CHAP. XVII 
THE BOAR 
ii 3 
according to the influence of temperatures. In cold 
climates the pig is protected by a growth of coat in 
proportion to its requirements, but in all other 
respects it is much the same, and it would be 
difficult to distinguish any features that would 
constitute a separate variety. 
It is well known that pigs are omnivorous ; their 
teeth are accordingly designed for every kind of 
food, with formidable arrangements for offence. 
Although they sometimes differ in the number of 
molars, they generally have twenty-eight, and six 
incisors in each jaw. The canine teeth are im¬ 
mensely long, and turned upwards, forming tusks, 
exactly similar to those of the hippopotamus, 
the upper jaw containing shorter tusks, against 
the sharp edge of which those of the lower jaw 
clash when shut, and thus, by continual friction of 
surface, preserve the cutting edge in order. 
The length of a good pair of boar’s tusks 
extracted from the jaw is about io inches outside 
curve. Of this length, 5 inches are imbedded in 
the jaw, leaving only 5 inches as a weapon of 
offence. 
It is astonishing to see the amount of mischief 
that can be achieved by so insignificant a weapon. 
The boar has been associated with the hunting 
triumphs of ancient history, from the remote period 
when Adonis, the beloved of Venus, fell before its 
tusks. The Macedonian boar was considered to be 
the most formidable of all wild animals, and to the 
present day there is no creature in the brute 
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