COMMON HOG. 463 



principal part of the food of mankind. This ani- 

 mal is of a remarkably prolific natme, being 

 sometimes known to produce as many as twenty 

 at a birth. 



The Hog was unknown in America, on the dis- 

 covery of that continent ; but since its introduc- 

 tion; appears to flourisli there as aiiuch as in the 

 old world. 



The varieties into which the Hog occasional!}^ 

 runs, chiefly relate, as before observed, to size and 

 colour. That called the Chinese Hog is of a very 

 small size, with a remarkably pendulous belly : its 

 colour is commonly black, and the skin often 

 nearly hare, or less hairy than in the European 

 kinds. 



The variety called the Guinea Hog is distin- 

 guished by having a smaller head than the com- 

 mon Hog, with long, slender, sharp-pointed ears, 

 and naked tail reaching to the ground. Its colour 

 is rufous, and its hair softer, shorter, and finer 

 than in other kinds. It is said to be most com- 

 mon in Guinea, and is considered by Linnaeus 

 as a distinct species, under the title of Sus Porcm, 

 S. dorso postice setoso, cauda longitudine pedum, 

 umbilico cystifero. 



But the most remarkable variety of the Hog is 

 that in which the hoofs are entire and undivided. 

 This is a mere accidental variety, which is, how- 

 ever, observed to be more common in some coun- 

 tries than in others, and is, according to Linnasus, 

 not unfrequent in the neighbourhood of Upsal in 

 Sweden, It has been noticed by Aristotle and 



