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Show 180 MAMMALIA. nearly equalle d t h e Ele p hant '• Tap. giganteus, Cuv ., Oss. Foss. tom. II.(l) FAMILY III. SOLIPEDES. The Solipedes are quadrupeds which have only one appa-rent toe, an d a s.m g le hoof to each· foot, although underh t he 8k .m , on eac h s1' de of their metatarsus and metacarpus, t I er·e are spurs representing two lateral toes. One genus on y IS known, that of EQuus, Lin., The Horse has six incisors in each jaw, the crowns of which, at an ear I y age, are mar ked with a fossula, and six molars .t hrodu.g ho·u t, with a square crown, mar~ed by laminre of enamel .wh1ch xp 1~to them, with four crescents, and in the upper ones, w1th. ~ small d~s~ on t h e ·m ner e dge • The male has also two small add1t1onal camm in the upper jaw, and sometimes in both, which are almost always wanting in the female. Between these canini and the first mo.lar is that unoccupied space which corresponds to the angle of the lips "'here the bit is placed, by which alone Man has been enabled to s"u bdue and tame this powerful animal. The stomac1 1 I•S s1• mp 1e and moderate, but the intestines are very long, and the crecum enor· mous The mammre are between the thighs. • E. caballt"s, L.; Buff. IV, i. (The Horse.) This noble ~sso· ciate of Man, in the chase, in war, and in the works of agrxculture the arts and commerce, is the most important and cat·e· full; attended of all the animals he has subdued. It does not seem to exist in a wild state at the present time; those places excepted where Horses formerly domesticated have been set at liberty, :s in Tartary and America, where they live in troops, each of which is led and defended by an old male. The young (1) Dr Roulin has lately discovered in the Cordilleras a new species of Ta~irl, black, and covered with han. · ; the bones of 1. ts nose are more e Io nga ted ' wblc l somewhat approximates it to the Pala:otherium. . . 1 tl t M. Schleyermacher has obtn.ined a lower jaw bone of the great fossil amma !a was supposed to be a gt. ganb. c Tap1. r. It turns out th at 1't 1. s possess ed of enormous eanini which must have projected from the mouth; consequeJJt1 y , 1't must form a separate genus. Its s.tz e may have been grentct· than that of t1 1 e I:~:. .1 PP opota.mus by one half. PACHYDERMATA. 181 males, forcibly expelled as soon as they have reached the age of puberty, follow the troop at a distance, until they are joined by some of the younger mares. The domestic colt sucks six or seven months, and the sexes are separated at two years ; at three they are handled, and at four broken to the saddle, &c. at which time also they can propagate without injury to themselves. The period of gestation is ~Ieven months. A Horse's age is known by the incisors. The milk teeth begin to grow about fifteen days after the colt is foaled; at two years and a half the middle ones are replaced ; at three and a half the two following ones ; at four and a half the outermost or the corners. All these teeth, with an originally indented crown, gradually lose that mark by detrition. When seven or eight years old they are entirely effaced, and the Horse is no longer marked. The lower canini are produced at three years and a half, the upper ones at four ; they remain pointed till six ; at ten they begin to peel off. The life of the Horse seldom extends beyond thirty years. Every one knows how much this animal varies in size and colour. The principal races even exhibit sensible differences in the form of the head, in their proportion, and in their fitness for the various uses to which they are applied. The most beautiful and swift is the Arab, which has been instrumental in improving the Spanish race, and along with the latter has contributed to form the English ; the largest and strongest are from the coasts of the North sea:; the smallest from the north of Sweden and Corsica. · Wild Horses have a large head, frizzled hair, and ungraceful proportions. E. ltemiqnus, Pall., Schreb. (The Dzigguetai.) A species which, as to its proportions, is intermediate between the Horse and the Ass, and lives in troops in the sandy deserts of central Asia. It is of an isabella or light bay colour, with a black mane, and a dorsal line of the same colour ; the tail is terminated by a black tuft. It is probably the Wild Mule of the ancients. B. aainus, L.; Buff. IV, xi. (The Ass.) Known by its long ears, the tuft which terminates the tail, and the black cross on t~e ~shoulders, which is the first indication of the stripes which dxstiDguish the following species. Originally from the great deserts of central Asia, it is still to be found there in a wild state, and in innumerable troops, ranging from north to south according to the season; hence it thrives but poorly in the more northern climates. Its patience, sobriety, robust tern- |
