OF SELBORNIi, 



LETTER XXXm. 



TO THE SAME. 



The natural term of an hog's life is little 



known, and the reason is plain — because it 



is neither profitable nor convenient to keep 



that turbulent animal to the full extent of 



its time : however, my neighbour, a man 



of substance, who had no occasion to study 



every little advantage to a nicety, kept an 



half-bred Bantam sow, who was as thick 



as she was long, and whose belly swept on 



the ground, till she was advanced to her 



seventeenth year ; at which period she 



showed some tokens of age by the decay of 



her teeth and the decline of her fertility. 



For about ten years this prolific mother 

 produced two litters in the year, of about 

 ten at a time, and once above twenty at a 

 litter ; but, as there were near double the 

 number of pigs to that of teats, many died* 

 From long experience in the world this 



