THE HOG. 57 



peach-trees in North America, where it is enabled to 

 enjoy such profusion of delicious food, it will even 

 refuse those which have fallen a few hours, and merely 

 eat such as it observes come to the ground. The crea- 

 ture, however, is by rfature stupid and inactive, and 

 its life is doubtless spent between eating and sleep ; 

 and whenever it shows any marks of sensibility, it is 

 when the cries of its species give symptoms of distress, 

 or the whistling wind is the herald of an approaching 

 storm. The coarseness of the hair, and the stubborn 

 texture of the hide, united to the thick coat of fat im- 

 mediately under the skin, seem to render it insensible 

 to the hardest blows ; and it is said that mice have 

 even formed a burrow in its back, without appearing 

 to give it the slightest pain. The ample supply of food 

 derived from this animal it is almost superfluous even 

 to name ; yet, from the ease with which the flesh be- 

 comes impregnated with salt, it is peculiarly calculated 

 to support our fleet. 



As the hog is a native of almost every country, there 

 is not much variety to be found in ihe breed ; but, 

 about Upsal, it is single-hoofed, like the horse ; and, 

 in Guinea, the colour of the hair is red, 



THE PECCARY, OR TAJACCA. 



This animal is a native of South America; and 

 though at first view it seems to resemble the hog, yet, 

 upon minute examination, there is a wide difference 

 between them. The body is not so bulky, the legs are 

 jiot so long, and the bristles on the back are so much 

 stronger than those of the hog, that they have rather 

 the appearance of porcupine's quills than hair : it has 

 no tail, but a small fleshy protuberance arises in the 

 J}ead ; upon the back there is an orifice, from which 



