OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



it submits with every indication of satisfaction to be- 

 ing washed and brushed by its keeper. So fond is 

 it of cleanliness that it alone of all the domestic ani- 

 mals hesitates to soil its bed with its excrement. 

 Why then does the word pig suggest the idea of 

 dirtiness? Here we are to blame, more often than 

 not. Let the pig be given clean water for its bath, 

 and it will turn its back on the foul mud that it con- 

 tents itself with for want of something better ; let its 

 premises be kept clean, and the poor animal will be 

 highly delighted, much preferring a sanitary straw 

 bed to a filthy hole. By these attentions to cleanli- 

 ness the animal will be the gainer, and we shall profit 

 likewise. 



"In lifetime the pig is of no use to us, unless it 

 be in hunting for truffles, an exercise in which it ex- 

 cels by reason of the extraordinary development of 

 its nose and the keenness of its scent. Yet even for 

 this service the dog is preferred, as being better 

 fitted for exploring uneven ground, more active, and 

 more intelligent. It is after its death that the pig 

 pays us for the care bestowed upon it. Let us be 

 present at this event, a festive occasion for the fam- 



iiy. 



" Fattened for a long time on potatoes, excellent 

 for making flesh, and on acorns, which give firmness 

 and savor to the meat, the porker can hardly stand 

 on its short legs. It sleeps and digests in a reclin- 

 ing posture, lying lazily on its side. From its neck 

 hang three and four great cushions of fat; under 

 its belly are seen ponderous masses of lard; the 



