SWINE, 745 
Ty the Swine, the snout is far less elephantine than in the preceding animals, and 
although capable of considerable mobility, cannot be curled round any object so as to 
raise it from the ground. Nor, indeed, is such a power needed, as the Swine employ the 
snout for the purpose of rooting in the earth, and of distinguishing, by its tactile powers, 
and the delicate sense of smell which is possessed by these animals, those substances 
which are suitable for its food. 
In order to enable this instrument to perform its functions more effectually, it is 
furnished with a small bone, as is the case with the mole. Their form is heavy and 
massive, their neck and fore-quarters are very strong, and their heads are wedge-shaped, 
probably because in a wild state they inhabit dense bushes and thickets, and require this 
form of head and snout to enable them to pierce the tangled vegetation with ease. A 
wild boar will charge fearlessly at an apparently impenetrable thicket, and vanish into its 
interior as if by magic. The tusks, especially in the male, are largely developed, and are 
terrible weapons of offence, a boar being able to rip up a dog or a man’s leg with a single 
blow of his tusks. When striking with these weapons, the boar does not seem to make 
any great exertion of strength, but gives a kind of wriggle with his snout as he passes 
his victim. In India, it is not uncommon for an infuriate wild boar to pursue some 
unfortunate native, to overtake him as he flies, and putting his snout between the poor 
man’s legs, to cut right and left with an almost imperceptible effort, and to pass on his 
course, leaving the wounded man helpless on the ground. ; 
There are many species as well as varieties of Swine, which are found in different 
parts of the earth, the first and most familiar of which is the Domestic Hoa of 
Europe. 
This species is spread over the greater portion of the habitable globe, and was in 
former days common in a wild state eyen in England, from whence it has only been 
expelled within a comparatively late period. The chase of the wild boar was a favourite 
amusement of the upper classes, and the animal was one of those which were protected 
by the terribly severe forest laws which were then in vogue. The boar was usually slain 
with the spear, although the net or the arrow were sometimes employed in his destruction. 
In several continental countries the boar-hunt is still carried on, and by some more 
legitimate sportsmen is attacked solely with the spear. The chase is then a most exciting 
one, for the boar is a terrible antagonist, his charge is made with lightning swiftness, and 
together with his furious eyes and lips dripping with the foam, he is a sufficiently 
formidable foe to disconcert any one who is not possessed of good nerves and a steady 
hand. The animal has an awkward habit of swerving suddenly from his course, snapping 
at the spear-head and breaking it from the shaft. He also, when the hunter is on horse- 
back, will charge at the horse instead of the rider, and rising on his hind legs, in order to 
give the blow greater force, will lay open the horse’s flank and instantly disable it. There 
are, however, but few sportsmen of the present day who will restrict themselves to the 
use of the spear in boar-hunting, but employ the rifle in lieu of that weapon, so that the 
danger and excitement of the sport are almost entirely destroyed. 
At the present time the wild Swine have ceased from out of England, in spite of 
several efforts that have been made to restore the breed by importing specimens from the 
Continent and turning them into the forests. There are, however, traces of the old wild 
boars still to be found in the forest pigs of Hampshire, with their high crests, broad 
shoulders, and thick, bristling manes. These animals are very active, and are much fiercer 
than the ordinary Swine. 
Swine are very accommodating in their appetite, and will devour almost any vegetable 
or animal substance. Although more of a vegetable than an animal feeder, the Hog, 
whether wild or domesticated, will pick up any dead animal it may find, and will some- 
times kill meat for itself. As a specimen of the carnivorous powers of the Swine, 
Buffon mentions that in the stomach of a wild boar opened by himself, he found part of 
the skin of a roebuck, and some feet of birds. Certain pig-keepers take a base advantage 
of the omnivorous qualities of the Hog, and instead of feeding their animals with such 
a vegetable diet as will produce a firm and sound flesh, maintain them on the worst kind 
of garbage, which they obtain at a cheap rate from slaughter-houses, and even force them 
