At what period the animal was reclaimed from his wild State, and by what nation, cannot be stated. From the earliest times, in England, the hog has been regarded as a very important animal, and vast herds were tended by swineherds, who watched over their safety in the woods, and collected them under shelter at night. Its flesh was the staple article of consumption in every household, and much of the wealth of the rich and free portion of the community consisted in these animals. Hence bequests of swine, with land for their support, were often made; rights and privileges connected with their feeding, and the extent of woodland to be occupied by a given number, were granted according to established rules. Long after the end of the Saxon dynasty, the practice of feeding swine upon the mast and acorns of the forest was continued till the forests were cut down, and the land laid open for the plough. Nature designed the hog to fulfil many important functions in a forest country. By his burrowing after roots and the like, he turns up and destroys the larvæ of innumerable insects, which would otherwise injure the trees as well as their fruit. He destroys the slug-snail and adder, and thus not only rids the forests of these injurious and unpleasant inhabitants, but also makes them subservient to his own nourishment, and therefore to the benefit of mankind. The fruits which he eats are such as would otherwise rot on the ground and be wasted, or yield nutriment to vermin; and his diggings for earth-nuts and the like, loosens the soil, and benefits the roots of the trees. Hogs in forest land may, therefore, be regarded as eminently beneficial; and it is only the abuse which is to be feared. The hog is popularly regarded as a stupid, brutal, rapacious, and filthy animal, grovelling and disgusting in all his habits, intractable and obstinate in temper. The most offensive epithets among men are borrowed from him, or his peculiarities. In their native state, however, swine seem by no means destitute of natural affections; they are gregarious, assemble together in defence of each other, herd together for warmth, and appear to have feelings in common; no mother is more tender to her young than the sow, or more resolute in their defence. Neglected as this animal has ever been by authors, recorded instances are not wanting of their sagacity, tractability, and susceptibility of affection. Among the European peasantry, where the hog is, so to speak, one of the family, he may often be seen following his master from place to place, and grunting his recognition of his protectors.