THE HOG. 503 



leads his stomach to become the ruling power of his system — a tyrant 

 that can bear no one's presence but his own. The poor pig thus treated, 

 gorges himself, sleeps, eats again, sleeps, awakes in a fright, screams, 

 struggles against the blue apron, screams fainter and fainter, turns up the 

 whites of his little eyes, and dies ! " 



But though the progress of modern civilization may not have 

 advanced far into pigdom, yet do we occasionally hear of shrewd knacks 

 and habits acquired by these animals. The jungle-hog of India, we are 

 told, makes his bed of meadow-grass ; this he cuts down with his teeth, 

 as if it were done with a scythe, and piles it up into oblong heaps, as 

 regularly as thatch on houses. When he has thus collected a large heap, 

 he creeps under it to rest ; when he leaves it he creeps out at the other 

 end without disturbing it. He remains quite invisible when in his house, 

 but leaves a loop-hole through which to have an eye upon his enemies. 

 In China it is not rare to see harnessed together a woman, a horse, a pig, 

 and an ass. In Minorca an ass and a hog are occasionally yoked to- 

 gether to a plough ; and Pennant speaks of a Morayshire farmer who 

 used a cow, a sow, and two horses, to form his team. In Hertfordshire 

 a farmer once went to St. Alban's market in a small cart drawn by four 

 hogs ; and a hog has been known to submit to the saddle and bridle. In 

 some parts of Italy and France pigs are employed to hunt for truffles. 

 A string is tied to the animal's leg, and he is led into the fields where 

 truffles grow ; wherever he stops, smells the soil, and roots up the 

 ground, there truffles will be found. A good pig of this kind is worth 

 about forty dollars. 



When King Louis XI of France was sick, all means were tried in 

 vain to amuse him, till one of his courtiers discovered a peasant who was 

 the happy possessor of some young pigs that danced to the bag-pipe. 

 The creatures were dressed up with a coat and hat, scarf and sword. 

 They cculd jump about to the music pretty well, but could only with 

 great difficulty stand on their hind legs. Other dancing pigs have been 

 exhibited in modern times, and the "learned pig" could play euchre, 

 exhibiting a capacity hardly to be expected from so maligned a creature. 

 Among other calumnies, there is prevalent an idea that, whenever the 

 Hog takes to the water, he cuts his own throat with the sharp hoofs of his 

 fore-feet. This, however, is by no means the case, for the animal is an 

 admirable swimmer, and will often take to the water intuitively. In one 

 of the Moray Islands, three domestic pigs belonging to the same litter 



