IN THE PIG-STY
Let us now take a glance at that grunting brute known to us by the various names of pig, hog, and swine, which dwells in the pig-sty when tame and in the forest when wild. Clad in bristles, with thick skin, short legs, curled-up tail, no neck, and round snout, no one would buy the pig for a beauty. But in his case use goes ahead of beauty, and who will say that he is not of use?
Though the pig is a very docile brute in man's care, he is far from mild and gentle in his wild state. In fact, the wild hog is not an animal to be played with, nor is it a safe one to fight with. Hardy and active, fierce and bold as a lion, with a strong head and long, sharp tusks in his large jaw, the hunter who goes out to seek him in his lair must do so with care and skill or the pig will get the best of the hunt.
Most of the beasts of the wildwood let the hog alone. He is not safe game. But for many long years he has been hunted by man, who likes a game that has a spice of danger. In the days of old Rome the chase of the hog was a favorite sport, and it was the same in later times, when the lords and dukes of England and Germany were very fond of hunting the wild boar. In our days "pig-sticking" is a common sport of the English in India.
Mounted on trained horses and armed with long, sharp lances, the hunters seek to bring down their game from the saddle. But if by any foul chance the hunter should be thrown from his horse near the hunted brute his chance for life is not good. The furious brute will rush upon him, and with one thrust of its strong jaws may rip his body open with a deadly wound. Great nobles and warriors have met with death in this base way and the wild hog has held his own bravely among his enemies.
Is this fierce fighter of the forest the same animal as the lazy grunter of the pig-sty? There is no doubt of it. His long life under man's care has taken all the fight out of him. Only in one way does he show his old temper. He is the most obstinate of all the animals we know. He does not like to be driven and will do his best to go just where you do not want him to. But he no longer fights to win his way; he only grunts or squeals and holds back.
From Madeira's "Hunting in British East Africa"
The Wart Hog. An African Tusked Cousin of the Wild Boar of Europe
Try to drive a pig and you will find this out. You will soon be in a fret over the stubborn brute. If you want him to go forward you may find it best to try and drive him backward. An Irishman tells us that this is the only way to "persuade" a pig.
It takes a Chinaman to make little piggy go the right way, and this is done by putting him in a basket and carrying him. Two men carry this basket, hung on a pole. It is a sort of cradle in which piggy goes to market. The only time the pig can show his obstinate temper is when he is asked to go into the cradle. He holds back, as usual, but the cunning Chinaman knows what to do. He takes hold of the pig's tail and gives it a hard pull as if trying to drag him backward and the stubborn brute at once rushes forward into his cradle.
The pig will eat almost anything. By nature he is a plant feeder and in his wild state will roam the forest feeding on plants, fruits, and roots of all kinds. His hard snout helps him to dig into the ground in search of favorite roots and his keen sense of smell aids him in finding them. Thus he likes wet, shady places where the ground is soft and such plants grow.
In France and Italy the pig is trained to hunt for truffles, a kind of fungus which grows under ground and which makes good eating. He finds the truffles by his sense of smell and roots them up with his snout. In some places dogs are trained to do the same. The truffle found, the pig's master rescues it for his own table.
Pigs are fond of mast, the name given to the acorns and beech nuts that cover the ground in the nutting season in oak and beech woods. In ancient times it was the common practice to fatten the pigs on these nuts in the proper season.
A hungry pig is not particular about his food. If no plants are to be had he will feed on worms, snakes, and small animals of any kind. Pigs in the pen are often fed on animal refuse, all sorts of kitchen slops being poured into their troughs. They will swallow this stuff greedily enough, but it is not good for them, or at least for those who eat their flesh, for this loses in flavor and is not so wholesome as when they are fed on good vegetable food.
Corn and clover are two of the things the pig likes best. Turn him out into a clover field and he will have a joyful time of his own in this rich food and put plenty of good fat on his ribs. He does no harm to the field if not left there too long and it does good to him. In fattening pigs corn is freely given. It is not best to give corn alone, but it makes a good dessert after he has had the run of the pasture or clover field, and is the best fattener when he is being put in order for the market.
In visiting a farm the pig-pen is one of the things we are shown. It is not a pleasant place for a morning call, for the smell is not a sweet perfume and the mire in which the pig rolls is not nice. We are apt to go away with the feeling that this animal is a dirty brute.
This is giving poor piggy a bad name which he does not deserve. It is his owner more than himself that is to blame. If he had his own way he would be clean enough. Like all thick-skinned animals the pig loves to wallow in the mire and cover himself with mud to protect him against insects. But left to himself he will keep his sleeping place clean. Those who know how to keep pigs soon learn this and supply the animals with dry and clean places to sleep in.
A Fat Berkshire Hog. A Monarch of the Sty
Pork, or the flesh of the pig, has long been used as meat. In some places so much is thought of it that the animal is held to be sacred. It is the chief flesh food in the South Sea islands, where the animal was long made a precious sacrifice to the deities. This was also the case in ancient Greece, and on the island of Crete the hog was a sacred animal.
No people have ever been fonder of hog meat than the ancient Romans, and we are told of strange ways by which they gave it a fine flavor. They fed their pigs with old, dried figs, drenched with wine and honey. This was to make their livers grow large, pig's liver being a choice Roman dish.
In cooking the meat they would often serve a pig whole, one side being boiled and the other side roasted. In dressing the animal for the tables of the emperors and of rich Romans they would stuff it with such delicate food as larks and nightingales and serve it with wine and rich gravies. To eat pork in such ways would seem very odd in our days.
In many countries pork is the favorite meat. We find it so in Germany and France. In Ireland every peasant raises his pig, which makes its home in the same hut with him and thinks itself one of the family. In the end the man often has to sell his pig to help him out of debt, and looks on the porker as "the gintleman that pays the rent."
But the pig is not eaten all over the world. The Jews and Mohammedans will not eat it, and look upon it as an unclean animal. As there are nearly two hundred millions of these people on the earth, there are at least that many who do not eat pork. But aside from these, pork is eaten by the great mass of the people of the earth.
The pig is not an American animal. All our pigs, and they are many millions in number, came from animals brought from Europe. We have here the peccary, a kind of little pig, very savage and dangerous, as it goes in herds and attacks every man or other animal it meets. But it has never been tamed, and we owe our pigs to the Spanish and other discoverers.
Our swine have grown mighty in numbers, and we pay the Old World for its gift of the pig by sending it back every year many millions of dollars' worth of pork, bacon, hams, lard, and other pig products. The best foreign breeds have been brought here and other breeds have been produced here, so that the American pig is hard to beat. This country is the great corn country of the world and great part of its corn is fed to the pigs of the West, so that we sell much of our corn in Europe in the form of pork.
Of the many breeds of pigs, that of China is one of the best. The Chinese are as kind to their pigs as the Irish and they have an animal worth being good to, one that has been sent abroad to many other countries. It is noted for its small size, fine head and snout, large hams and shoulders, compact body, fine bone, hair and skin and sweet, delicate meat. We have it in some of the best American breeds.
If it be asked what the pig is used for, we should say that there is no part of it that is not used for some purpose. We eat it under the names of pork, bacon, ham and lard; its skin is made into leather, which is much used for saddles; the bristles are used for brush-making. In fact, when we think of all its uses, there is little left but the squeal and in our days even that may be used in the phonograph.
The Razor-back Hog of the South. Compare this lean Beast with the Fat Berkshire Hog given above
We might look upon the pig as a stupid animal, that lives only to eat and to be eaten, but this is not the case. It is in fact, a rather smart fellow in its way and can be taught to do many tricks. If you have ever seen what are called "learned pigs" you will agree with this.
The pig can do tricks without being taught. We have told how cats and some other animals can open latches and gate pegs. This the pig can do as well as any of them. We are told of one pig that was taught to point game like a pointer dog, and did this so well that she was more useful than a dog.
Animals of the Farm and Poultry Yard
Here is a good pig story. A gentleman named Stephen Harding says:—"I saw an intelligent sow-pig about twelve months old running in an orchard, going to a young apple tree and shaking it, pricking up her ears at the same time as if to listen to hear the apples fall. She then picked the apples up and ate them. After they were all down she shook the tree again and listened, but as there were no more to fall she went away." That might not be very smart in a boy, but it is smart in a pig.
V
THE BIRDS OF THE POULTRY YARD
We have had a long talk about the four-legged home-folks, those animals, big and little, that aid man in hunting, amuse him as house pets, carry him on his journeys, pull his carts and wagons, supply him with milk, butter and cheese, and yield him food for the table, wool for clothing, skins for leather, and other things for other uses.
This is a long list of the good that man gets from the animals he tames and feeds. But it is not the whole. There is another class of animals, two-legged ones this time, with claws instead of hoofs, horny beaks instead of mouths, feathers instead of hair, and wings in place of fore-legs. These are the birds of the poultry yard and the lawn, some of them kept for their eggs, some for their flesh, some for the splendor of their plumage; some of them very useful, others very beautiful.
I am sure that you will enjoy a talk about these winged and feathered creatures. They belong more closely to the home-life of all people than some of our four-legged friends and helpers, as they are kept close to the house and fed by its people, not left to feed themselves in the fields. Best known and most useful among these is the hen or chicken, our clucking friend of the poultry-yard, who fills our pantries with eggs and is served on our tables as one of the best liked foods.