304 Handbook of Nature-Study 



had emptied his rifle into a herd of "javelins," as the wild pigs of Texas 

 are called; the javelins are the peccaries, which are the American repre- 

 sentatives of the wild hog. 



That the hog has become synonymous with filth is the result of the 

 influence of man upon this animal, for of all animals, the pig is naturally 

 the neatest, keeping its bed clean, often in the most discouraging and ill- 

 kept pens. The pig is sparsely clothed with bristles and hairs, which 

 yield it no protection from the attacks of flies and other insects. Thus it 

 is the pig, in order to rid itself of these pests, has learned to wallow in the 

 mud. However, this is in the nature of a mud bath, and is for the pur- 

 pose of keeping the body free from vermin . The wild hogs of India make 

 for themselves grass huts, thatched above and with doors at the sides, 

 which shows that the pig, if allowed to care for itself, understands well 

 the art of nest-building. 



One of the most interesting things about a pig, is its nose; this is a 

 fleshy disc with nostrils in it and is a most sensitive organ of feeling; it 

 can select grain from chaff, and yet is so strong that it can root up the 

 ground in search for food. "Root" is a pig word, and was evidently 

 coined to describe the act of the pig when digging for roots; the pig's nose 

 is almost as remarkable as the elephant's trunk, and the pig's sense of 

 smell is very keen; it will follow a track almost as well as a dog. There 

 are more instances than one of a pig being trained as a pointer for hunting 

 birds, and showing a keener sense of smell, and keener intelligence in 

 this capacity, than do dogs. French pigs are taught to hunt for truffles, 

 which are fungi growing on tree roots, a long way below the surface of the 

 ground; the pig detects their presence through the sense of smell. 



The pig has a full set of teeth, having six incisors, two canines and 

 seven grinding teeth on each jaw; although in some cases there are only 

 four incisors on the upper jaw. A strange thing about a pig's teeth, is the 

 action of the upper canines, or tushes, which curve upward instead of 

 downward; the lower canines grind up against them, and are thus 

 sharpened. The females have no such development of upper tushes as 

 do the males; these tushes, especially the upper ones, are used as weapons; 

 with them, the wild boar slashes out and upward, inflicting terrible 

 wounds, often disabling horses and killing men. Professor H. F. Button 

 describes the fighting of hogs thus: ''To oppose the terrible weapons of 

 his rival, the boar has a shield of skin over his neck and shoulders, which 

 may become two inches thick, and so hard as to defy a knife. When two 

 of these animals fight, each tries to keep the tushes of his opponent against 

 the shield, and to get his own tushes under the belly or flank of the other. 

 Thus, each goes sidewise or in circles, which has given rise to the expres- 

 sion, 'to go sidewise like a hog to war.' 



When, as a small girl, I essayed the difficult task of working button- 

 holes, I was told if I did not set my stitches more closely together, my 

 buttonhole would look like a pig's eye, a remark which made me observant 

 of that organ ever after. But though the pig's eyes are small, they cer- 

 tainly gleam with intelligence, and they take in all that is going on,, 

 which may in any way affect his pigship. 



The pig is the most intelligent of all the farm animals, if it is only given 

 a chance; it has excellent memory and can be taught tricks readily; it is 

 affectionate and will follow its master around like a dog. Anyone who 

 has seen a trained pig at a show picking out cards and counting,, must 



