ABERRANT FORMS OF PIG. 



343 



dwellings in the Swiss Lakes which belong to the Neolithic age, or to that period when the use of metal 

 was unknown in Europe north of the Alps, and both were probably introduced from the East by the 

 same race of herdsmen to whom we owe the domestic cattle, Horses, and Dogs, as well as the arts of 

 gardening, farming, and spinning. The amount of change which has been produced by the art of man 

 in modifying the original stock may be estimated from the figure at the top of the preceding pa^e. 



THE SOLID-HOOFED BREED OF PIGS. Among the most remarkable breeds of Pigs under domesti- 

 cation, the Solid-hoofed Pigs deserve special notice, because they show a persistent variation from the 

 even-toed type. " From the time of Aristotle," writes Mr. Darwin, " to the present time, solid- 

 hoofed Swine have been occasionally observed in various parts of the world. Although this peculiarity 

 is strongly inherited, it is hardly probable that all the animals with solid hoofs have descended from 

 the same parents ; it is more probable that the same peculiarity has reappeared at various times and 

 places. Dr. Struthers has lately described and figured the structure of the feet ; in both front and 

 hind feet the distal phalanges of the two greater toes are represented by a single, great, hoof-bearing 

 phalanx ; and in the front feet, the middle phalanges are 

 represented by a bone which is single towards the lower 

 end, but bears two separate articulations towards the 

 upper end." 



This singular modification is stated by Dr. Coues to 

 be persistent in a Texas breed. So far as the hoof is 

 concerned the animal is perfectly solid-ungulate. It is 

 also perfectly " odd- toed " (or perissodactyle) in the 

 terminal phalanges, which are joined together so as to 

 form one single hoof -supporting bone, a of figure. Above 

 this, however, the other two phalanges (b, c) remain 

 separate, and are widely separated from each other by 

 the intervention of a special ossicle (d). How far this 

 departs from the normal type may be seen from the com- 

 parison of the figure with that of the foot of the Common 

 Hog. 



Among the aberrant forms resulting from domestica- 

 tion, according to Nathusius, is the JAPAN, OR MASKED 

 PIG (S. pliciceps, Gray), with its short head, broad 

 forehead and nose, great fleshy ears, and deeply-furrowed 

 skin, of which the great thick folds are compared by 

 Mr. Darwin to the plates on the Indian Rhinoceros. It is held by Nathusius to belong to the same 

 stock as the Chinese Pig, a view which is by no means improbable if we consider the enormous 

 differences which are produced by the selection of characters under the care of man in the European 

 breeds. 



The Hogs are represented in Africa, south of the Sahara, and in Madagascar, by an animal known 

 as the BUSH HOG (Potamochcerus), which possesses a remarkable boss or excrescence, rising from the 

 face below the eyes. The species figured, the Potamochoerus penicillatus, has peculiar ears which look 

 almost as if they had been cut. 



One of the most singular of the Wild Hogs is the BABIRUSA (Porous babirusa), inhabiting the 

 islands of Celebes and Borneo, in which, in the males, the tusks arrive at an enormous size, those of the 

 upper jaw curving upwards and backwards, and even, in some cases, penetrating the skull in their 

 backward reach. These tusks, however, are useless for purposes of attack. The lower jaws also are 

 armed with two sharp tusks, which are capable of inflicting severe wounds. The animal is nearly 

 hairless, and is said to arrive at a size not much less than that of a Donkey. It is very ferocious, 

 and is a more formidable antagonist than the Wild Boar of Europe. 



The name Babirusa is said to be a compound of Baba and Rusa, being the Malayan appel- 

 lations of the Pig and the Deer respectively. 



The Babirusa is described as being of a delicate nature, requiring considerable care and attention 

 when kept in confinement. In its natural state it is said to be very swift, running with the rapidity 



BONES OF PIG'S FOOT. 



FOOT OF SOLID-HOOFED 

 PIG. (After Coues.) 



The hoof, e, is withdrawn suf- 

 ficiently to show the joints. 



