WILD SWINE 



In what way our domestic breed of pigs has been pro- 

 duced it is difficult to imagine. It is, however, Very 

 remarkable that in the wild boar of Europe, Africa, and 

 Asia, the young are always striped at birth, and in no 

 instance is this marked character found in any of our 

 domestic breeds ; but the colour and markings that appear 

 at birth continue during life unaltered. Not so with 

 the wild species, whose young, although striped at first, 

 gradually lose these markings as they grow to maturity. 



CHINESE PIGS. 



The most difficult question to answer with reference to 

 the subject of swine would be, " What is the origin of the 

 domestic pig ? " The early writers in Europe considered 

 the common wild boar as the origin of the domestic race of 

 pigs. It is very easy to understand that the pigs that were 

 turned out and allowed to feed on uncultivated tracts and 

 in forests did, from mixing and breeding with the wild 

 race, assume so much of the character and form of those 

 animals that many breeds could hardly be distinguished 

 from them ; for although the domestic pigs of some 

 countries exhibit many marked differences, there is not the 

 slightest doubt respecting the fact, which has been well 

 authenticated, that the wild boar will cross with any of the 

 domestic stock and produce fertile offspring. Now this 

 fact is generally considered to prove that the two are only 

 varieties of the same species. This view of the case 

 appears to be a very questionable one, as many arguments 

 can be advanced in opposition to that assumption, without 

 consideration to a full knowledge of known facts that 

 strongly prevail against such conclusions. M. Frederic 

 Cuvier was of opinion that the Chinese pigs were derived 



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