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now regarded as a favorite article of food in every part of Chris- 

 tendom, and the efforts of wise and good men — philanthropists of 

 the true metal — have been for ages directed to the domestication 

 of this animal, improving the breed, changing its habits, and mak- 

 ing it more worthy of the glorious fate to which it is destined from 

 its birth. 



Although the hog in his natural condition possesses many noble 

 characteristics, these traits, like the virtues of the red man of the 

 Avestern wilderness, disappear and dissolve beneath the sun 

 of civilization ! By being domesticated and brought into con- 

 tact with man, he makes better pork and more of it; but his 

 moral character is lamentably changed for the worse, — he becomes 

 unwieldy, stupid, gluttonous and cowardly, and the more remark- 

 able he is for these unamiable qualities, the more highly he is prized 

 for pork ! 



The domesticated hog of Great Britain rises by almost imper- 

 ceptible gradations from the small aboriginal hog of the Highlands 

 of Scotland to an animal of much larger size, yet similar to it in 

 figure, habits and instincts. The limbs are long, its bones com- 

 paratively large, its ears thick, flapping and pendulous, its snout 

 attenuated, muscular and powerful, its shoulders low, its back 

 arched and narrow, to the extremity of which is appended a stiff 

 and straight tail. This species of hog is a prolific breeder, and if 

 unmixed with other species, sometimes attains a colossal size. 

 But its flesh is comparatively coarse ; it is constitutionally lank, 

 hungry and voracious, consuming enormous quantities of food, 

 slowly accumulating flesh or fat, and making poor compensation in 

 the bulk of its pork for the bulk of its provender. And the old 

 Irish hog closely resembles the worst specimens of the ungainly- 

 lookins; old British hos;. 



These unprofitable breeds of hogs were at an early period in 

 our history imported into tliis country, and widely distributed 

 among our people, and your Committee regret to be obliged to 

 state that this breed, although every year becoming . beautifully 

 less, is not yet extinct, as may be seen almost any day by a visit 

 to Brighton market, or by going back into the country and steal- 

 ing a glimpse into the hog-pen of some farmer who, perhaps, 

 prides himself on his agricultural knowledge, yet sets his face 

 against progress, and who in this enlightened age ought to be 

 ashamed of himself for encouraging the perpetuation of such a 

 breed of swine among us. 



In Great Britain, by the laudable efforts of enterprising agri- 

 culturists, who have adopted " progress " as their motto, but 

 comparatively few of the old original breed of hogs are found. 

 In many districts these monsters have been entirely obliterated by 

 bold and continued crossing, or exterminated by the adoption of 



