HOOFED ANIMALS 41 



In the course of domestication various breeds, as we have 

 already indicated, have been brought into being, and these vary 

 greatly in size and in details of shape and colour, some breeds 

 being black. But the most important changes which they have 

 undergone are to be found in the shape of the head, which in some 

 breeds is excessively short, the snout being quite near the eyes, and 

 the increased tendency to produce fat. Further, while the young 

 of wild swine are always striped, the young of domesticated pigs 

 are whole-coloured, white or black, as the case may be . Occasion- 

 ally spotted breeds are met with. 



The domesticated breeds of the pig display considerable de- 

 generation in the matter of their tusks. These, in the males of 

 wild pigs, are formidable weapons. 



While the oxen, sheep and deer, for example, have no cutting 

 teeth in the upper jaw, these are always found in the pig. Then, 

 again, the grinding teeth of the pig are of a quite different char- 

 acter to the similar teeth in the oxen and sheep, which, it will be 

 remembered, are ruminating or cud-chewing animals. The pig 

 is a non-ruminant, and feeds on roots ; while the ruminating 

 animals obtain their food by browsing. 



The pig in a wild state obtains most of its food by turning up 

 the soil by means of its snout, which is protected by a very tough 

 skin, and is further strengthened by means of a special rounded 

 mass of bone embedded in its substance. The domesticated 

 breeds retain this habit of " rooting," and in consequence metal 

 rings are commonly fastened through the end of the snout so as 

 to render this pastime too painful to be persisted in. 



The " tusks " of the pig, to which reference has been made, 

 answer to the canine teeth so tremendously developed in the lion 

 and tiger. But they are peculiar in that the " tusk " of the upper 

 jaw, in the pig, curve outwards and upwards from the mouth, so 

 that their tips chafe against the tips of the lower pair of tusks, 

 and thus the edges of the tusks of both jaws are kept sharp. If, 

 however, from any accidental cause these teeth are not constantly 

 worn down by friction one against another, they grow into a 

 complete circle, till finally the point of the tooth returns and 

 penetrates the jaw. The natives of the Fiji Islands make use of 

 this fact to produce one of their most treasured ornaments a 



