I HAVE joined these three animals, because they form but one species. The one is the wild animal, the other two are the same animal, only in a domestic state. Though they differ in some external marks, and perhaps likewise in some habits; yet, as these differences are not essential, but relative to their condition, as their nature is not altered by their slavery, and, lastly, as they can produce, by intermix- [500] ture, fertile individuals, the only character which constitutes a distinct and permanent species, they ought not to be treated as separate animals.
These animals are remarkably singular: Their species is solitary and detached. It is approached by no neighbouring species, which, like that of the horse and ass, and of the sheep and goat, may be regarded as principal or as accessory. Neither is it subject to a variety of races, like that of the dog. It participates of several species; but differs essentially from the whole. Let those who wish to limit the immensity of Nature to the contracted views of imperfect systems, attend to this animal, and they will discover, that it eludes all their methodical arrangements. Its extremities, which are cloven-hoofed, have no resemblance to those that are whole-hoofed. It even resembles not the cloven-hoofed animals; because, though it appears to have only two toes, it has actually four concealed within. It has no resemblance to the digitated quadrupeds; because it walks only on two toes, and the other two are neither so situated, nor extended so far, as to serve the purposes of walking. It has, therefore, equivocal or ambiguous characters, of which some are apparent and others concealed. Shall we consider this as an error of Nature, and maintain that the two internal toes should not be reckoned? But this error is constant. Besides, in this animal, the other bones of the foot have no resemblance to those of cloven-footed ani- [501] mals; and there are other differences still more striking: For the latter have horns and no teeth in the upper jaw; they have four stomachs, chew the cud, &c. But the hog has no horns, only one stomach, does not ruminate, and has cutting teeth both above and below. It is evident, therefore, that he belongs neither to the genus of whole-hoofed, nor to that of cloven-hoofed. He has as little pretension to be ranked with the digitated quadrupeds; for he differs from then not only in the extremity of his foot; but still more in his teeth, stomach, intestines, internal parts of generation, &c. All that can be said is, that, in some respects, he forms the link between the whole and cloven-footed animals, and, in others, between the cloven-footed and digitated animals; for, in the number and arrangement of his teeth, he differs less from the whole-hoofed quadrupeds than from the other kinds. He also resembles them in the prolongation of the jaws, and, like them, he has but one large stomach; but, by an appendix attached to it, as well as by the position of the intestines, he seems to approach towards the cloven-footed or ruminant animals. He likewise resembles them in the external parts of generation; and, at the same time, he resembles the digitated quadrupeds in the form of his legs, in the habit of his body, and in the number of his progeny. Aristotle* is [502] the first writer who divided quadrupeds into whole-hoofed, cloven-hoofed, and digitated, and he allows that the hog is an ambiguous genus. But the only reason he assigns is, that, in Illyrica, Poeonia, and some other places, there are whole-hoofed hogs. This animal still affords a kind of exception to two general laws of nature, namely that the larger the animals, they are the less prolific; and that digitated animals are the most prolific. The hog, though of a size far beyond mediocrity, produces more than any other quadruped. By this surprising fecundity, as well as by the structure of the ovaria of the female, it seems to constitute the extremity of the viviparous species, and to approach to those of the oviparous. In fine, the hog seems to be of an equivocal nature, or rather he appears so to those who mistake the hypothetical arrangement of their ideas for the common order of Nature, and who only perceive, in the infinite chain of being, some conspicuous points to which they incline to refer every natural phaenomenon.
To circumscribe the sphere of Nature, is not the proper method of acquiring the knowledge [503] of her. We cannot judge of her, by making her act agreeably to our particular and limited views. We can never enter deeply into the designs of the author of Nature, by ascribing to him our own ideas. Instead of limiting the powers of Nature, we ought to enlarge and extend them; we should regard nothing as impossible, but believe that every thing which can have existence, really exists. Ambiguous species, and irregular productions, would not then excite surprise, but appear to be equally necessary as others, in the infinite order of things. They fill the intervals, and constitute the intermediate points of the chain. These beings present to the human intellect, curious examples, where Nature, by appearing to act upon an unusual model, makes a greater display of her powers, and affords us an opportunity of recognizing singular characters, which indicate that her designs are more general than our contracted views, and that, if she has made nothing in vain, neither are her operations regulated by the designs which we attribute to her.
Does not this singular conformation of the hog merit a few reflections? He appears not to have been constructed upon any original or perfect model; for he is a composition of different animals. Some of his parts, for example, the toes above described, the bones of which are perfectly formed, are evidently of no use to him. Nature, therefore, in the construction of beings, [504] is by no means subjected to the influence of final causes. Why should she not sometimes give redundant parts, when she so often denies those which are essential? How many animals are deprived of senses and of members? Why should we imagine, that, in each individual, every part is useful to its neighbour, and necessary to the whole? Is it not enough that they exist together, that they never injure each other, that they can grow and expand without mutual destruction? Every thin which is not so hostile as to destroy, every thing that can subsist in connection with other things, does actually subsist: And, perhaps, in most beings, there are fewer relative, useful, or necessary parts, than those which are indifferent, useless, or redundant. But, as we always wish to make every thing refer to a certain end, when parts have no apparent uses, we either suppose that their uses are concealed from us, or invent relations which have no existence, and tend only to throw an obscure veil over the operations of Nature. It is the intention of true philosophy, to instruct us how objects exist, and the manner in which Nature acts: But we pervert this intention, by attempting to investigate why objects are produced, and the ends proposed by Nature in producing them.
This general and presumptuous prejudice, which serves only to conceal our ignorance, is both useless, and prevents the discovery of natural truths. Without deviating from our subject, [505] some examples may be given where those intentions, which we so arrogantly ascribe to Nature, are evidently false and contradictory. The phalanges of the hand or foot are said to be formed for the purposes of producing fingers and toes; yet, in the hog, the phalanges are useless, because they give rise to no toes which benefit the animal; and cloven-hoofed animals have small bones in their feet, which do not even form phalanges. Hence, if Nature intended to produce toes in these animals, it is evident, that, in the hog, she has only half-executed her design, and, in the others, that she has hardly begun it.
The allantois [sic] is a membrane accompanying the foetus of the sow, the mare, the cow, and several other animals. As this membrane adheres to the bladder of the foetus, it was said to be destined for the reception of the urine discharged during the time of gestation. At the instant of birth, an inconsiderable quantity of liquor is found in the allantois. In the cow this liquor is perhaps most abundant; and yet the allantois contains only a few pints: The capacity of the membrane is here so great, that no proportion subsists between it and the liquor. This membrane, when filled with air, forms a double bag in the shape of a crescent, about thirteen or fourteen feet long, by nine, ten, eleven, and sometimes twelve broad. Is a vessel, capable of containing several cubic feet, necessary for the [506] reception of three or four pints of fluid? The bladder of the foetus, if not pierced at the bottom, would itself be sufficient to contain this quantity, as it does in man and other animals, in which no allantois has hitherto been discovered. Hence this membrane is not designed for receiving the urine of the foetus, nor for any purpose that we can ascribe to it; for, if it were filled, as, according to our mode of reasoning, it ought sometimes to be filled, it would be as large as the body of the mother. Besides, as it bursts at the moment of birth, and is thrown away along with the other membranes which invest the foetus, it is equally useless then as it was before.
The number of paps, in every species of animals, it has been said, is proportioned to the number of young which the female is capable of producing and suckling. But why should the male, who never produces, have generally the same number of paps? And why should the sow, which often produces eighteen, and even twenty pigs, have only twelve paps, and sometimes fewer? Does not this prove that the operations of Nature are not to be judged of by final causes, or moral fitness, but by examining the manner in which she acts, and by employing, to acquire a knowledge of her, all those physical relations exhibited to us by the immense variety of her productions. I allow, that this method, which is the only path that can conduct us to [507] real knowledge, is incomparably more difficult than the other, and that there are innumerable facts in Nature, to which, like the preceding, it cannot be applied with success. However, instead of searching for the use of this great capacity in the allantois, and finding that it neither serves, nor can serve, any purpose, we ought to inquire into those physical relations which may indicate the origin of its production. By observing, for example, that, in animals whose stomach and intestines are not very large, the allantois is either very small, or does not exist; and that, consequently, the production of this membrane has some connection with the great capacity of the intestines, &c. In the same manner, by considering, that the number of paps is not equal to the number of young, admitting only the most prolific animals to have the great number of paps, we may conjecture, that this numerous production depends on the conformation of the internal parts of generation, and that the paps, depending also externally on the same parts, there is, between the number or arrangement of these parts, and that of the paps, a physical reason which ought to be investigated.
But I only point out the true path, this not being a proper place for prosecuting such nice discussions. However, I must remark, that numerous productions depend more upon the structure of the internal parts of generation than any other cause: They depend not upon the quan- [508] tity of seminal fluid, otherwise the horse, the stag, the ram, and the goat, would be more prolific than the dog, the cat, and other animals which secrete less semen in proportion to their size. But the prolific powers of the latter far exceed those of the former. Neither does the number of young depend upon the frequency of coition; for, in the sow and botch, one embrace is sufficient for the production of a numerous progeny. The longer or shorter time occupied in discharging the semen, seems likewise to have no influence on the number of young; for the dog remains long only in consequence of an obstacle arising from the structure of the parts; and, though the boar is retained by no such obstacle, and continues longer than most animals; yet no conclusion can be drawn from this circumstance in favour of a numerous progeny, since the cock requires but an instant to impregnate all the eggs which a hen can produce in the course of a month. I shall afterwards unfold the ideas I have here accumulated, solely with a view to demonstrate, that a simple probability, or conjecture, when founded on physical relations, brings more light and greater advantages than the whole group of final causes put together.*
To the peculiarities already related, some others remain to be added. The fat of the hog differs from that of almost every other quadru- [509] ped, not only in its consistence and quality, but in its position in the body of the animal. The fat of man, and of those animals which have no suet, as the dog, the horse, &c. is pretty equally intermixed with the flesh. The suet of the sheep, goat, deer, &c. is placed at the extremities of the flesh. But the lard of the hog is neither mixed with the flesh, nor collected at its extremities. It covers the whole animal in the form of a thick, distinct, and continued stratum between the flesh and the skin. This phaenomenon likewise takes place in the whale and other cetaceous animals.
What is still more singular, the hog sheds not his fore-teeth; they continue to grow during life. He has six cutting teeth in the under jaw, and a corresponding number in the upper. But, by an irregularity, of which there is not another example in Nature, the figure of the six teeth in the under jaw is different from that of those in the upper; for, instead of being sharp and cutting, the latter are long, cylindrical, blunt at the points, and form nearly a right angle with those in the upper jaw; so that their extremities apply to each other in a very oblique manner.
Tusks, or very long canine teeth, are peculiar to the hog, and two or three other species of animals. They differ from other teeth, by extending out of the mouth, and continuing to grow during life. In the elephant and sea- [510] cow, they are cylindrical, and several feet in length. In the wild boar and male hog, I have seen the tusks from nine to ten inches long. They are flat, sharp, and bend in a circular form. They sink very deep in the socket; and, like those of the elephant, they have a cavity at their superior extremity. The tusks of the elephant and sea-cow are placed in the upper jaw, and there are no canine teeth in the under jaw. But the male hog and wild boar have tusks in both jaws; and those of the under jaw are most useful to the animal, and also most dangerous; for it is with them that the wild boar wounds those who attack him.
The common sow, the wild sow, and the castrated domestic boar, have likewise four canine teeth in the under jaw; but they are much less than those of the male, and never extend beyond the mouth. Beside these sixteen teeth, namely twelve cutting and four canine, they have twenty-eight grinders, which make forty-four in all. The tusks of the wild boar are larger, his snout stronger, and his head longer than those of the domestic hog. His feet are also larger, his toes more separated, and his bristles is [sic] always black.
Of all quadrupeds, the hog is the most rude and brutal. The imperfections of his form seem to have an influence on his nature and dispositions. All his habits are gross; all his appetites are impure; all his sensations are confi- [511] ned to a furious lust, and a brutal gluttony. He devours indiscriminately every thing that comes in his way, even his own progeny, the moment after their birth. This voraciousness seems to proceed from the perpetual cravings of his stomach, which is of an immoderate size; and the grossness of his appetites, it is probable, arises from the bluntness of his senses of taste and of feeling. The rudeness of the hair, the hardness of the skin, and the thickness of the fat, render these animals less sensible to blows. Mice have been known to lodge upon a hog’s back, to eat his skin and his fat, without his showing any marks of sensibility. The other senses of the hog are very good. It is well known to the hunters, that the wild boar hears and smells at a great distance; for, in order to surprise him, they are obliged to watch him in silence during the night, and to place themselves opposite to the wind, that he may not perceive the smell, which never fails to make him turn back.
The imperfection of the senses of taste and feeling in the hog, is farther augmented by a leprous disease, which renders him almost totally insensible. This malady proceeds, perhaps, less from the texture of the flesh or skin, than from the natural dirtiness of the animal, and the corruption that must result from the putrid food he sometimes devours; for the wild boar, who generally lives upon grain, fruits, acorns, and [512] roots, is not subject to this distemper; neither is the pig while it continues to suck. There is no method of preventing it, but by keeping the domestic hog in a clean stable, and feeding him with wholesome nourishment. His flesh will become excellent, and his fat firm and brittle, if he is kept for fifteen days or three weeks in a paved stable, without litter, and always clean, giving him only dry wheat to eat, and allowing him to drink very little. For this purpose, a hog of a year old, in good health, and half-fattened, should be chosen.
The ordinary method of fattening hogs is to give them plenty of barley, acorns, cabbages, boiled peas, roots, &c. and water mixed with bran. In two months they are fat; their lard is thick, but neither firm nor white; and their flesh, though good, is somewhat insipid. They may be fattened much cheaper in woody countries, which produce acorns, and other nuts, by leading them into the forests during autumn, when chesnuts [sic], acorns, beech-mast, &c. fall and quit their husks. They eat indiscriminately all wild fruits, and soon fatten, especially if, on their return in the evening, they be served with lukewarm water mixed with a little bran and pease-meal. This drink makes them sleep, and take on fat to such a degree, that they sometimes are unable to walk, or move themselves. They fatten much sooner in autumn than in any other season, both because their [513] food is more plentiful, and because they lose less by perspiration than in the summer months.
In fattening hogs, it is unnecessary to delay, as we do with other cattle, till they be full grown; for, the older they are, they fatten with more difficulty, and their flesh is not equally good. Castration, which ought always to precede the fattening of hogs, is generally performed at the age of six months, and in the spring or autumn; because great heat or great cold renders the wound dangerous or difficult to cure; for the operation is commonly performed by incision, though sometimes by a simple ligature. When castrated in spring, they are fattened the following autumn, and are seldom allowed to live two years. However, they continue to grow during the second, third, fourth, and even the fifth year. Those which are remarkable for their size and corpulence, are too old, and have been several times fed in the forest. The continuance of their growth seems not to be limited to four or five years. The boars kept for propagation grow larger during the sixth year; and the wild boar is larger and fatter, in proportion to the number of his years.
The life of the wild boar may be extended to twenty-five or thirty years.* Aristotle says, that hogs in general live twenty years; and adds, that both males and females are fertile till they arrive at the age of fifteen. They can en- [514] gender at the age of nine or twelve months; but it is better to restrain them till they be eighteen months or two years. The first litter of the sow is not numerous; and, when only one year old, her pigs are weak, and even imperfect. She may be said to be in season at all times. Though full, she solicits the approach of the male. This may be regarded as an excess among animals; for almost every other species refuse the male after conception. The ardour of the sow, though almost perpetual, is, however, marked by paroxysms and immoderate movements, which always terminate by her wallowing in the mire. She, at the same time, emits a thick whitish fluid. She goes four months with young, brings forth in the beginning of the fifth; and soon afterwards solicits the male, is impregnated a second time, and, of course, brings forth twice a-year. The wild sow, which every way resembles the domestic kind, produces only once a-year. This difference in fertility is probably owing to want of nourishment, and the necessity of suckling her pigs much longer than the domestic sow, which is never allowed to nurse her young above fifteen days or three weeks. Only eight or nine of the litter are kept longer; the rest are sold. In fifteen days, pigs are excellent food. As many females are unnecessary, and as castrated hogs bring most profit, their flesh being best, only two females and seven or eight males, are left with the mother. [515]
The male chosen for propagation should have a thick body, rather square than long, a large head, a short flat snout, large depending ears, small fiery eyes, a large thick neck, a flat belly, broad thighs, thick, short legs, and strong, black bristles. White hogs are never so strong as the black kind. The sow ought to have a long body, a large belly, and long dugs. She should also be of a placid temper, and sprung from a prolific race. Immediately after conception, she should be separated from the male, who is apt to injure her. When she brings forth, she should be fed plentifully, and watched to prevent her from devouring some of her young. Still greater attention is necessary to keep off the male, who would destroy the whole litter. The females are covered in the beginning of spring, that the pigs may be brought forth in summer, and have time to acquire strength and become fat before winter. But, when two litters are wanted annually, the male is given in November, that the female may bring forth in March; and she is covered a second time in the beginning of May. Some sows produce regularly every five months. The wild sow, which produces but once a-year, receives the male in January or February, and brings forth in May or June. She suckles her young three or four months: She conducts, follows, and allows them not to separate from her till they be two or three years old; and it is not uncommon to see a [516] wild sow accompanied with two or three litters. The domestic sow is not allowed to suckle her pigs above two months. At the end of three weeks, they are led to the fields along with the mother, to accustom them gradually to feed as she does. Five weeks afterwards, they are weaned, and get, every morning and evening, a little milk mixed with bran, or only lukewarm water and boiled vegetables.
Hogs are fond of earth-worms and particular roots, as those of the wild carrot. It is in search of these worms and roots, that they dig the ground with their snouts. The wild boar, whose snout is longer and stronger than that of the domestic kind, digs deeper, and always nearly in a straight line: But the common hog digs irregularly and more lightly. As they do much mischief in cultivated fields, they should be fed in the forests, or in fallow land.
Wild boars, which have not passed their third year, are called by the hunters flock-beasts (bêtes de compagnie); because, previous to this age, they do not separate, but follow their common mother. They never wander alone, till they have acquired strength sufficient to resist the attacks of the wolf. These animals, when they have young, form a kind of flocks; and it is upon this alone that their safety depends. When attacked, the largest and strongest front the enemy, and, by pressing all round against the weaker, force them into the centre. The do- [517] mestic hogs defend themselves in the same manner, and have no occasion to be guarded by dogs. But, as they are obstinate and untractable, an active and robust man is unable to manage more than fifty of them. In autumn and winter, they are conducted to the woods, where wild fruits abound; in summer, they are led to moist grounds, where they find plenty of worms, and roots; and, in spring, they are allowed to go on waste or fallow lands. They are led out twice a-day from March to October, and feed from the time that the dew is dissipated in the morning, till ten o’clock, and from two in the afternoon till the evening. In winter, they are let out only once a-day, when the weather is fine; for dew, snow, and rain, are hurtful to them. When overtaken with a storm, or even a great rain, they often desert the flock one after another, and run and cry till they arrive at the stable-door. The youngest cry oftenest, and loudest. This cry, which differs from the ordinary grunting, resembles the cries they utter when bound with ropes, in order to be slaughtered. The male cries less frequently than the female. The wild boar seldom cries, unless when he is wounded in combat. The wild sow cries oftener; and, when suddenly frighted [sic], she blows with such violence as to be heard at a great distance.
Though extremely gluttonous, they never attack or devour other animals; but they sometimes eat putrid flesh. Wild boars have been [518] observed eating the flesh of horses, and the skin of the roebuck, and claws of birds have been found in their stomachs. But, perhaps, this proceeds more from necessity than instinct. It cannot, however, be denied, that they are very fond of blood, and of fresh and bloody flesh; for hogs devour their own young, and even infants in the cradle. Whenever they find any succulent, moist, or unctuous substance, they first lick, and then swallow it. In their return from the fields, I have seen a whole herd stop round a piece of new ploughed clay-land, which though but slightly unctuous, they all licked, and some of them swallowed considerable quantities of it. Their gluttony, as formerly remarked, is equally gross as their nature is brutal. They have no sentiments which are very distinct. The pigs hardly know their mother, or, at least, they are extremely apt to mistake her, and to suck the first sow that will permit them. Fear and necessity seem to confer more sentiment and instinct upon wild hogs. The young are more attached to their mother, and she appears to be more attentive to them, than the domestic sow. In the rutting season, the male follows the female, and generally remains with her about thirty days in the thickest and most solitary recesses of the forest. He is then more ferocious than ever: When another male endeavours to occupy his place, he becomes perfectly furious; and they fight, wound, and often kill each other. [519] The wild sow is never furious but when her pigs are attacked: And it may, in general, be remarked, that, in almost all wild animals, the males, during the rutting season, and the females, after they bring forth, become more or less furious.
The wild boar is hunted with dogs, or killed by surprise during the night, when the moon shines. As he flies slowly, leaves a strong odour behind him, and defends himself against dogs, and often wounds them dangerously, fine hunting dogs are unnecessary, and would have their nose spoiled, and acquire a habit of moving slowly by hunting him. Mastiffs, with very little training, are sufficient. The oldest, which are known by the track of their feet, should only be attacked: A young boar of three years old is difficult to hunt down; because he runs very far without stopping. But the older boars do not run far, allow the dogs to run near, and often stop to repel them. During the day, he commonly remains in his soil, which is in the most sequestered part of the woods. He comes out in the night in quest of food. In summer, when the grain is ripe, it is easy to surprise him among the cultivated fields, which he frequents every night. As soon as he is slain, the hunters cut off his testicles, the odour of which is so strong, that, in a few hours, it would infect the whole flesh. The snout of an old boar is the only part that is esteemed; but every part of the castrated and young boar, not exceeding one [520] year fed, makes delicate eating. The pork of the domestic boar is still worse than that of the wild boar; and it can only be rendered fit for eating by castration and fattening. The antients* castrated the young boars which they could carry off from their mothers, and returned them to the woods, where they grew fat, and their pork was much better than that of domestic hogs.
To those who live in the country, the profits arising from the hog are well known. Pork sells nearly as dear as beef; the lard brings double or triple the price; the blood, the intestines, the feet, the tongue, are all prepared and used as food. The dung of the hog is colder than that of other animals, and should not be used but in grounds which are too warm and too dry. The fat of the intestines and web, which differs from common lard, is employed for greasing axles of wheels and many other purposes. Sieves are made of the skin, and brushes, pencils, &c. of the bristles. The flesh of the hog takes salt better, and keeps longer than that of any other animal.
This species, though very numerous, and diffused over Europe, Asia, and Africa, existed not in the New Continent, till they were transported thither, and to most of the American islands, by the Spaniards. In many places they have multiplied [521] greatly, and become wild. They resemble our boars; and their bodies are shorter, and their snout and skin thicker than the domestic hogs, which, in warm climates, are all black, like the wild board.
By a ridiculous prejudice, which superstition alone could support, the Mahometans are deprived of this useful animal. They have been told that it is unclean; and, therefore, they dare not either touch or feed it. The Chinese, on the contrary, are extremely fond of pork. They rear hogs in numerous flocks, and pork is their most common food. This circumstance is said to have prevented them from embracing the religion of Mahomet. The Chinese pigs, as well as those of Siam and India, differ a little from the common kind. They are smaller, have shorter legs, and their flesh is whiter and more delicate. They are reared in several places of France; and they intermix and produce with the domestic hog. Numbers of them are reared by the Negroes; and, though there are few of them among the Moors, or in the countries inhabited by Mahometans; yet wild boars are as common in Asia and Africa as in Europe.
Hence these animals affect not any particular climate: But the boar, by becoming domestic, seems to have degenerated more in cold than in warm countries. A very slight alteration of climate is sufficient to change their colour. In the northern provinces of France, and even in [522] Viverais, the hogs are generally white; but in Dauphiny, which is at no great distance, they are all black; and those of Languedoc, Provence, Spain, Italy, India, China, and America, are of the same colour. The hog of Siam has a greater resemblance to the common hog than to the wild boar. The ears furnish the most evident mark of degeneration; for they become more supple, soft, inclined, or pendulous, in proportion as the animal is altered, or rather as he has been softened by education in a domestic state: And, in fact, the ears of the domestic hog are more flexible, longer, and more inclined than those of the wild boar, which ought to be regarded as the model of the species. [523]
I have little to add concerning the hogs of Europe, of Siam, and of China, which intermix together, and therefore constitute but one species. Those of Europe are considerably larger than the other races; and their size might be still farther augmented, if they were allowed to live longer. Mr Colinson, Fellow of the Royal Society of London, informed me, by a letter dated January 30, 1767, that a hog, which was fattened by Mr Joseph Leastarm, and killed by one Meek, a butcher in Cheshire, weighed 850 pounds, including head, intestines, &c. [524]
[PLATE XX HERE] [PLATE XXI HERE] [PLATE XXII HERE] [PLATE XXIII HERE]
* The common hog or sow is cloven hoofed, and has cutting teeth in both jaws, and two large tusks above and below. The body is covered with bristles. In a wild state, it is of a dark brinded colour; beneath the bristles, there is soft, curled, short hair; and the ears are short, and a little rounded. When tame, the ears are long, sharp-pointed, and slouching; and the colour is generally whitish, but sometimes mixed with other colours: Pennant, Synops. p. 68.
Gen. charact. Sus, dentes primores superiors iv. inferiors vi. Promimentes. Laniaii superiors ii. breviores, inferiors i. exserti. Rostrum truncatum, prominens, mobile. Spect. Charac. Sus serofa, dorso antice fetoso, cauda pilosa; Linn. Syst. 102.
Sus fera, aper. Plin. Lib. viii. C. 51. Gesner quad. 918.
Sus agrestis, five aper, wild board or swine. Raii Synb. quad. 96.
Wieprz lesny, Dzik, Rzacynski Polon 213.
Schwein, Klein. quad. 25.
Sus caudatus, auriculis brevibus, subrotundis, cauda pilosa. Brisson. quad. 75 [back to page 500].
* Quadrupedum autem, quae sanguine constant, eadem quae animal generant, alia multifida sunt; quales hominis ma- [502] nus pedesque habentur. Sunt enim quae multiplici pedum fissure digitentur, ut canis, leo, panthera. Alia bifulca sunt, quae forcipem pro ungul haeant, ut oves, caprae, cervi, equii fluviatiles. Alia infisso sunt pede, ut quae solipedes nominantur, ut equus, mulus. Genus sane suillum ambiguum est; nam et in terra Illyriorum, et in Poeonia, et nonnullis aliis locis, sues solipedes gignuntur. Arist. de hist. animal. lib. 2. cap 1 [this note straddles two pages, with the break occurring where indicated above. Back to page 502].
* This is another bold and inconclusive attack upon final causes. See the note vol. II. p. 70 [Smellie’s note. Back to page 509].
* See Arist. Hist. animal. lib. 6. cap 28 [back to page 521].