igiy. ScHARFF. — On the Irish Pig. lyy 



and wild pig and the place-names relating to this animal 

 are numerous. The word " mucklagh " means a locality 

 where the wild pigs feed. At Killarney we have " Tore " 

 and " Muckross." Then there are " Inishturk," " Kanturk," 

 and many other names connected with pig and boar. 



Now a number of most interesting questions arise from 

 these considerations. We ma\^ ask, did the wild pig 

 originate in Ireland or did it migrate to this country from 

 the continent by way of Great Britain ? If neither of these 

 suppositions were correct we should have to assume that the 

 domesticated pigs were originally brought to Ireland and 

 that some of these had, in course of time, reverted to their 

 wild ancestral form and habits. The problem is thus much 

 more complex than at first sight appears. It is a well 

 known fact that domesticated pigs very readily revert to 

 the character of their ancestral wild stock. The young are 

 then said to re-acquire the longitudinal stripes which had 

 been lost in a state of domestication, and the boars 

 re-assume their long tusks. Such cases are known from 

 New Granada, Jamaica, Peru, and other places. 



If the Irish wild pig had originated in such a manner 

 it would seem that the fossil records should indicate the 

 gradual process of reversion from a domesticated to a 

 wild stock. The oldest Irish skulls and bones should all 

 belong to domesticated pigs, while some of the less ancient 

 ones ought to show traces of reversion to the wild type. 

 We can generally distinguish complete skeletons or even 

 skulls of wild pigs from domesticated ones. The task 

 before us should therefore not be too difficult. And yet 

 it is, because we never find complete skeletons preserved 

 in ancient deposits and even imperfect skulls are of extreme 

 rarit}^ Let us take for example the ancient deposits 

 which have been brought to light from Irish caves. Pig 

 remains were found in the Kesh caves. County Sligo, the 

 caves of County Clare, and of those of Ballinamintra in 

 County Waterford. In few cases could the presence of the 

 wild pig be ascertained with certainty owing to the extremely 

 fragmentary condition of the bones and teeth. The pigs 

 had evidently formed the food of the people who used the 



