540 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



only at dusk. They are by no means as clumsy and 

 helpless as they seem, their movements being com- 

 paratively light. Their walk is somewhat swift, 

 their running rapid; their gallop consists of a series 

 of peculiar bounds, each of which is accompanied by 

 an expressive grunt. They are all excellent swim- 

 mers, and even cross straits in order to pass from 

 one island to another. The perceptive senses of the 

 Swine are also well developed, those of smell and 

 hearing being especially acute. The small, dull 

 eye, on the contrary, does not seem to be very 

 keen, neither do taste and sensitiveness to touch 

 seem to be well developed. They are wary and shy, 

 and flee, as a rule, from all danger, but when they 

 are hemmed in, they bravely take up the defense 

 and often furiously charge against their antagonists. 

 In doing so they try to knock down and overrun 

 the enemy and rip him with their sharp tusks, and 

 they use these formidable weapons with so great 

 skill and vigor that they sometimes become very 

 dangerous. The males defend their mates, and the 

 mothers protect their young with great devotion. 

 They seem but slightly amenable to instruction, of 

 an obstinate disposition, and not capable of domesti- 

 cation of a high degree, their qualities in general not 

 being very attractive. Their' vocal expression is a 

 queer grunt, expressive of a great deal of self-con- 

 tent and a comfortable state of m|nd and body. 

 Old males also utter a deep growl. 



Diet and Repro- The Swine are omnivorous in the 



duction of the most extended sense of the word. 

 Swine. Whatever is in any way edible is 



acceptable to them. A few Hogs feed exclusively 

 on vegetable food, such as roots, herbs, cereals and 

 fruit, onions, mushrooms, etc. ; the others consume in- 

 sects and their larvae, Snails, worms, reptiles, Mice — 

 nay, even fish — and show a great liking for carrion. 

 Their voracity is so well known that nothing need be 

 said about it; all other qualities are really absorbed 

 and overshadowed by it, with the sole exception of 

 the unparalleled uncleanliness which has made them 

 the objects of the aversion of mankind. 



In few species does the female give birth to but a 

 single young one or a small litter; the others bring 

 forth a large number at a time, often more than any 

 other mammal, the number occasionally rising as 

 high as twenty-four. The little ones are charming, 

 playful, active creatures, that would delight any- 

 body, if they did not display the uncleanly predilec- 

 tions of their parents, from the first day of life. 

 Their growth is surprisingly rapid, and they are 

 capable of reproduction when they are a year old. 

 For this reason all countries in which they thrive 

 swarm with them, and they are exterminated with 

 difficulty even where they are in nowise protected. 



Their exceeding fecundity and indifference toward 

 a change of environment render them highly suit- 

 able for a state of domesticity. Few animals are 

 tamed so easily; but few revert again to the wild 

 state so readily as they do. A young Wild Hog 

 usually soon becomes used to confinement and to 

 the filthiest of stables, while a domestic Hog, born in 

 such quarters, becomes a savage, fierce animal after a 

 few years in the free state, being scarcely different 

 from its ancestors, and ( if it be a female) as a rule 

 producing young at her first litter which are in every 

 respect similar to wild specimens. 



The Enemies All wild Swine are so destructive to 

 of the agriculture that they must be re- 



sume, garded as enemies to the cultivation 



of the ground. They are therefore most diligently 



pursued wherever Man assumes sovereignty. The 

 chase of the Wild Hogs is counted one of the noblest 

 of sports and has many attractive features, for they 

 are animals which occasionally offer a desperate 

 resistance. 



Man, however, is the worst enemy of the Wild Hogs 

 in the northernmost countries only. In the equato- 

 rial regions the larger species of the Cat tribe and of 

 the Dogs pursue them and often make sad inroads 

 on their ranks. Foxes, smaller Felidae and birds of 

 prey dare attack only young Swine, and always dis- 

 play great caution when doing so, as the mother 

 vigorously protects her litter of little ones. 



THE SWINE PROPER. 



All Swine of the globe display great affinity to 

 each other in structure and character. The slight 

 differences which may be established are based on 

 the greater slenderness or bulkiness of structure, the 

 number of toes and teeth and the formation of the 

 tusks. Forty-four teeth, four toes on each foot, and 

 usually ten or at least eight mammae on the abdo 

 men of the female, elongated oval hairy ears and a 

 tail of moderate size, terminating in a tuft; such are 

 the characteristics of the Swine proper (Sus), which 

 are adequately represented in the common or Wild 

 Hog or Boar [Sus scrofa). This strong, stout and by 

 no means defenseless animal is fully eighty inches 

 in total length, including from eight to ten inches 

 for the tail. The height at the shoulders is thirty- 

 eight inches and the weight averages from three to 

 four hundred pounds, size and weight being subject 

 to considerable modifications, however, according to 

 the locality, season and food. The Wild Boars living 

 in swampy regions are always larger than those 

 which live in dry forests; those which exist on the 

 islands of the Mediterranean never equal in size 

 those of the continent. The Wild Boar much resem- 

 bles its tamed descendant in shape, though the body 

 is shorter and sturdier, the legs are stouter, the head 

 is somewhat longer and slenderer, the ears are more 

 erect, slightly longer and more acutely pointed; the 

 tusks are also larger and sharper than those of the 

 domestic Swine. The hue is variable, but is usually 

 black; gray, rusty white or mottled Wild Hogs are 

 rare. The young display yellowish stripes on a red- 

 dish gray ground, running rather straight from the 

 fore parts to the hindquarters and fading out in the 

 first months of life. The hairy covering consists of 

 stiff, long, pointed bristles, frequently split at the 

 top; rather short fine woolly hair is mingled with 

 them, according to the season; a kind of crest 

 or mane forms on the back. Rusty-colored, white 

 spotted individuals and such as are half black, half 

 white, are generally considered to be descendants of 

 degenerated domestic Swine, set free at some former 

 period to increase the number of Wild Boars. 

 The Ancient and In former times the Wild Boar was 

 Present Range of spread all over Europe, being equally 



the Wild Boar, plentiful in the central and in the 

 southern part of this continent; at present, to the de- 

 light of all agriculturists and foresters and to the 

 regret of all sportsmen, it is extinct in several coun- 

 tries and in many others it exists only in a few 

 parks protected by game laws. Its range does not 

 extend northward beyond the fifty-fifth parallel. In 

 Germany it still exists in a completely wild state in 

 greater numbers than is agreeable to the agricul- 

 turist. Still more numerously than in Germany does 

 it exist in some of the mountain forests of France 

 and Belgium, and also in Poland, Galicia, Hungary, 



