ever bred. To the acute sense of the hog are epicures indebted for the truffles which form such a delicious sauce, for they are the actual finders. A pig is turned into a field and suffered to pursue his own course and watched. He stops and begins to grub up the earth, the man hurries up, drives him away, and secures the truffle, which is invariably growing under that spot, and the poor pig goes off to sniff out another, and another, only now and then being allowed by way of encouragement to reap the fruits of his research. And how many a school-boy has by watching a hog along the hedge sides, and driven him away just as he began to dig, secured a fine juicy earth-nut!
The muscles, too, of the snout of the hog require some notice. According to Cuvier, there are four principal muscles proceeding to it; the superior of these proceeds from the lachrymal bone, which occupies a rather large rhomboidal space upon the cheek, and its tendon bears upon the snout, but does not approach sufficiently near it to unite with it. The next two are situated immediately beneath, and proceed from the maxillary bone; these are partially united, but their tendons pass on separately, one on the one side, and one on the other of the extremity of the snout; and the fourth and smallest passes obliquely beneath the tendons of the others, from the nasal bone towards the insertion of the second and third muscles. These longitudinal muscles are enveloped in annular fibres, which appear to be a continuation of the orbicularis of the lips, and give to the snout its extreme flexibility.
THE TEETH.
The hog has fourteen molar teeth in each jaw; six incisors and two canines; these latter are curved upwards, and commonly denominated tushes. The molar teeth are all slightly different in structure, and increase in size from first to last; they bear no slight resemblance to those of the human being. The incisors are so fantastic in form as to baffle description, and their destined functions are by no means clear. Those in the lower jaw are long, round, and nearly straight; of those in the upper jaw four closely resemble the corresponding teeth in the horse, while the two corner incisors bear something of the fleur de lis shape of those of the dog. These latter are placed so near to the tushes as often to obstruct their growth, and it is sometimes necessary to draw them, in order to relieve the animal and enable him to feed.
It is seldom that it becomes necessary to ascertain the age of the hog by inspecting his teeth, nor is it by any means an easy task to do so, but still it may occasionally be interesting, and, with reference to those intended for breeding, important to be able to do so when necessary.
