Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-12-11
n coon M0RD FOR TIE noe.

Not 80 Bad "a Beast After AIi-EIe
Becomes Ciasu hWd nOcfabfe IL
You Troaa Him Well.
Prof. Law writes of the genial
hog:
Hei is one Of the pachydermatous,
or thick-skinned animals, Of which
the existing genera are the ele-
phant, the rhinoceros, the hippo
potamus, the hyrax, the tapir, and
the hog. The elephant, which once
spread in countless herds to the
polar regions, is now confined to
the woods of the tropics; the rhi-
noceros, yet more rare, is limited to
the hottest regions Of India and
Africa; the hippopotamus, one of
the hugest Of living quadrupeds, is
confined to. the larger rivers Of
Africa; the tapir merely fingers in
some of the forests of inter tropical
countries; but the hog survives the
revolution of countless ages, and is
reproduced in countless multitudes
in every region of the earth. How
ever groveling and mean may ap-
pear his habits when reduced to the
degradation of slavery, yet he is
not destitute Of sagacity nor unsus-
ceptible Of attachment. When he
lives in the cabin of the peasant,
he loses much of his rudeness, suf-
fers himself to be caressed, and
recognizes his protectors. Instances
are known in which the hog, for
the purpose Of exhibition, has been
brought to perform a number of
feats, displaying marvellous degree
of docility. Intraotable, rapacious
and selfish as we are wont to eS-
TEEN this animal, no other is more
tender of her young, or more reso-
lutte in their defense. Hogs are not
insensibIeof natural affections; they
are gregarious and social, warming
one another with their bodies
| in the cold weather. and, when
assembled in herds, manifest
ing the utmosts sympathy toI
one an0ther's sufering;s. should
one give signal Of distress, all wl.~-
in hearing rush to his assistance ;
they gather round their comrade
and fiercely assail the larger animals
that have injured him. In Gala
bria, where they are grazed in herds,
the keeper uses a kind of bagpipe,
which, when at sunset they are to
be driven homeward, instantly col
lects them from all parts. In Ger.
tain villages there is a common
swineherd; in the morning, when
he sounds his horn, all The pigs
rush forth and follow him to one
place of feeding; in the evening
they return underhis guidance, and
when they reach the village each
rushes to his own sty without mis-
take. In some of the Southern
United States it is usual to turn the
pigs into the woods, but to collect
them together once week by CIV
ing them salt and maize, or other
lavorite food. AT the very hour
they are to receive their weekly
present they reassemble from all
parts, without a straggler. They
have the sagacity always to discover
the food that suits them-neyer be-
| ing like some animals whose senses
are blunted by domestication,
poisoned by the plants they find in
/ the wild state. Their exquisite
sense of smell and touch direct
them to earth nuts and other roots
acorns, and the like which are
found buried in the ground. They
are conscious OF an impending
storm, and carry straw, as if tC
shelter themselves from its violence
They are agitated when the vino
blows violently, screaming and run
ming to the sty for shelter, which
has given rise to this singular say
ing of the country people, thai
''pigs see the wind" The explana
ton is that the hog breads wetnes
and cold and is eminently sensiiy,
to coming changes Of the weather
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