244 THE TRUNK. 



ence almost solely to the comparative width between the 

 fore legs, which " is generahy looked upon as a measure 

 of the size of the chest, or, rather, of its rotundity. This 

 is an error which we have cleared away by more than 

 fifty observations made on the living animal, and after- 

 wards completed on the dead subject. We have never 

 been able to ascertain, with respect to this point, any 

 practical difference among animals of the same height, 

 whatever might have been their width of breast ; for 

 the simple reason that it is not in its front part that the 

 chest varies much, but rather in its middle and back 

 portions. To what cause, then, other than bulging out 

 of the anterior ribs, is width between the fore legs due ? 

 We must attribute it to the greater or less thickness 

 of the pectoral muscles which form its base. We may 

 see the truth of this from the fact that this part may 

 become narrow in animals which have broad breasts. It 

 is merely necessary to place them under bad sanitary 

 conditions as regards work and feeding, to convince one 

 that their state of emaciation brings on the loss of 

 width of which we speak " (Goubaux and Barrier). If 

 we compare the width between the fore legs of badly- 

 shaped cart-horses which happen to be " flat-sided " 

 and wanting in girth, with that of thorough-breds having 

 large capacity of chest, we shall note that the width 

 in question bears no relation to the size of the chest. 

 Again, it is no rare occurrence to see horses that have 

 been once broad-chested, become narrow in front when 

 they are old and Worn out. The pectoral muscles, to 

 which the eminent French professors allude in the fore- 

 going extract, lie between the humerus and chest. As 

 there is considerable lateral play between the elbows 

 and chest of the horse ; the width between the fore legs 

 varies a good deal when the animal is standing, according 

 as the fore feet are close together or wide apart. The 

 fact that horses which are broad between the fore legs 

 are very rarely good stayers at a gallop, has been used 



