THE WILD HOG. 67 



with its snout, and champs in eating, but utters, as far as 

 we could learn, no grunt, as does the hog, nor has it the 

 unpleasant smell of the latter. That the babiroussa might 

 be reclaimed, notwithstanding Lesson's account of its 

 savage disposition in captivity, and added to our domestic 

 animals, is very evident. Its flesh is reported to be held 

 in high estimation. Fig. 29 represents the head of the 

 male babiroussa (a) and of the female (6) by way of con- 

 trast. Fig. 30 is an admirable delineation of the skull 

 of the adult male, in which the form of the tusks, their 

 relative proportions and direction, are faithfully given. 

 Fig. 31, a lateral view of the dentition of the upper and 

 lower jaw. Fig. 32, dentition of the upper jaw, in two 

 views ; Fig. 33, those of the lower jaw. 



The Wild Hog 



(^Sus Aper, Biiss. ; Siis Scrofa, Linn.). 



The wild hog is, as all naturalists admit, the origin of 

 our domestic race, but at what period it was reclaimed is 

 very uncertain. The circumstances indeed connected 

 with the domestication of every animal subject to the 

 bondage of man are enveloped in obscurity. The do- 

 mestication, however, of the wild hog would not involve 

 much difficulty. Young individuals taken in their native 

 forest soon become reconciled to captivity, and display 

 the same contentment and familiarity which are so conspi- 

 cuous in the ordinary tame beast. It is this disposition, 

 a characteristic of the Pachydennata, which renders the 

 elephant, the rhinoceros, the tapir, and others, so easily 

 subjugated; but, on the other hand, the readiness with 

 which they submit to the restraints of captivity is coun- 

 terbalanced by an equal readiness to assume a life of in- 

 dependence. The hog when left to itself resumes its 

 original habits, as is the case in America, where wild 

 herds roam the forest ; and, as we have seen, the elephant 

 often escapes its trammels and joins its wild brethren, 

 immediately submitting, if retaken, to the voice of au- 

 thority which it had previously learned to obey. The 



