THE PIG. 83 



His skin furnishes an excellent leather. His bristles are 

 unrivalled for the manufacture of brushes. Our ancestors 

 showed their wisdom in the warm appreciation of the pig, 

 and no small proportion of our cousins, the Americans, exist 

 almost entirely upon his flesh. The pig is an admirable 

 emigrant, and appears to be almost indifferent to climate, 

 flourishing wherever it has been introduced from the 

 sunny islands of the South Seas to the rigour of a Canadian 

 winter. So that it can be given sufficient food or obtain it 

 by foraging, he is contented, and applies himself vigorously 

 to the work of putting on flesh and rearing frequent and 

 extensive families. The contempt with which the pig is 

 too generally regarded should be exchanged for a respectful 

 admiration of his numerous and varied excellences. 



