98 FAUNA OF SHROPSHIRE. 



size with each successive season. The flesh is dark and 

 rather dry. Colour, reddish- brown in summer, and 

 yellowish-grey in winter, with white throat and a large 

 white patch on the rump ; the doe is lighter than the 

 buck, and the fawns are spotted with white along the 

 flanks. The male stands a little over 2 feet high at the 

 shoulders, but the female is smaller. 



WILD BOAR. This is the progenitor of our domestic 

 Sits scrofa. swine, and is indigenous to Britain, as 



well as throughout most of Europe and 

 Asia. It is not known when it was first tamed, but the 

 hunting of the Wild Boar has been a favourite sport from 

 time immemorial, and is still popular in the countries 

 w here it continues to reside. The animal is chased by a 

 powerful breed of dogs known as Boar-hounds, and by 

 men on foot and on horse-back, armed with long spears. 

 When brought to bay, the Boar is a dangerous adversary, 

 for he will suddenly face round, bristling with rage, and 

 charge furiously amongst his enemies, striking rapidly 

 right and left, and inflicting terrible wounds with his 

 long sharp tusks. He is generally at last overcome by 

 numbers, and despatched with spears. The Boar's 

 Head, spiced, cooked, and gaily decorated, used to be 

 the central dish in olden times on festal occasions, 

 especially at Christmas, and there is a well-known carol 

 that used to be sung when it was carried in 

 " Caput apri defero 



Dignum laude viro," etc. 



We have abundant evidence of the former existence of 

 the Wild Boar in Shropshire. The tusks are very hard 

 and durable, and numbers of them some very large have 

 been found in excavations at Uriconium, Shrewsbury, 



