ACTIONS OF ANIMALS EXPLAINED 



weight as possible upon the sound ones. Thus its 

 gait becomes unequal, but the injured limb has 

 comparative rest and a chance of recovery. In 

 human lameness this is also the meaning of the 

 limp. That we are conscious at the same time of 

 feeling pain has nothing to do with it, although^ 

 it really seems to us that it is the consciousness of 

 pain which makes us limp. 



With regard to the second question the wincing 

 of a galled horse at the touch, or the approach, 

 of the harness which has galled it, is merely the 

 play of another useful instinct which all animals 

 have inherited from their ancestors to avoid the 

 aggravation of an existing wound, although har- 

 ness and galls caused thereby were, of course, 

 unknown in the ages when the instinct was ac- 

 quired. 



Insects were doubtless then the chief agents 

 which by persistent attacks upon a tender spot 

 caused troublesome superficial wounds; and it is 

 interesting to observe that to meet this danger the 

 ancestors of the horse acquired a special instinc- 

 tive habit, that of making their skins shiver when 

 an attack was felt or apprehended, thus shaking 

 or warding off the insects. You may see them do 

 this several times a minute in the summer. 



In reply to the third question I do not think 

 that chased hares although they may be fatally 

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