[Illustration:
THE SOW.
]
The Sow is, generally speaking, a harmless and inoffensive creature. Its
food consists of a variety of things that would otherwise be wasted; the
refuse of the field, the garden, the barn, or the kitchen, afford them a
very good meal. These animals select with great sagacity and niceness
the plants they prefer, and are never poisoned like some others by
mistaking one plant for another. Selfish, obstinate, and greedy as many
think them, no animal, it is said, has greater feeling for those of its
own kind. They have been known to gather round a dog that teased them,
and kill him on the spot. If a male and female are put in a sty together
when young, the female will not eat her food for some time if her
companion is removed from her.
Many things shew that they are not quite so stupid as some are inclined
to believe. We have had exhibitions of their ingenuity, which have
attracted great attention and astonishment. And it is stated as a
remarkable fact, that a gamekeeper actually broke in a New Forest Sow to
find game nearly as well as a pointer.
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