28 MAMMALIA. BELLU/E. Sb'si 



That this animal should be regarded as indigenous, need scarcely require 

 proof. It lives and propagates, nearly in a state of nature in the Highlands 

 of Scotland, and the Zetland Islands. In the latter of these districts, the use 

 of a stable was dispensed with, until lately. The remains of the species occur 

 associated with those of the most ancient of our native quadrupeds, as in the 

 Cave of Kirkdale, (Buckland's Rel. Dil. p. 18). 



The Britons, at a very early period, paid great attention to the horse, as 

 appears from the excellency of their cavalry, according to the testimony of 

 Ccesar (Com. lib. iv. 33.), and the present stock is unequalled, whether des- 

 tined for the draught, the saddle, the turf, or for war. The breeds which 

 may be regarded as nearest in character to the original stock, dwell in the 

 more mountainous and inaccessible districts, where deficiency of food restrains 

 them to a diminutive size. 



Gen. XXVII. SUS. Boar.— Hoof divided, with six inci- 

 sors in each jaw. 



43. S. Scrqfa. Back bristled in front, tail hairy. 



The sow is gravid four months, and, in a domesticated state, has been known 

 to produce twenty pigs. This species was formerly abundant in a wild state, 

 and the bones of individuals are occasionally found in marl-beds, clay, gravel 

 and caves. The cultivated breeds are numerous, and chiefly distinguished 

 by the thickness of fur, or length of leg. In one variety the hoof is undivided. 

 The ears are pendulous in some, and erect in others. 



By the influence of civilization, the Ass (Equus Annus) was added to the 

 stock of our useful quadrupeds, so early as the close of the tenth century, at 

 least in the reign of Ethelred. It is occasionally employed as a beast of bur- 

 den in mines, seldom for the saddle. Other species of Belluse, however, have 

 suffered extirpation here, and elsewhere have become extinct. 



1. Mammoth. 



This is a species of elephant (Elcphasprimigenius), which, judging from the 

 distribution of its remains, was a native of the temperate and cold dis- 

 tricts of the northern hemisphere. The tusks, teeth, &c occur in the 

 silt of rivers, beds of marl, clay, gravel, and in caves. The markings 

 of the teeth distinguish it as a species from any of the recent kinds, 

 and the condition of the fur, in the individual found in ice at the mouth 

 of the Lena in Siberia, indicated its fitness to reside in a cold climate. 

 Mr Trimmer gives figures of two young teeth, found in clay near 

 Brentford, which he hastilv refers to the Asiatic and African recent 

 species, (Phil. Trans. 1813, p. 131. tab. viii. f. 1. 2). 



2. Extinct Rhinoceros. 



This species appears to have been contemporary with the mammoth, and 

 to have possessed the same geographical distribution. In this country 

 its remains occur in all the situations in which those of the mammoth 

 have been detected. 



3. Extinct Hippopotamus. 



Doubts exist respecting the claims of this species to be regarded as dif- 

 ferent from the existing African species. The bones are found in similar 

 situations with those of the two preceding animals, but the geographical 

 distribution of this species appears to have been different, the indivi- 

 duals having been more confined to the temperate regions. In this 

 country, it has occurred in Lancashire under a peat-bog, — at Kirkdale 



