PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HORSES 5 



est specimens discovered the teeth were short 

 crowned and covered with low, rounded knobs, 

 similar to the teeth of other omnivorous animals, 

 such as monkeys and hogs, and were quite differ- 

 ent from the grinders of the modern animal. 

 When the marshy lands of the too-well watered 

 earth had changed into grassy plains the teeth of 

 the horse also changed from short crowned to 

 long crowned, so that they could clip the shorter 

 and dryer grasses and grind them up by thorough 

 mastication into the nutritious food required for 

 the animal's well being. 



Indeed, the whole history of the evolution of 

 the horse by natural selection is a complete illus- 

 tration of adaptation to environment. Even to- 

 day in the Falkland Islands, where the whole sur- 

 face is soft, mossy bogland, the horses' feet grow 

 to over twelve inches in length, and curl up so 

 that frequently they can hardly walk upon them. 

 Where we use horses on hard, artificial roads it is 

 necessary to have this toe-nail or hoof pared, and 

 protected by shoes. 



Where the horse was first domesticated is a 

 matter of dispute upon which historians are not 



