The hog is a cosmopolite, adapting itself to almost every climate; though its natural haunts—like those of the hippopotamus, the elephant, the rhinoceros, and most of the thick-skinned animals—are in warm countries. They are most abundant in China, the East Indies, and the immense range of islands extending throughout the whole Southern and Pacific oceans; but they are also numerous throughout Europe, from its Southern coast to the Russian dominions within the Arctic.
As far back as the records of history extend, this animal appears to have been known, and his flesh made use of as food. Nearly fifteen hundred years before Christ, Moses gave those laws to the Israelites which have given rise to so much discussion; and it is evident that, had not pork been the prevailing food of that nation at the time, such stringent commandments and prohibitions would not have been necessary. The various allusions to this kind of meat, which repeatedly occur in the writings of the old Greek authors, show the esteem in which it was held among that nation; and it appears that the Romans made the art of breeding, rearing, and fattening pigs a study. In fact, the hog was very highly prized among the early nations of Europe; and some of the ancients even paid it divine honors.
The Jews, the Egyptians, and the Mohammedans alone appear to have abstained from the flesh of swine. The former were expressly denied its use by the laws of Moses. “And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean unto you.” Lev. xi. 7. Upon this prohibition, Mohammed, probably, founded his own. For the Mosaic prohibition, various reasons have been assigned: the alleged extreme filthiness of the animal; it being afflicted with a leprosy; the great indigestibility of its flesh in hot climates; the intent to make the Jews “a peculiar people;” a preventive of gluttony; and an admonition of abstinence from sensual and disgusting habits.
At what period the animal was reclaimed from his wild State, and by what nation, cannot be stated. From the earliest times, in England, the hog has been regarded as a very important animal, and vast herds were tended by swineherds, who watched over their safety in the woods, and collected them under shelter at night. Its flesh was the staple article of consumption in every household, and much of the wealth of the rich and free portion of the community consisted in these animals. Hence bequests of swine, with land for their support, were often made; rights and privileges connected with their feeding, and the extent of woodland to be occupied by a given number, were granted according to established rules. Long after the end of the Saxon dynasty, the practice of feeding swine upon the mast and acorns of the forest was continued till the forests were cut down, and the land laid open for the plough.
Nature designed the hog to fulfil many important functions in a forest country. By his burrowing after roots and the like, he turns up and destroys the larvæ of innumerable insects, which would otherwise injure the trees as well as their fruit. He destroys the slug-snail and adder, and thus not only rids the forests of these injurious and unpleasant inhabitants, but also makes them subservient to his own nourishment, and therefore to the benefit of mankind. The fruits which he eats are such as would otherwise rot on the ground and be wasted, or yield nutriment to vermin; and his diggings for earth-nuts and the like, loosens the soil, and benefits the roots of the trees. Hogs in forest land may, therefore, be regarded as eminently beneficial; and it is only the abuse which is to be feared.
The hog is popularly regarded as a stupid, brutal, rapacious, and filthy animal, grovelling and disgusting in all his habits, intractable and obstinate in temper. The most offensive epithets among men are borrowed from him, or his peculiarities. In their native state, however, swine seem by no means destitute of natural affections; they are gregarious, assemble together in defence of each other, herd together for warmth, and appear to have feelings in common; no mother is more tender to her young than the sow, or more resolute in their defence. Neglected as this animal has ever been by authors, recorded instances are not wanting of their sagacity, tractability, and susceptibility of affection. Among the European peasantry, where the hog is, so to speak, one of the family, he may often be seen following his master from place to place, and grunting his recognition of his protectors.
The hog, in point of actual fact, is also a much more cleanly animal than he has the credit of being. He is fond of a good, cleanly bed; and when this is not provided for him, it is oftentimes interesting to note the degree of sagacity with which he will forage for himself. It is, however, so much the vogue to believe that he may be kept in any state of neglect, that the terms “pig,” and “pig-sty” are usually regarded as synonymous with all that is dirty and disgusting. His rolling in the mud is cited as a proof of his filthy habits. This practice, which he shares in common with all the pachydermatous animals, is undoubtedly the teaching of instinct, and for the purpose of cooling himself and keeping off flies.