Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Hog
HOG, in zoölogy, Sus scrofa. It has
two large teeth or tusks in the upper,
and two in the lower, jaw. The body is
covered with bristles. When wild it is
of a dark brindled hue, with soft short
hairs beneath its bristles.  In domestication
the ears become long,
sharp-pointed, and pendent. The hog when
wild feeds on beech-mast, chestnuts,
acorns, crabs, haws, sloes, hips, grass,
and roots. There are many breeds of

hogs, as the Chinese, the Suffolk, the
Berkshire, the Shropshire, the
Northampton, the Neapolitan, etc. The point
aimed at, is to make the animal quickly
increase in flesh without increasing in
bone. Their period of gestation is about
four months; they begin to breed at the
age of 18 months to two years, do so
twice in a year, and bring forth from
5 to 10, or more, at a time. The hog is
wild in Continental Europe, many parts
of Asia, and in north Africa. The
horned hog, or babiroussa, is a native
of the Indian archipelago. Its upper
tusks are very long and curve backward.
It has long legs and the flesh is good
eating.