The Hog 85 



nearly always to remote ancestors rather than 

 near ones. Each and several, the Bakers had 

 crossed all their stock judiciously, but every 

 year or two, among the litters at White Oaks, 

 there was a white pig with a broad black list 

 over the loins. Commonly the listed pigs had 

 also a black spot back of the ears, or over the 

 eyes. A pig's coat is colored in skin as well 

 as hair. In the list, the black skin was bigger 

 than the black hair, so there was a band of 

 silver-gray all around — white hairs with black 

 skin showing through. 



It was not for lack of pasture that Major 

 Baker let his hogs run in the flat-woods toward 

 the end of summer. He knew the run- 

 ning out made them healthier and more vig- 

 orous. They found in the woods a mysterious 

 tonic, a root it might be, or a seed, or some 

 quality of the earth itself. They went in and 

 out at pleasure, through a slip-gap in the back 

 fence, and were called and fed beside the gap 

 every morning. The most part came to the 

 call, but nobody worried over absentees until 

 they had been three days unseen. Hogs have 

 a curious sense of time — these knew to a 

 minute when their salt and ashes were due — 

 upon Wednesday and Saturday mornings. A 

 hog that did not come up then, might reason- 

 ably be set down as either sick, stolen, or 

 strayed. 



