A PIG'S SHAPE. 77 



hardness and elasticity of his bristles, all point 

 to the fact that his wild forefathers sought 

 their food amidst the sharp prickles of bramble 

 and dense undergrowth of thick grass and 

 vegetation. 



A pig's skin is tough, his coat is bristly, his 

 nose and head shaped like a wedge, so that 

 he can force his way through a dense vegetation. 

 His hide is specially tough about the neck and 

 shoulders, and is covered with bristly hairs, 

 so that the thorns slide along and do not pierce 

 the skin. In fact a wild pig rushing headlong 

 through a thick, thorny, undergrowth of bramble 

 and briars, is not merely uninjured, but probably, 

 by setting up a healthy friction of the skin, 

 it helps to keep him in hard condition and in 

 vigorous health. 



A wild pig's head is so shaped, its hide so 

 tough, its hair so elastic, that it can force its 

 way through the densest and most prickly masses 

 of undergrowth with greater ease than any other 

 animal of equal size and weight. And a wild 

 pig, being able to do this, must often have saved 

 its life when chased by its enemies. 



A pig can force its way without harm to 

 itself through a mass of undergrowth, which 

 if you were to attempt to follow would tear 

 your clothes and score you flesh with nasty 

 wounds. 



