WILD TARPAN AND ITS RELATIONS 105 



wise obtain in the case of horses, it follows that 

 the production of duns by crossing affords decisive 

 evidence of the antiquity of that type, being, in fact, 

 a case of reversion to the ancestral form. 



In colour the Norwegian so-called eel-dun is 

 very like the tarpan, showing a narrow but distinct 

 black dorsal stripe, and having the front surfaces 

 of the limbs and the whole of the fetlocks black, 

 while occasionally there may be traces of a shoulder- 

 stripe and of barring on the upper part of the legs. 

 In general form the breed is low in stature, but 

 strongly built, with short, stout limbs. It should be 

 added that, as mentioned later, two types of Nor- 

 wegian duns are recognised ; one of these being 

 shown in plate x. fig. i. 



On the other hand, the head and cheek-teeth 

 are relatively smaller than in the tarpan, the front 

 hoofs are broader in comparison to the hind pair, 

 while the mane is comparatively long and pendent, 

 with a forelock, and the tail is well haired up to the 

 root. Such differences may, however, perfectly 

 well be regarded as the results of domestication, due 

 in part, it may be, to selection, or in part, perhaps, to 

 crossing with a second wild type, or its descendants. 



This view in regard to the antiquity of the 

 Norwegian dun type and its affinity to the wild 

 tarpan accords exactly with the opinion of Darwin, 

 who in the work already cited ^ wrote as follows : — 



^ Page 63. 



