90 Next to the Ground 



before she lies down, maybe while she is feed- 

 ing. As she drops, she gives a little grunting 

 call. If the pigs are in the bed, they rush out 

 in answer to it, and fall all over each other, 

 as they range themselves along her side. Each 

 lays hold upon the teat that comes handiest, 

 but almost instantly lets go, and burrows under 

 the pig next, in search of his proper fountain. 

 The search is so vigorous, for a minute the 

 litter looks to be boiling all over. But when at 

 last the cunning creatures are properly placed 

 there is nowhere a better picture of mother 

 care and infantile content. 



Pigs learn to nip tender green stuff before 

 they are two weeks old. At six they can crack 

 shelled corn cleverly ; but White Oaks pigs 

 did not wait so long for grain. They had a 

 pen inside the woods pasture, with a gap too 

 low for the mothers to go through. There 

 were troughs inside for mush and milk. The 

 saucy rascals throve as mightily as they ate. 

 They knew whoever fed them as far as they 

 could see, and always ran to meet him and 

 followed him to the pen, squealing in chorus. 

 If he stopped to rest, the squeals grew agon- 

 izing — the squealers meantime huddling 

 thicker, and standing upon their hind feet, 

 with the fore feet resting against him. The 

 sows followed too, though not quite so im- 

 petuously. While the pigs ate, their mothers 



