curious manner. One sow
which I owned killed three successive litters; another fine animal of
the Berkshire breed, a very amiable, indeed affectionate, creature, was
carefully watched at the time she first bore young, precautions being
taken to prevent her from harming them; she would willingly allow them
to suckle, provided she did not see them, but the moment she laid her
eyes upon them she was seized with the strange fury.

Although this singular perversion of the natural instincts of maternity
sometimes occurs among the pigs which are allowed to roam together in
herds, it seems to be far more common in those conditions where the
animals are confined in pens without contact with their kind, and where
they have no chance to recognize the young as members of their species
or to acquire that interest in them which they would gain in the
society of the herd. It is also clear that this maniacal habit is
inherited; according to my observation it is common among the
Berkshire, and relatively rare in other less specialized varieties.

The intelligence of the pig is also shown in the readiness with which
the creature changes its habits to meet varied environments. Thus the
pigs which range the woods in the western and southern parts of the
United States have learned to catch the crawfish which abounds in the
shallow streams in those parts of this country. They will wade up a
brook, turning over the stones and driftwood as they go, catching with
a quick movement the crustaceans which they have thus dislodged from
their cover. Along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, the pigs, accustomed
to follow the tide out, picking the chance food which is thus exposed
to them, have learned carefully to avoid the risk of being caught by
the returning waters. With the first splash of the turning tide they
hasten inshore until they have attained safe ground.

One of the best evidences of the mental state of these animals is
found in their actions when assailed by dogs or other beasts of prey.
Pigs, though wary and sensible of danger, seem exempt from the
extreme fear which leads to panic, and fight, even before being
brought to bay by long chasing, in a discreet and valiant manner.
Where a number of them are attacked by dogs or other enemies, they
will form a circle with their heads out, each supporting the other
in such a manner that the ring cannot readily be broken. Their
thick-skinned forequarters and stout tusks provide them with
excell