158 THE REASON WHY 



11 And up and downe as he that forest sought, 

 He met, he saw, a bore, with luskes great 

 That slept agenst the bright sunne s heat.&quot; CHAUCER. 



doubtful application, the tusks, which rise out of the mouth, 

 and curl upwards before the eyes in a very singular manner, 

 afford protection to the organs of vision, while the hog rushes 

 through thick brushwood. These tusks are also used in extremity 

 as weapons of defence. 



470. All weapons of attack which animals use when danger is apprehended, con 

 tribute directly to the killing or capture of that upon which they feed. But the 

 tusks of the hog species do not in any way assist them in the procuring of their 

 food. They never use them but for the purpose of defence, and though we are apt 

 to suppose that they make wanton and vicious attacks, we should, were we able to 

 analyse all the cases, invariably find that the apprehension of danger, of some 

 description or other, is the cause. If the defence of the animal is personal only, it 

 seldom, if ever, shows fight, unless directly assailed ; but almost all animals have 

 occasionally, at least, other defences besides that of their own persons. The temale, 

 the young, and even their pasture, are at times objects to be fought for ; and 

 those animals which are not carnivorous are generally more forward and more 

 valiant in those cases than when the object is simply their own safety. Hogs, 

 probably, have more powerful instruments of defence than most other vegetable 

 feeders. Their young are numerous, and quite defenceless, and their flesh at all 

 ages is, in a state of nature, sweeter, perhaps, than that of any other race of 

 animals.* 



471. Why do pigs run about with straws in their mouths when 

 a high wind is approaching ? 



Because they dread the discomfort which the blast will occasion 

 them, and are induced to take up the straws with an undefined 

 purpose of collecting a sufficient store to protect them from the 

 inclement storm. This object, however, they seldom or ever 

 accomplish. Instinct impels the animals to take up the straws, 

 but intelligence is wanting to direct them where to deposit 

 their store. The wild hog probably makes a bed for its shelter, 

 upon the approach of a storm ; and we see the same instinct 

 lingering in the domesticated animal. 



472. Why is it commonly said that when two hogs are feedity 



Jier, one of them is ll sure to have his foot in the trough?&quot; 

 Because when the hog meets with anything that requires cutting 



Partington s M Cyclopedia.** 



