62 THE HOG. 



from, all human dwellings, where they grow very fat upon the abun- 

 dance of oak and beech mast. In some parts where great numbers 

 of swine are allowed to run almost wild, a triangular yoke is fixed 

 round their necks to prevent them from breaking through fences. 

 Weld's Travels in North America. They are of a reddish-brown 

 color, with round black spots ; there are some quite wild, which any 

 body is at liberty to shoot. These animals are never housed, even 

 in the vicinity of Harmony. In the depth of winter the young ones 

 often perish with cold, or are devoured by the mothers ; and then 

 dead swine will be seen lying about in all directions, some partly 

 devoured by others. The negligence and want of feeling with which 

 these animals are treated is very great, and consequently they can 

 never be expected to prosper, or yield those advantages which might 

 be derived from them under proper treatment. 



OHIO. 



Professor Silliman, in his account of Ohio, says that large num- 

 bers of hogs pass the winter in the woods quite independent of the 

 assistance of man, subsisting on nuts and acorns. Single individuals 

 of these are occasionally destroyed by bears and wolves, but a herd 

 of ten or twenty hogs are more than a match for a wolf or panther. 

 Indeed an old hunter once saw a panther spring from a tree into a 

 drove of wood hogs, and scarcely had he touched the ground than 

 the larger ones fell upon him with their tusks and the weight of their 

 bodies, and killed and tore him in pieces in a few moments. Arcana 

 of Science, 1828. 



MEXICO. 



In Mexico fine breeds of pigs are kept by many persons of wealth 

 as an article of trade as well as of consumption, and the greatest 

 possible care and attention are paid to the cleanliness and comfort of 

 these animals ; nay, more, the Mexican pigs may be said to possess 

 the luxuries of life, for two Indian lads are kept to sing the grunting 

 herd to sleep. These boys are chosen for the strength of their lungs 

 and their taste and judgment in delightir.g the ears and lulling the 

 senses of the porcine harmonists, and they take it by turns to chant 

 throughout the whole day ; nor does their performance appear to be 

 unappreciated by their strange audience, but rather to afford exceed- 

 ing delight and gratification. 



HEBRIDES. 



The New Hebrides, the Marquesas, the Friendly and Society 

 Islanls, and New Guinea, abound with a breed of swine closeh 

 resembling the Chinese, and these being almosfc the only domestic 



