, she would slowly follow it up by the scent, and when it came to a stop, she would 

 again halt and point towards it. She was employed in the capacity of pointer for several 

 years, but was at last killed because she had become a dangerous neighbor to the sheep. 



The Hog has also been trained to draw a carriage, a team of four Hogs having been driven 

 by a farmer into the market-place of St. Alban's. After driving once or twice round the 

 market-place, he unharnessed his team, fed -them, and in two hours put them again to his 

 chaise, and drove them back to his house, a distance of two or three miles. Absurd as the 

 idea may seem, the Hog has been trained for the saddle as well as for harness. Another 

 farmer laid a heavy wager that he would in one hour ride his boar pig a distance of four 

 miles and a quarter. He won his wager easily, accomplishing the distance in less than the 

 given time. The Hog seems to be a good leaper, for a livery-stable keeper, who petted a 

 favorite pig, engaged that he could make his pig leap over a door four feet and a half in height. 

 In order to induce the animal to make the effort, he placed the door across the entrance to the 



