3 88 HOOFED ANIMALS 



Probably no animal living is so wholly useful as the 

 domesticated Swine. Pig-skin makes a leather that is 

 impervious to wet, and particularly serviceable for saddles ; 

 the stiff, strong bristles are utilised in the manufacture of 

 brushes ; even the intestines of the animal are used for 

 sausage skins ; in fact, as the Yankees express it, everything 

 in connection with the hog is useful with the exception of 

 its squeal. 



BABYRUSSA (Babyrussa alfurus}. 

 Coloured Plate XXVIII. Fig. 2. 



The Babyrussa, meaning Pig-deer, inhabits the damp and 

 swampy forests of the islands of Celebes and Boru in the 

 Malayan Archipelago. There is no mistaking the animal 

 for anything but a member of the Pig family ; and a glance 

 at the illustration shows it to be quite as presentable an 

 animal as many breeds of the domesticated Swine. 



The distinguishing feature of the male Babyrussa is the 

 manner in which the upper canine teeth grow to a length 

 of fourteen or fifteen inches, appearing through the skin of 

 the face about midway between the muzzle and the eye, 

 curving strongly upwards in semicircular fashion, until they 

 almost, or quite, touch the forehead. The lower tusks are 

 not nearly so long or so strongly curved. It is said that the 

 animal sleeps standing and hooks its upper jaws on to a 

 branch in order to support its head. Another assumption 

 is that the curved horns are to protect the animal's eyes as 

 it rushes through thickets ; but the female's horns are not 

 developed to nearly the same extent as in the male. It is 

 far more reasonable to suppose that at one period the horns 

 were of use to their owner, but in succeeding ages have 

 not been employed and have been allowed to assume their 

 present strange form. 



The skin of the animal is dull ashy grey in colour, with 

 but a very sparse covering of bristles. The Babyrussa is 

 almost as swift as any member of the deer tribe, and in 

 disposition is rather fierce. Its habits differ but little from 

 those of Wild Swine generally. It is an excellent swimmer, 



