55 



8th day of this moneth, and yt such swine as shall be found 

 in any corne feild shalbe impounded & notice giuen to the 

 owner thereof, if hee can be knowen, or otherwise to be made 

 knowen at the nexte lecture, & if within three dayes after no- 

 tice giuen they be not owned, it shalbe lawful for the party 

 whoe hadd the harmes done to gett the swine prized by two 

 of his neighbrs, & then he shall have liberty to sell the said 

 swine, & pay himselfe duble damages, being iudged by two 

 indifferent men. The like recompence is to be made for such 

 swine as are owned before publique notice gy ven thei'eof ; this 

 order to extend to all ffermes, but not to lyttle small parcells 

 of corne of an acre or lesse, planted remote from townes and 

 unfenced. Further, as for such swine as cannot be impound- 

 ed, it shalbe lawful for the party whoe hath the harmes done 

 to kill the said swine, and pay himselfe for harmes, & soe to 

 returns the remainder thereof to the owner of the swine ; & 

 if any swine shall escape out of the pound, or be taken out, 

 the owner thereof shall, notwithstanding, be lyeable to pay 

 damages, as before mencioned, if hee can be knowen." 



This law was not probably enforced, as it was enacted in 

 October, 1636, that there should be " chosen yearely in euery 

 towne some one discreet person, who shalbe called the hog- 

 reeve " to enforce the laws concerning swine. There was, 

 however, much subsequent discussion and consequent legisla- 

 tion in the General Court about swine, prompted by the con- 

 flicting interests of the corn-growers and the pig-owners. In- 

 deed, the subject was the bore of those days, as the Hoosick 

 Tunnel is of ours. 



A century and a half later found the colony one of the 

 United States, but there had not been much improvement in 

 the breed of Hogs in Essex county, or elsewhere on this con- 

 tinent. They were, aCs^ording to the most reliable accounts, a 

 long-nosed, long-eared, long-legged and slab-sided race, as 

 gaunt as grey-hounds, with the nose of a tapir, the appetite 

 of a boa-constiictor, and the maw of a shark — excellent as 

 meal chests, but miserable for filling pork-barrels. 



