44. H O G. CUfs t 



Linnaeus obferves that its flefh is a wholefome food 

 for athletic conftitutions, or thofe that ufe much exer- 

 cife i but bad for fuch as lead a fedentary hfe : it is 

 though of molt univerfal ufe, and furnifhes number- 

 lefs materials for epicurifm, among which brawn is a 

 kind peculiar to Englmid. The iieih of the hog is an 

 article of the firft importance to a naval and commer- 

 cial nation, for it takes fait better than any other 

 kind, and confequently is capabable of being pre- 

 ferved longen The lard is of great ufe in medicinej 

 being an ingredient in various forts of plaifters, 

 either pure, or in th€ form of pomatum; and the 

 bridles are formed into bruihes of feveral kinds. 



The wild-boar was formerly a native of our coun- 

 try, as appears fro-m the laws of Hoel dda *, who per- 

 mitted his grand huntfman to chace that animal from 

 the middle o^ November to the beginning oi 'Decemher^ 

 William the Conqueror puniflied with the lofs of 

 their eyes, any that were convicted of killing the 

 wild-boar, the flag, or the roebuck f; and Fitx- 

 Stephens tells us, that the vaft foreft that in his time 

 grew on the north fide of London^ was the retreat of 

 Hags, fallow deer, wild-boars, and bulls. 



* Leges Wallica^\\^ t Leges Saxon^ 2^i^ 



piv. ir: 



