THE SKELETON. 45 



of the farm horse. Experience in breeding shows 

 that the foal inherits parts of its form and con- 

 stitution from the sire, and parts from the dam, 

 but there is no possibility of predicting the pro- 

 portions. It can happen that the product of a 

 high bred sire and a common mare possesses a free 

 and elastic action in the fore hand, while the hind 

 hand is weak and trailing, leaving the former unsup- 

 ported — in front as a lion, behind as a cow. Likewise 

 may the nobler of the parents transmit the long and 

 oblique shoulders upon the foal, and, the common 

 one, the flabbiness of the fibres of the muscles and 

 sinews. The noble part of the inheritance can 

 only be propelled by powerfully contractible muscles, 

 and supported only by firmly organized chords and 

 ligaments ; but the flabby ligaments are not able to 

 protect the angular joint connections. In such cross-* 

 products, we have an opportunity to observe, that, 

 while they may show a wide step, they lack energy 

 in the propulsion. Also, we may observe how liga- 

 ments and chords of the narrow angled joints suffer 

 under the increased pressure, and how, after light 

 exertions, all sorts of blemishes appear on the 

 bones. Even, if the energy of the nobler part has 

 been transmitted unimpaired, we see the other 

 inheritance, the bad foundation, succumb under the 

 too great demands of the former. 



