TREATMENT WHILE SUCKLING. 167 



then mashed in milk or whey, with or without the addition cf a little 

 bran or oatmeal. 



Towards the period when the pigs are to be weaned the sow must 

 be less plentifully fed, otherwise the secretion of milk will be as 

 great as ever ; and it will accumulate, and there will be hardness, and 

 perhaps inflammation of the teats. Should it appear requisite, a 

 dose of physic may be given to assist in carrying off the milk ; but 

 in general a little judicious management in the feeding and weaning 

 will be all that is requisite. 



Martin says : " From some ill-understood cause, several domestic 

 animals, as the rabbit, and sometimes the cat, seem to forget all in- 

 stinctive ties, and turning upon their offspring, ravenously and unna- 

 turally devour them. This is not unfrequently the case with the 

 sow ; and it is remarkable, that when this revolting act has been 

 once committed, its re-occurrence may be expected. This disposi- 

 tion is not always or necessarily connected with general ferocity, 

 nor even with the fierce anxiety which the sow, with other ani- 

 mals, displays in the protection of her young ; it may be that the 

 animal is ordinarily mild and gentle, and yet at this juncture becomes 

 madly ferocious. We are not aware whether or not such tragic 

 scenes take place among animals in a state of natural independence ; 

 most probably they never do, or but very rarely. Yet in early 

 ages the sow was evidently subject to this morbid propensity ; for 

 among the regulations respecting swine, laid down by Hoel Dha, 

 one of the good qualities of a sow expressly noticed is, that she 

 do not devour her young ones. The less the sow, after bringing 

 forth her young, is meddled with, the more comfortable her bed- 

 ding, the more regularly and gently she has been previously man- 

 aged and treated, the less likely is she to violate one of the great 

 laws of nature. 



" The wild boar, as we have said, is a dangerous animal ; and so 

 indeed, to a certain extent, is the domestic boar of some of the 

 larger breeds. Instances are not unfrequent of boars turning furi- 

 ously upon their keepers, especially if interfered with when in com- 

 pany with the female, or if constrained to quit her society. 



" It is not, however, only at certain times and under certain circum- 

 stances that the boar is dangerous : a boar, especially one of the 

 large old breeds, is by no means a safe animal to venture near at any 

 time, and we have more than once seen sows almost equally savage; 

 this, however, is not generally the case." 



TREATMENT OF THE YOUNG WHILE SUCKING. 



For the first ten days or a fortnight, the mother will generally be 

 able to support her litter without assistance, unless, as has been 

 already observed, she is weakly, or they are too many in number ; 



