CHAPTER III.

ARTIODACTYLA--THE PIG OR HOG FAMILY.

Introductory Remarks on the Artiodactyla--Character of their Feet--The Wanting Digit--Comparison of the Bones of the Fore Feet of Representative Animals--Other Characters in the Artiodactyla--Classification--SUIDÆ, OR HOG FAMILY--Groups of the Family--Snout--Sense of Smell--Libels--Mention in the Bible--Among the Jews--Range--Teeth--THE WILD BOAR--General Features--Habits--Historical Mention--THE INDIAN HOG--Habits--A Wild Boar Hunt--A Noble Foe--THE DOMESTIC HOG--The “Irish Greyhound Pig”--Effects of Domestication--THE SOLID-HOOFED BREED OF PIGS--Description of the Bones of Foot--MASKED PIG--BUSH HOG--BABIRUSA--THE WART HOGS--ÆLIAN’S WART HOG--THE ETHIOPIAN WART HOG--PECCARIES--Habits--Dentition--Feet--Species--THE FOSSIL HOGS.

SUB-ORDER ARTIODACTYLA.

(_From Specimens in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons._)]

Besides the Perissodactyla there is another large group of animals in which the extremities of the fore and hind toes are entirely surrounded by horny tissue in the shape of hoofs. These are the Artiodactyla, or cloven-hoofed animals, which differ from the Perissodactyla in the manner in which the weight of the body is carried upon the feet. In the Artiodactyla the toes are even in number, being four in all the feet, except in the Camel tribe, the Giraffe, and a very few Antelopes, in which only two are present. It is the digit which corresponds to the human thumb in the fore foot, and to the great toe in the hind, which is always deficient, the inner and the outer digits (the second and the fifth) being frequently reduced to but minute rudiments, as in the Sheep and Ox. Some may ask how we know that it is the thumb and the great toe which are missing, and not the little finger or toe, for instance. A glance at the human hand and foot will explain the point. Counting the bones in the thumb or great toe, it will be found that there are but two bones beyond the limit of the “ball of the thumb,” or the free part of the great toe, whilst in all the other fingers and toes three bones can be counted. A reference to Fig. 3 makes it evident that in the Artiodactyla there figured, as in all others, each toe has three bones in it; and as all mammalian animals which have five toes agree with man in possessing one less bone in the inner toe than in any of the others, it is but logical to conclude that when four toes only are present, all possessing an equal number of bones, the one absent is that corresponding to the thumb and great toe. Each foot is always symmetrical in itself, at the same time that its imaginary axis, which is the line drawn down the middle of it, runs between the two medial toes, they corresponding with the third and fourth of the human limb. The accompanying drawings of the bones of the fore-foot of the Pig, the Water Chevrotain (or Deerlet), the Javan Chevrotain, the Roebuck, the Sheep, and the Camel, illustrate, better than can be done by words, the difference in the degree of development of the outer toes found in the group. In the Pig all the four toes are well developed, and there is no consolidation of their constituent elements. In the Water Deerlet of West Africa the external toes are smaller, whilst, as in the Pig, each metacarpal--which is in the human hand the part of each finger included within the palm--is independent of its neighbour, the Javan Deerlet differing in having the third and fourth fused into a “cannon” bone. But in the Red Deer the reduction of the second and fifth digits is so great that their metacarpals are not perfect, being only present in their upper parts; whilst the phalanges, or lower bones, are very small, being reduced in the Sheep to mere bony spots with minute hoofs, which latter are quite absent in the Camel, Llama, Giraffe, and Pronghorn Antelope.

There are numerous other characters which associate these animals, and prove the natural affinities of the different species, at the same time that in geologic times there existed other creatures which fill up the intervals between existing forms, and conclusively demonstrate the manner in which the order has been evolved from a common type in times long past.

All the Artiodactyla are strictly terrestrial, none being arboreal in their habits. The Hippopotamus is the only member of the group which is aquatic, spending much of its life in the water, without, however, any special modification of its limbs or tail like that found in the more truly aquatic Seals, Sirenia, or Whales.

There is a great uniformity throughout the order in the general plan upon which the limbs are constructed. In all the species the wrist in the fore limb--commonly called the knee--and the heel in the hind limb--the hock--is raised a considerable distance above the ground, at the same time that the whole weight of the body is carried upon the extreme tips of the toes, the terminal bones of which are expanded within the hoof to increase the basis of support. The collar-bone is absent in all, as it is in nearly every animal that does not use its fore limbs for any other purpose than that of carrying the weight of the front parts of its body.

In the Perissodactylate Rhinoceros the horn or horns is or are situated in the middle line of the face above the nose, and are not supported upon any bony horn core. In all those Artiodactyla which carry horns or antlers, there are appendages paired and lateral in position, at the same time that they are either supported upon bony cores, or are formed of bone itself, and are situated upon the forehead.

The following table best represents our present knowledge as to the classification of the Artiodactyla:--

{ { Non- { Pigs of the Old World. { { ruminants { Peccaries of the New World. { { { Hippopotami. ORDER { SUB-ORDER { { { Camels. UNGULATA { ARTIODACTYLA { { { Llamas. { { Ruminants { { { { Chevrotains or Deerlets. { { { Bovidæe (Oxen). { { { Cervidæ (Deer).

A. H. GARROD.

I.--SUIDÆ, OR HOG FAMILY.

The Non-Ruminantia, or Artiodactyls which do not chew the cud, possess the following characters: they usually have more than one pair of incisors in the upper jaw, they are devoid of horns, and the stomach has rarely more than two divisions. In only one genus, that of the Peccary, are the metatarsal and metacarpal bones united into one compact bony mass. They are divisible--as the above table indicates--into three families: the Suidæ, or Hogs, the Hippopotamidæ, or Hippopotamuses, and the Anoplotheridæ,[269] or Anoplotheres, an extinct family, met with only in the Eocene strata of the Old and New Worlds.

The Hog family may be divided into three well-marked groups:--1, the True Swine, consisting of three genera, Sus, Potamochœrus, and Babirusa; 2, the Wart Hogs, represented by one genus, Phacochœrus; and 3, the Peccaries, represented also by one genus, Dicotyles. They have three kinds of teeth--incisors, canines, and boss-covered or transversely ridged grinders--slender limbs, and the third and fourth toes are considerably larger than the second and fifth.

In order to enable the Hog family to “root” or turn up the ground, they are provided with a truncated and cylindrical proboscis, or snout, which is capable of considerable movement. The skin is more or less supplied abundantly with hair, and the tail is short, and in some cases merely represented by a tubercle.

The sense of smell in the Hog is very acute, and when its broad snout ploughs up the herbage, not a root, an insect, or a worm, escapes the olfactory sense. Although credited with stupidity, the Hog in its native state is to be styled anything but a dull and lethargic animal, neither is it the filthy animal that domestication has reduced it to. Properly cared for, the Pig is as cleanly in its habits, and as capable of strong attachment, as any other creature.

No animal that is mentioned in the Bible--not even the Dog--is spoken of with more abhorrence than the Pig; and even at the present day a Jew or Mohammedan looks upon this creature with anything but a generous feeling, treating it as something utterly detestable. So great was the horror with which the older Jews regarded the Hog, that they would not even mention it by name, but called it “the abomination.” The origin of the great antipathy which the Jews have always experienced for the Pig appears to be lost in antiquity. In Lev. xi. 7, the Hog is spoken of with other animals as being unclean and unfitted for food, simply because it did not chew the cud, although the hoof was divided. It has, however, been suggested that the Pig was so strictly prohibited by Moses from being eaten, on account of its flesh being supposed in a hot country to cause skin-diseases, and especially the dreaded leprosy; but it is to be doubted whether Moses is to be considered as the originator of the horror with which the Hog has been and still is regarded. It seems probable that this disgust dates from a period of far greater antiquity than that of Moses; and it is certain that the flesh of Swine can be eaten in hot countries without producing any bad effects. It is a matter of considerable wonder, that while Swine are held in such abhorrence, we read of herds being so often kept in Palestine. In the Gospel of St. Matthew (viii. 28-34), we read of a herd of Swine being entered by devils, and which, so possessed, rushed down a hill and were drowned in the sea. Again, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we are told of his becoming a swineherd. Although Pigs were so much disliked, the Jews were evidently well acquainted with their habits, as we read in the Second Epistle of St. Peter (ii. 22), where the apostle refers to the fact of Pigs wallowing in the mire. It is also remarkable that with the exception of one passage in the Bible, the mention of the Hog is confined to those in a domesticated state, this exception being found in Psalm lxxx. 13: “The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.”

The genus Sus, or Hog proper, ranges, in the wild state, over the greater portion of the Old World, through Central and Southern Europe into Central and Southern Asia, and as far to the east and south as New Guinea. It is also met with in the North African forests, in the region north of the Sahara desert. It is conspicuous by its absence from North and South America, Australia, and the cold northern regions of Europe and Asia.

The adult teeth in the True Hogs (genus _Sus_) are forty-four, of which there are in each jaw three incisors, one canine, four premolars, and three true molars. The canines are very variable in size, being reduced to a minimum under domestication, and arriving at a maximum in the wild males.

THE WILD BOAR[270] inhabits Europe, North Africa, and Hindostan, each country having its own peculiar type or race, which sometimes is so marked as to constitute separate species in the opinion of first-rate naturalists.

The Wild Boar is distinguished by a body generally of a dusky-brown or greyish colour, having a tendency to black, and being diversified with black spots. The canines or tusks in the male are long and powerful, and project beyond the upper lip, the mouth is large, and the elongated head is set on a short neck rising out of a thick and muscular body. The size is variable, an old Wild Boar recorded by Desmarest being five feet nine inches long, while a four-year-old of the more ordinary size measured three feet without the tail. The female is smaller than the male, and with smaller tusks. The hairs of the body are coarse, intermixed with a downy wool. On the neck and shoulders the hairs take the form of bristles, being long enough to assume a kind of mane which the animal is enabled to erect if irritated. The young has the body marked with longitudinal stripes of a reddish colour.

In its habits the Wild Boar is by choice herbivorous, feeding on plants, fruits, and roots; but it will also eat Snakes, Lizards, and various insects, and when pressed by hunger nothing appears to come amiss to its voracious appetite; it is stated that even dead Horses are sometimes called into requisition. The Boar is nocturnal in its habits, rarely leaving the shadow of the woods in the day-time, and coming forth as twilight approaches in search of food, delighting in roots often deeply embedded in the soil, and which its keen sense of smell enables it easily to detect. Much mischief is often done by this animal, which ploughs up the ground in continuous furrows for long distances, and is not content, like the domesticated variety, with ploughing up a spot here and there.

The Wild Boar was formerly an inhabitant of Great Britain. According to Bell, “About the year 940, the laws of Hoel Dha direct that it shall be lawful for the chief of his huntsmen to chase the Boar of the woods from the fifth of the ides of November (9th), until the calends of December (1st), Cap. xxi. sect. 14.” In the next century Bell states that “the numbers had perhaps begun to diminish, since a forest law of William I., established in A.D. 1087, ordained that any who were found guilty of killing the Stag, the Roebuck, or the _Wild Boar_, should have their eyes put out; and sometimes the penalty appears to have been a painful death. It appears,” continues Bell, “that Charles I. turned out some Wild Swine in the New Forest, for the purpose of restoring the breed to that royal hunting-ground; but they were all of them destroyed during the civil war. A similar attempt was made in Bere Wood, in Dorsetshire; but one of the Boars having injured a valuable Horse belonging to the worthy Nimrod who exhibited this specimen of sporting epicurism, he caused them to be destroyed.”

The Wild Boar probably became extinct in Britain before the reign of Charles I.; while in Ireland it was abundant as late as the seventeenth century.

THE INDIAN HOG[271] differs but little in general appearance from the European Wild Boar, and is looked upon in the East as a most exciting object of the chase, its speed, endurance, and courage making it one of the most formidable and dangerous animals that can possibly be encountered.

The habits of this animal are admirably portrayed by Williamson, in his “Oriental Field Sports.” After describing the extraordinary speed this creature is possessed of, equalling that of a good Horse, and asserting that a moderate-sized Hog can, and often does, overthrow Horses and their riders, he states that “The Wild Hog delights in cultivated situations; but he will not remain where water is not at hand, in which he may, unobserved, quench his thirst and wallow at his ease. Nor will he resort for a second season to a spot which does not afford ample cover, whether of heavy grass or of underwood jungle, within a certain distance, for him to fly to in case of molestation, and especially to serve as a retreat during the hot season, as otherwise he would find no shelter. The sugar-cane is his great delight, both as being his favourite food, and as affording a high, impervious, and unfrequented situation. In these, Hogs commit great devastation, especially the breeding Sows, which not only devour, but cut the canes for litter, and throw them up into little huts, which they do with much art, leaving a small entrance which they stop up at pleasure. Sows never quit their young Pigs without completely shutting them up. This, indeed, is requisite only for a few days, as the young brood may be seen following the mother, at a round pace, when not more than a week or ten days old. The canes are generally planted about the end of May or beginning of June, in ground rendered extremely fine by digging. For this purpose cuttings of canes are buried horizontally, and with the first showers of the rainy season, which usually commences in the middle of June, the several joints throw out shoots that grow so rapidly, as often to be two or three feet high by the beginning of September. The red cane, called the _bun-ook_, which is not so valuable as the smaller or yellower sort, begins to ripen in September; by the end of which month it will have attained the height of seven or eight feet. These serve as the first receptacles for the Wild Hogs, which having suffered, since the harvest in March, all the inconveniences of bad diet, long nightly excursions, scarcity of water, great diurnal heat, and frequent disturbance, arrive among them in excellent running order. It should be observed that throughout India a custom prevails of setting fire to the grass jungles in the month of May, when they are completely dry, for the purpose of increasing the growth of the new grass, by the stimulus of the ashes which are washed in with the first showers in June.” Williamson goes on to say that “the _bun-ook_ is commonly cut in November, and the Hogs then shift to the yellow canes, which are by that time forward enough to serve as sufficient cover. Canes require much manure and excellent tillage; consequently they are usually planted near to villages, and surrounded by fields of wheat, barley, and other grain. A species of lupin called _rhur_ is cultivated in large quantities. It grows luxuriantly, generally to the height of eight or nine feet, forming quite a wilderness.... In these _rhur_ fields Hogs delight, as they are completely umbrageous, but being open below, admit the air freely. Besides, this wild rice growing very thick among the _rhur_, and a kind of soft downy grass about a foot in height, they find themselves very comfortably situated. About the middle of March, or, at the latest, by the beginning of April, the Hogs must shift their quarters, the canes and grain being by this time generally cut. However, they often retain possession to the last moment, frequently disputing every inch with the reapers, and not rarely causing them to leave parts uncut, in the hope that the Hogs will evacuate them; which, if the jungle whither they must betake themselves happen to be remote, they feel no great disposition to do. For at this season the Hog is extremely heavy and indolent, in consequence of the abundance of the excellent food to which he has, for five or six months, been habituated. Hogs are often killed in March with three and four inches of fat on their chines and shoulders. Exclusive of the habits of ease in which he has so long indulged, it is probable the Hog feels diffident as to his want of exercise, and ability to travel under such a mass of flesh. Besides, he is extremely tenacious of the spot which has so long pampered him; and, although unable to proceed any distance without being blown, yet the short sallies he makes to attack such as venture near his haunt are marked with vigour and resolution. Sometimes he will do considerable mischief with his tusks.... Great numbers are at this season either caught in nets made for the purpose, or they are shot by the _shekarries_, or native sportsmen, a circumstance that never fails to afford a happy triumph to the affrighted villagers.”

The Wild Boar of India is hunted usually by men on horseback, armed with spears of a more or less variable length, averaging from about six feet and a half to eight and sometimes ten feet. The shaft of a spear consists of bamboo properly weighted with lead; the spear itself is a broad and stout blade. It is held by a man on horseback in such a manner that about a foot and a half projects in front of the stirrup-iron, and the Horse is ridden in such a way that when the Boar charges it is transfixed by the spear.

An account of a Wild Boar hunt of an exceptionally interesting and exciting nature is related by Captain Shakespeare:--“While beating the sugar canes for Wild Hogs, a few miles from Hingolu, a villager came and said, ‘If you want to see a Hog come with me;’ and leading the way over the brow of a hill, pointed out an object in a field below, that in the mist of the morning appeared like a large blue rock, much too large for a Hog. However, the object presently got on its legs, and dissipated every doubt existing as to its character. About a hundred yards distant from the animal was a fissure in the hills, thickly wooded, and here, no doubt, was the Boar’s lair; and if he took alarm and rushed thither, it would be next to impossible to dislodge him. A savage Boar in his stronghold is as difficult to oust as the Grizzly Bear from his winter cave in the Rocky Mountains. He constantly rushes out, knocks over and gores the beaters nearest the mouth of his retreat, and then skips back again before there is the shadow of a chance of spearing him.”

After describing the way in which he managed to place himself between the Boar and his retreat, Captain Shakespeare continues:--

“Standing as I was, behind a hedge considerably higher than my mare’s head, I did not see the Boar. The duffadar (native officer) was some thirty yards to my left, and looking over a lower part of the hedge, shouted out, ‘Look out! here he comes!’ The mare was standing still, and I had but just time to drop my spear point, which caught the Boar in the rise, and the blade was buried in his withers. My mare, from her standing position, cleared with one bound the Boar, spear and all, as this was carried out of my hand; then suddenly turning, was in her stride after the Hog. The Hog had but seventy yards to reach the jungle, and just as he struck the first branch of the jungle with his back, breaking in two the shaft of my spear (which was still fast in his body), the duffadar closed with him. The Boar, having been missed by the spear, ran under the duffadar’s Horse, and for thirty yards lifted him off his legs, plunging and kicking till the rider came to the ground. Fortunately we had three Dogs with us; and having shouted to the people to let them go, they came up and took the attention of the Boar at the moment he was on the duffadar, who had fallen on his sword and broken it, and was utterly helpless. The next moment the Boar made full tilt for his stronghold, the Dogs following close at his heels. Armed with a fresh spear, I rode up the face of the hill, and from thence looking down saw the Boar at bay and surrounded by the Hounds, but in such a situation that it was impossible on horseback to go to the assistance of the Dogs. At this moment one of the beaters came running up with a heavy double-barrelled rifle, and being apprehensive that the Hounds would be speedily slaughtered if not relieved, I took the gun, and dismounting, resolved to attack the Boar on foot. Just as I got to the bottom, I saw the monster Boar with his back to a tree, and the three Dogs looking very cautiously at him. He was about forty yards from me. Directly he saw me, putting his head a little down to take aim, he came straight at me, increasing his pace from the trot to the charge. When about fifteen yards off, he received the first bullet of my rifle in his neck, Taking not the least notice of it, he came on, and the second barrel fired at him, at about five yards, broke his left under jaw-bone at the tusk. Fortunately I brought my rifle down to the charge, and striking it with his head, the Boar sent me over on my back. While running over me he made a glance, and wounded me in the left arm. Had I not put down my rifle-barrel at the moment, most probably his tusks would have been buried in my body. As it was I had two shooting jackets on, it being a very cold morning, and I suffered more from the jar than the wound. As I lay, I seized the end of my rifle-barrel, determined to sell my life as dearly as possible. To my delight, I must say, I saw the Boar knock over the man who was running down with my big spear. He did not turn on either of us; for the Boar is a noble foe, rarely turning, unless desperately wounded and unable to go on, to mutilate a fallen enemy. The Dogs immediately tackled him, and permitted me, though almost breathless, to get up. The rifle-stock was cracked, and the pin that fastens the barrel into the stock much bent. Having put this to rights, I loaded, and, proceeding in the direction the Boar had gone, came up to within fifteen yards of where he had halted and stood regarding me vengefully. Taking aim I sent a bullet through his eye into his brain, and rolled him over dead. I have stated that the Boar is the most courageous animal in the jungle. There he was; with a broken spear in his withers, the shaft sticking up a foot and a half from the blade, knocking over a horseman and wounding his Horse; receiving two bullets--ten to the pound--the first in his neck and throat, the second breaking his jaw, and fired within a few feet of his muzzle; making good his charge, cutting down his enemy like grass, wounding him; knocking over a second man armed with a spear; defying the Dogs; and then, in the act of charging again, shot in the brain, and dying without a groan.”

THE DOMESTIC HOG is proved by the researches of Nathusius and Rütimeyer to be descended from two distinct wild stocks--the Wild Boar, and an Eastern type known now only in the domesticated condition, and named _Sus indica_ by Pallas. The breeds of Hogs descended from the Wild Boar are to be found in various parts of Northern and Central Europe, and resemble their progenitors in the length of their legs, and the development of their tusk. The skull, however, has become higher and broader, and their tusks are not so large, and the body is not covered with such a dense coating of hair.

The old “Irish Greyhound Pig,” of Richardson, may be taken as an example of one of the domestic races descended from the Wild Boar. Sometimes in this breed, as in the Normandy Pigs, a peculiar pendant, about three inches long and covered with bristles, is to be seen attached to the corner of the jaw, as in the accompanying figure.

The domesticated breeds of China and Siam have, among other characters, broader and stouter heads than those which are descended from the Wild Boar, and are best known to Englishmen under the form of the Chinese breed. They constitute the type of _Sus indica_, which is now so largely represented among the various European strains, and which is mostly due to the crossing of the two original stocks.

Both these breeds were brought under the dominion of man in a very remote age, and have varied in exact proportion to the care taken in selecting the various characters. Both are found in the pile-dwellings in the Swiss Lakes which belong to the Neolithic age, or to that period when the use of metal was unknown in Europe north of the Alps, and both were probably introduced from the East by the same race of herdsmen to whom we owe the domestic cattle, Horses, and Dogs, as well as the arts of gardening, farming, and spinning. The amount of change which has been produced by the art of man in modifying the original stock may be estimated from the figure at the top of the preceding page.

THE SOLID-HOOFED BREED OF PIGS.--Among the most remarkable breeds of Pigs under domestication, the Solid-hoofed Pigs deserve special notice, because they show a persistent variation from the even-toed type. “From the time of Aristotle,” writes Mr. Darwin, “to the present time, solid-hoofed Swine have been occasionally observed in various parts of the world. Although this peculiarity is strongly inherited, it is hardly probable that all the animals with solid hoofs have descended from the same parents; it is more probable that the same peculiarity has reappeared at various times and places. Dr. Struthers has lately described and figured the structure of the feet; in both front and hind feet the distal phalanges of the two greater toes are represented by a single, great, hoof-bearing phalanx; and in the front feet, the middle phalanges are represented by a bone which is single towards the lower end, but bears two separate articulations towards the upper end.”

This singular modification is stated by Dr. Coues to be persistent in a Texas breed. So far as the hoof is concerned the animal is perfectly solid-ungulate. It is also perfectly “odd-toed” (or perissodactyle) in the terminal phalanges, which are joined together so as to form one single hoof-supporting bone, _a_ of figure. Above this, however, the other two phalanges (_b_, _c_) remain separate, and are widely separated from each other by the intervention of a special ossicle (_d_). How far this departs from the normal type may be seen from the comparison of the figure with that of the foot of the Common Hog.

Among the aberrant forms resulting from domestication, according, to Nathusius, is the JAPAN, OR MASKED PIG (_S. pliciceps_, Gray), with its short head, broad forehead and nose, great fleshy ears, and deeply-furrowed skin, of which the great thick folds are compared by Mr. Darwin to the plates on the Indian Rhinoceros. It is held by Nathusius to belong to the same stock as the Chinese Pig, a view which is by no means improbable if we consider the enormous differences which are produced by the selection of characters under the care of man in the European breeds.

The Hogs are represented in Africa, south of the Sahara, and in Madagascar, by an animal known as the BUSH HOG (_Potamochœrus_), which possesses a remarkable boss or excrescence, rising from the face below the eyes. The species figured, the _Potamochœrus penicillatus_, has peculiar ears which look almost as if they had been cut.

One of the most singular of the Wild Hogs is the BABIRUSA (_Porcus babirusa_), inhabiting the islands of Celebes and Borneo, in which, in the males, the tusks arrive at an enormous size, those of the upper jaw curving upwards and backwards, and even, in some cases, penetrating the skull in their backward reach. These tusks, however, are useless for purposes of attack. The lower jaws also are armed with two sharp tusks, which are capable of inflicting severe wounds. The animal is nearly hairless, and is said to arrive at a size not much less than that of a Donkey. It is very ferocious, and is a more formidable antagonist than the Wild Boar of Europe.

The name _Babirusa_ is said to be a compound of _Baba_ and _Rusa_, being the Malayan appellations of the Pig and the Deer respectively.

The Babirusa is described as being of a delicate nature, requiring considerable care and attention when kept in confinement. In its natural state it is said to be very swift, running with the rapidity of a Deer, and to be of a fierce disposition. The flesh of this animal is highly prized as an article of food in the countries in which it is found.

THE WART HOGS (_Phacochœrus_) constitute the second well-marked group to be considered under the head of the family of Hogs. They range over tropical Africa from Abyssinia to Caffraria. They are remarkable, not only for having enormous tusks, and for the development of a large excrescence, or wart, under each eye, but also for the peculiar construction of their last grinding teeth. These are massive, and composed of prisms of enamel surrounding a central mass of dentine, and embedded in the cement which unites them into one tooth. There is only one pair of upper incisors, and the last molars are the only ones which are not shed in the old animal. The canines are large, recurved, sharp, and project eight or nine inches beyond the lips.

Two species of this peculiar genus occur in Africa. ÆLIAN’S WART HOG[272] is a native of the North of Africa. Its skin is of a reddish colour, sparingly supplied with bristles; the neck and back support a mane, some of the bristles of which attain a considerable length.

THE ETHIOPIAN WART HOG (_P. æthiopicus_) is a native of the southern portions of Africa, and differs principally from the preceding in the larger size of the warts, and a more peculiarly shaped head. The food of both species of Wart Hogs appears to consist almost entirely of roots.

The Hog family is represented in the New World by the small though formidable animals known as the PECCARIES (_Dicotyles_), which are not more than about three feet long, and about fifty or sixty pounds in weight. They live in herds, are omnivorous, and are perhaps the most awkward animals to be dealt with by the hunter in the forests of South America. They know no fear, and will attack anything which comes in their way, inflicting frightful wounds with their short, lancet-shaped tusks, which are entirely concealed within their lips. They live in holes and hollow logs, into which they back, one by one, until their abode is full, the last standing as sentinel with his head outside. This habit affords the hunter an easy means of killing them, for if the sentinel be killed outright the next takes his place, after pushing out the dead body, and this may go on until the last of the herd is killed.

The dentition of the Peccary differs from that of the True Hogs in the smaller number of teeth, which are thirty-eight, instead of forty-four, in number, the upper incisors being reduced to four, and the premolars in the upper and lower jaws being six instead of eight. There are also differences in the shape of the teeth, the grinders presenting transverse ridges, as may be seen from the comparison of the accompanying figure with that of the Hog.

There is also another important difference to be noted between the Peccaries and the True Hogs in the structure of the feet. In the former, the middle metatarsals and metacarpals unite into a solid cannon bone analogous to that of cattle, while in the latter they are distinct during the whole life of the animal.

Two species of Peccary are known, the COMMON, OR TAJUCA, OR COLLARED PECCARY (_Dicotyles torquatus_), which ranges from Texas as far as the Straits of Magellan, and the WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY (_D. labiatus_), of the forests of South America. The latter is the larger of the two and the more ferocious.

THE FOSSIL HOGS.--The remains of the Fossil Hog are met with in the fossil state in Europe, as far back as the Miocene Age, in which period, as Professor Gaudry has pointed out, the canines were not developed into large tusks in the Hog tribe. In the Pliocene Age the males possessed moderate tusks, and in the Pleistocene, as at the present time, the forests of Europe were haunted by large “tuskers.”