CLASS-BOOK OF ZOOLOGY. 53 



in being of a dark color, and in having a larger muzzle and 

 head, and shorter ears. He has four tusks, or very long 

 canine teeth in either jaw : with these, which are sharp, 

 and sometimes nine or ten inches long, he defends him- 

 self, and wounds or kills those who attack him. 



§ 186. That the Wild Boar is the original stock of our 

 .domestic hog, is evident from the fact that all domestic 

 hogs become wild by being put -at liberty, and that all wild 

 boars when tamed become domestic. 



§ 187. The Domestic Hog is an omnivorous animal ; he 

 feeds on vegetables, putrid flesh, and carrion : all his ap- 

 petites are impure, and he devours indiscriminately every 

 thing that comes in his way, even his own progeny, and 

 sometimes infants. 



\ 188. Hogs furnish pork, which is an important article 

 of food in most countries. Its bristles are extensively 

 used in the manufacture of brushes, etc. 



\ 189. The Wild Boar, which always lives in the forest, 

 feeds mostly on vegetables, such as acorns, chestnuts, and 

 all kinds of grain. His flesh is therefore much better and 

 more wholesome than that of the domestic hog. 



\ 190. The Hog has been converted into a beast of 

 draught in the island of Minorca, where several of them 

 are yoked together for ploughing ; usually, however, with 

 an ass helpmate ahead. 



8 191. The Mohammedans are deprived of this useful 

 animal, because it is their religious belief that it is un- 

 clean, and therefore they dare not either touch or feed it. 

 The Chinese, on the contrary, rear hogs in large numbers, 

 and pork is their most common food. 



\ 192. The use of pork is injurious to persons afflicted 

 with cutaneous eruptions, particularly in warm climates ; 

 hence it was denied to the Israelites to raise hogs or eat 

 pork, and Mohammed adopted the same law in his Koran. 



\ 193. The hog will live twenty years, and produces, 

 twice a year, a dozen or more young at a litter. 



5 194. The. Peccary (Sus Tajassu) resembles the com- 

 mon hog in size ; it is dark ash-colored, with a white ring 

 around the neck, and a gland upon the back, between the 

 shoulders, which contains an oily, musk-like substance. 

 5* 



