THE SWINE. 



5 ay 



circumstances. The enemy approaches, thinking 

 the prey is his for the taking, but before he has 

 reached it, the little creature gives a bound and 

 scampers off like a flash. 



In modern times specimens of this or the other 

 species of Pigmy Musk have frequently been taken 

 to foreign lands and kept in confinement for a con- 

 siderable time. Wandering menageries also have 

 occasionally shown some one of the species all over 

 the country. The appearance of the animal is neat 

 and trim; it keeps itself exceedingly clean, and is 

 continually licking and dressing its fur. The large, 



MUSK DEER. Animals so peculiar that they form a family by them' 



selves are the Musk Deer, which, while closely related to the Deer proper, 

 have many special traits of their own, including the secretion of musk. 

 (Afoschus moschiferus.) 



beautiful eyes seem to indicate that it is an animal 

 highly gifted mentally; but such is not the case, for 

 it gives no proof whatever of superior intellectual 

 powers: being a dull, uninteresting creature. It 

 spends its day sleeping, ruminating and eating. 

 One seldom hears the sound of its voice — a soft, 

 low gurgle, resembling somewhat a note of the 

 tremolo stop of an organ. 



Clovetulboofefc IRon^lRuminante. 



SECOND SUBORDER: Siting. 



The second suborder of the Artiodactyla com- 

 prises the non-ruminating Swine and Hippopotami, 

 which may be collected into two families. 



£be Swine. 



EIGHTH FAMILY: Suidje. 



The Swine have a laterally compressed body; the 

 head is nearly conical in shape with a truncated 

 muzzle, the tail is thin, long and curly, the elongated 

 snout is broadened in front nto a disc, which con- 



tains the nostrils; the ears are of moderate size and 

 are generally erect; the aperture of the lids of the 

 eye is oblique and proportionately small; the legs 

 are slender and thin, the toes stand in pairs, the 

 middle ones, which support the body, being mate- 

 rially larger than the outer ones. A more or less 

 dense coat of bristles covers the body. The female 

 has numerous mammae placed in two parallel rows 

 on the abdomen. The skeleton shows light, graceful 

 formations. All Swine have three kinds of teeth — 

 incisors, canines, and molars — in the upper and 

 lower jaws. The number of the incisors varies be- 

 tween two and six in the upper jaw, and four and 

 six in the lower; these teeth frequently drop out 

 in old age, however. Canines exist always and are 

 of very characteristic shape — three-edged, strongly 

 curved and bent upwards. The remaining, or molar, 

 teeth, the number of which is variable, are more or 

 less compressed, the grinding surface being broad 

 and beset with many cusps, or projections. Among 

 the muscles, the set that moves the lips is particu- 

 larly noticeable; the muscles of the upper lip are 

 especially strong and mobile, and furnish the trunk 

 with the strength necessary for rooting in the earth. 

 Distribution and With the exception of Australia, the 

 Attributes of Swine are natives of nearly all coun- 

 the Swine. tries of the remaining continents. 

 They affect extensive, damp, marshy forests in 

 mountainous or lowland countries, thickets, bushes, 



THE KANCHIL. This is the smallest of all the Cloven Hoofed ani- 

 mals, and is very agile and wary. It is snared by the Malays for the sake 

 of its flesh. ( Tragulus kanchil.) 



damp plains and fields grown with high grass. They 

 all delight in water, in bogs, pools, and the banks of 

 rivers and lakes. In such places they make a bed in 

 the mud or marsh and spend their time of rest in it, 

 often lying half in the water. Some species seek 

 shelter in large holes between the roots of trees. 

 The majority are gregarious; but the herds which 

 they form seldom attain to great numbers. Their 

 mode of life is nocturnal; for even in localities where 

 they are unmolested they begin active operations 



