6 JUNE 1931, Page 18

THE PIG AS COMPANION

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

SIR,—Lord Howard of Penrith has written you an interesting article about the social qualities of the pig. In Italy the dog is not as in Engl and the companion and friend of man. Until recently it was the pig who would be seen following the women and children about our lanes and fields in intimate companion- ship. Then, a very few years ago, Yugoslavia flooded the Italian market with cheap bacon ; and so, partly from economic reasons and partly through modern sanitary by-laws, the Italian pig has practically disappeared from the countryside. Some of us deplore the loss of a friend.—I am, Sir, &c.,