THE TRUE PIGS 1017 



by Professor Riitimeyer, of Basle, as indicating two distinct breeds one nearly 

 allied to the European wild boar, and the other more resembling some of the Asiatic 

 kinds. The late Professor Rolleston failed, however, to detect evidence of Asiatic 

 affinity in any of the prehistoric swine of Europe, and accordingly came to the con- 

 clusion that they were all probably derived from the European wild species, although 

 these might possibly have some crossing with an Asiatic stock. It must be con- 

 fessed that this view is, at first sight, the most probable; and that the original 

 domesticated races of different parts of the world have been derived from the wild 

 species inhabiting the same districts. This is the opinion of Mr. Blanford, who 

 states that the tame pig of India is doubtless derived from the wild 6". cristatus, 

 with which it probably interbreeds. In modern times, however, there has certainly 

 been a great amount of intercrossing between the various breeds of domestic swine; 

 and many of the races now most esteemed in Europe have a large proportion of 

 Asiatic blood in their veins. 



The effects of domestication have been very marked on the swine, although the 

 degree of variation from the wild type depends largely upon the amount of care that 

 has been bestowed upon the breed. We have already mentioned that the European 

 domestic breed differs from all wild species by the concave profile of the face; while 

 as a rule domesticated races have uniformly-colored young. Indeed, whenever the 

 young of the domestic swine are striped, a recent crossing with a wild race may not 

 unreasonably be suspected. When domesticated pigs revert to a wild condition, the 

 striping of the young is, however, frequently resumed. Domestication invariably 

 greatly reduces the size of the tusks of the boars, which in some breeds are very 

 small indeed; and in this respect we have a reversion to extinct species of swine, in 

 the earlier forms of which the tusks were but slightly developed. There are also 

 modifications in the form of the hinder part of the skull, in the number of joints in 

 the backbone, and in the length of the intestines. Equally marked differences 

 obtain in the shape of the ears, which in some of the inferior breeds are large, flap- 

 ping, and pendent, while in the superior breeds they are small and erect. As regards 

 bodily form, we have but to contrast the long-legged, large-headed, and thin-bodied 

 "greyhound pig " of Ireland, with some of the best modern breeds, like the Harri- 

 son swine represented on p. 1016, to see how enormous is the difference in this 

 respect. Darwin remarks, however, that the observations of Professor Nathusius 

 tend to show "that the peculiar form of the skull and body in the most highly- 

 cultivated races is not characteristic of any one race, but is common to all when 

 improved up to the same standard. Thus the large-bodied, long-eared English 

 breed with a convex back, and the small-bodied, short-eared Chinese breed with a 

 concave back, when bred to the same state of perfection, nearly resemble each other 

 in the form of the head and body. This result, it appears, is partly due to similar 

 causes of change acting on the several races, and partly to man breeding the pig for 

 one sole purpose, namely, for the greatest amount of flesh and fat; so that selection 

 has always tended toward one and the same end. With most domestic animals the 

 result of selection has been divergence of character, here it has been convergence. 



Domesticated pigs are now found over the greater part of the habitable world; 

 but while those kept in more northern regions are generally confined more or less 



