144 THE CULTIVATOR. April. 
THE BABIRUSSA 
CljE /nrnitr’H jlntt-Unnk. 
The Babirussa. 
The group of animals termed Suidce, or the hog fami¬ 
ly, comprehends several distinct genera, one of which is 
the Babirussa, the animal represented by the above cut. 
It is the only known species in the genus. Its native 
country is the Indian Archipelago, from which it has 
been occasionally taken to various European countries, 
but has never been fairly reclaimed from its wild state, 
though specimens have been kept for several years in 
menageries and museums. The animal resembles the 
hog in its habits, and its flesh is said to be good for food. 
Martin observes— 
“ Though allied to sus, [hog,] the Babirussa is dis¬ 
tinguished by certain peculiarities, one of which is the 
upward direction of the alveoli of the upper tusks or 
canine teeth; these tusks in the male, are enormously 
developed, as to length, and are extraordinary both in 
their form and position. They do not pass out between 
the lips, as in the hog, but cut through the skin of the 
snout, so as to appear like horns growing in an unusual 
situation. Instead of being stout and strong, they are 
slender, and rising vertically, curve backwards with a 
slight indication outwards, so as to form part of a circle, 
and often touch the skin of the forehead. The tusks of 
the lower jaw are sharp and powerful, and emerge from 
between the lips; they bend upwards and outwards, and 
are sufficiently formidable weapons. The upper tusks 
are wanting in the female, and the lower are small. The 
incisors are four in number in each jaw. The molars are 
five on each side, above and below.” 
Improved Ornamental Fence. 
Eds. Cultivator —Enclosed I send you an addition 
to the already numerous plans for good fences, which 
like laws, to be serviceable, should be efficient, durable, 
and cheap; in order to secure these three qualities, many 
circumstances must be considered. The situation of the 
farm, the relative cost of different materials, the con¬ 
venience for working them, 8cc. If there be plenty of 
timber on the land that would make rails, and so situated 
as not to be valuable for other purposes, an efficient, 
durable, and cheap fence may be made of rails; but if 
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the land be free from timber, and have a plenty of stone 
scattered over the surface, a good stone fence would 
possess the three requisite qualities in a high degree. 
Should the land be free from both timber and stone, a 
board fence, such as is described in the fifth vol. of the 
Cultivator on the 15Gth page, if cedar posts and boards 
should not be very expensive, may possess the above 
mentioned qualities,—but in the absence of all these con¬ 
veniences, such a fence as is described below, and i*epre- 
sented in the accompaning diagrams, will possess the 
desirable qualities in a high degree. Picket fences are 
well known to be the most efficient, but their durability, 
when constructed wholly of wood, has not been such as 
would warrant the expense, therefore they possess but 
one of the above qualities. There are three kinds of 
picket fences contemplated in the cuts, all having iron 
posts. (See Figs. 1, 2, 3.) Where large cobblestones 
are conveniently situated on the land, they may be placed 
about sixteen feet apart, on the line of the proposed 
fence, about half buried in the earth, and the iron posts 
drilled into them, and either wedged, cemented, or run 
in with lead. (See Fig. 4.) When quarried stone are 
more convenient, blocks may be split out about three 
feet long, set in the ground about two feet, and the iron 
