FROM WILD HOG TO USEFUL BREEDS 273 
2. Pigs early used as food.—As meat, hog flesh has 
long been esteemed. It is not strange that the wild boar 
was sought in all ages to meet a table want. The hog 
entered largely into the diet of the Romans, and all 
sorts of practices were employed to impart delicate flavor 
to the flesh. 
“Pliny informs us that old dried: figs, drenched with honey and 
wine, were employed as a means of enlarging the liver, so choice a 
dish was it considered by Roman palates. It has been said that the 
Romans often served hogs whole, one side being roasted and the 
other side being boiled. Further still was this carried by stuffing 
the dressed animal with larks and nightingales and delicacies of all 
sorts, and serving with wine and rich gravies.’ We can imagine 
how delicious this dish must have been by comparing it with the 
Brunswick stews and bar- 
becues so well known in 
many fural sections, and 
which possess rich and 
delicate flavors never 
equaled by other domestic 
animals. 
The wild hog pos- 
sessed a courage and 
fierceness that have 
made him a favorite 
sport with all classes 
and conditions of so- 
ciety. When Rome was at the hight of her greatness, he 
entered into their sports and fights, and in recent times 
both the English and German people have made much 
of these qualities in their hunting expeditions. 
3. Berkshire —T hese 
hogs are of English origin, 
sharing popularity with 
the Duroc-Jersey, next to 
the Poland-China, in the 
United States. They are _ " 
black hogs with white pee aed a 
BERKSHIRE Sow 
