nvinced of the truth of this conclusion; and Ruetimeyer himself seems now
to feel some doubt. As the Torfschwein was domesticated at so early a
period, and as its remains have been found in several parts of Europe,
belonging to various historic and prehistoric ages,[149] and as closely
allied forms still exist in Hungary and on the shores of the Mediterranean,
one is led to suspect that the wild _S. Indica_ formerly ranged from Europe
to China, in the same manner as _S. scrofa_ now ranges from Europe to
Hindostan. Or, as Ruetimeyer apparently suspects, a third allied species may
formerly have lived in Europe and Eastern Asia.

Several breeds, differing in the proportions of the body, in the length of
the ears, in the nature of the hair, in colour, &c., come under the _S.
Indica_ type. Nor is this surprising, considering how ancient the
domestication of this form has been both in Europe and in China. In this
latter country the date is believed by an eminent Chinese scholar[150] to
go back at least 4900 years from the present time. This same scholar
alludes to the existence of many local varieties of the pig in China; and
at the present time the Chinese take extraordinary pains in feeding and
tending their pigs, not even allowing them to walk from place to
place.[151] Hence the Chinese breed, as Nathusius has remarked,[152]
displays in an eminent degree the characters of a highly-cultivated race,
and hence, no doubt, its {69} high value in the improvement of our European
breeds. Nathusius makes a remarkable statement (Schweineschaedel, s. 138),
that the infusion of the 1/32nd, or even of the 1/64th, part of the blood
of _S. Indica_ into a breed of _S. scrofa_, is sufficient plainly to modify
the skull of the latter species. This singular fact may perhaps be
accounted for by several of the chief distinctive characters of _S.
Indica_, such as the shortness of the lachrymal bones, &c., being common to
several of the species of the genus; for in crosses the characters which
are common to many species apparently tend to be prepotent over those
appertaining to only a few species.

The Japan pig (_S. pliciceps_ of Gray), which has been recently exhibited
in the Zoological Gardens, has an extraordinary appearance from its short
head, broad forehead and nose, great fleshy ears, and deeply furrowed skin.
The following woodcut is copied from that given by Mr. Bartlett.[153] Not
only {70} is the face furrowed, but thick folds of skin,