SWINE IN SCOTLAND 76 



CHAPTER VI. 



SCOTLAND, aboriginal breed of Swine in lii. e *nown until lately Present races EXGI.AXD, 

 original breed Swine in Yorkshire Lincolnshire Leicestershire Bedfordshire Essex 

 Suffolk Norfolk Shropshire Cheshire Gloucestershire Herefordshire Wiltshire 

 Berkshire Hampshire and Sussex The Chinese breed Swine in Ireland. 



SCOTLAND. 



THERE can be little doubt but that the aboriginal breed of High- 

 land swine are, like those found in the Hebrides, descended from 

 the wild boar, for until within the last half-century, they retained 

 much of the form, and many of the habits and characteristics, of 

 the wild breed. They also "are small, shaggy, bristled, and wild ; 

 wandering about the hills, grazing and seeking out roots and other 

 favorite food, and requiring no care or sustenance at the hand of 

 man, yet keeping in condition, and making excellent pork or bacon. 

 The latter end of the autumn is the best time to kill them, as they 

 are then in good flesh. 



Those which have been brought into the low country and arti 

 ficially fed, have fattened to a considerable size, and yielded fine- 

 grained, firm, and well-flavored meat. 



Formerly immense herds of these small swine were reared in the 

 Highlands of Scotland, and brought down to the Lowland markets 

 for sale ; the practice of keeping these animals gradually declined 

 some fifty or sixty years ago, but has latterly been revived since 

 the cultivation of the potato has become more extensive. There 

 cannot, however, be a doubt that a great number of this breed of 

 pigs might be advantageously fattened upon every Highland farm 

 where the land and crop is inclosed, both on account of the little 

 artificial food they require, and the roots and various substances 

 they will consume which no other kind of stock would touch. 



But although the practice of keeping swine in the Highlands and 

 north of Scotland is of very ancient date, there are no records which 

 speak of their existence in the more southern parts of Caledonia ; 

 indeed, if we may give credence to several anecdotes related by Mr. 

 Henderson, they were absolutely unknown animals in several parts. 

 Treatise on Breeding Swine. 



It would seem that, some hundred and twenty years since, a person 

 residing in the parish of Ruthwell, in Dumfriesshire, received a present 

 of a young pig, which is said to be the first which had ever appeared 

 in that part of the country. This pig strayed from his new home 

 one day into the adjoining parish of Carlavroc, and wandering along 

 the seaside came upon a woman who was keeping cattle. She 

 screamed at the sight of the " strange beast," and ran off to her 

 village, and the pig after her. There she declared she had seen *' the 



