higher and broader relatively to its length; and the hinder part is more
upright. The differences, however, are all variable in degree. The breeds
which thus resemble S. scrofa in their essential skull characters differ
conspicuously from each other in other respects, as in the length of the
ears and legs, curvature of the ribs, colour, hairiness, size and
proportions of the body.

The wild Sus scrofa has a wide range, namely, Europe, North Africa, as
identified by osteological characters by Rutimeyer, and Hindostan, as
similarly identified by Nathusius. But the wild boars inhabiting these
several countries differ so much from each other in external characters,
that they have been ranked by some naturalists as specifically distinct.
Even within Hindostan these animals, according to Mr. Blyth, form very
distinct races in the different districts; in the N. Western provinces, as
I am informed by the Rev. R. Everest, the boar never exceeds 36 inches in
height, whilst in Bengal one has been measured 44 inches in height. In
Europe, Northern Africa, and Hindostan, domestic pigs have been known to
cross with the wild native species (3/3. For Europe see Bechstein
'Naturgesch. Deutschlands' 1801 b. 1 s. 505. Several accounts have been
published on the fertility of the offspring from wild and tame swine. See
Burdach 'Physiology' and Godron 'De l'Espece' tome 1 page 370. For Africa
'Bull. de la Soc. d'Acclimat.' tome 4 page 389. For India see Nathusius
'Schweineschadel' s. 148.); and in Hindostan an accurate observer (3/4. Sir
W. Elliot Catalogue of Mammalia 'Madras Journal of Lit. and Science' volume
10 page 219.), Sir Walter Elliot, after describing the differences between
wild Indian and wild German boars, remarks that "the same differences are
perceptible in the domesticated individuals of the two countries." We may
therefore conclude that the breeds of the Sus scrofa type are descended
from, or have been modified by crossing with, forms which may be ranked as
geographical races, but which, according to some naturalists, ought to be