LESSON TWENTY-SIX 
FROM WILD HOG TO USEFUL BREEDS 
1. In native haunts.—AII of our important breeds have 
come from the wild hog that once roamed over Europe, 
Asia and Africa. Active and powerful, the original pro- 
genitor was also coarse, rough, fleet, and a vicious 
fighter. His head was 
large and bony, his jaw 
strong and well provided 
with tusks that inflicted 
severe wounds, his neck 
long and muscular, and the 
back and loins broad and 
strong. In his wild habi- 
tat he selects places that 
are moist, rather well con- 
cealed by forest growth, 
: where he may feed upon 
Witp Boars plants, fruits and roots, 
Ancestors of a ee breeds of though when hunger af- 
fects him he greedily ap- 
peases his appetite on worms, snakes and flesh of any 
kind. The twilight, early dawn and night time seem by 
choice his favorite periods for seeking food, sport, ad- 
venture and exercise. 
Sense of smell has been developed to such a marked degree in 
the wild hog that he is able to detect the presence of food, though 
it be covered in the ground. In his early life he prefers the 
society of his kind, but when age comes on he strolls about much 
to himself, never seeking danger, but when it comes not avoiding it. 
Thirty to 40 years is not an infrequent age for some of these wild 
animals to attain. 
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