DOMESTIC HOG. 127 



graded creature that constantly falls under oar view. It 

 is much smaller than the tame hog, but at the same time 

 stronger and more undaunted. In its own defence it will 

 turn on men or dogs ; and scarcely shuns any creature of 

 the forests, in the haunts where it ranges. Its colour is 

 always an iron-grey, inclining to black ; its snout is longer 

 than that of the common breed, and its ears are compara- 

 tively short. Its tusks are very formidable, and all its 

 habits are fierce and savage. 



Hunting the wild boar is a favourite diversion in Ger- 

 many, Poland, and other European countries, and its 

 flesh is much esteemed when properly cured. It is a 

 native of most* parts of the world; but the breed has 

 long been extinct in England, though under William the 

 Conqueror the killing of one was punished with loss of 

 the offender's eyes. 



THE DOMESTIC HOG. 



It would be superfluous to give a long description of an 

 animal so well known. In a domestic state, the hog is 

 apparently the most impure and filthy of all quadrupeds ; 

 yet it is not without its taste, and in some respects makes 

 a selection of its food with much nicety. It devours, in- 

 deed, the most nauseous offals ; but this is only when it 

 cannot find aliment more congenial to its palate. 



The hog is one of the most prolific animals in the world, 

 and is most universally disseminated. Varieties of it are 

 found in every climate, excepting within the frigid zone ; 

 and different as their appearance may be (from the nature 

 of their food, and other local causes), all the breeds inter- 

 mix, and will thrive in any temperate latitude. In civilised 

 countries, it is one of the greatest comforts to the poor ; 

 and, among the savage islanders of the South Sea whom 

 our navigators have discovered or visited, it is almost the 

 only animal on which they feed. Its flesh, says Linnaeus, 

 is wholesome for persons of athletic constitutions, and for 

 such as habituate themselves to much exercise ; but it is 



G 4? 



