THE ANTERIOR LIMBS OF QUADRUPEDS. 55 



number, answering to the number of the toes, 

 all furnished with a hoof, casing the last bone ; 

 it is, however, on the two middle toes only that 

 the hog rests, the two lateral being short and 

 feeble, though perfect. 



From the limbs of these heavy, clumsy 

 animals, and particularly those of the elephant, 

 let us tm-n to those of the horse, the contrast 

 between them being very striking. Here we 

 find the bones of the shoulder, namely, the 

 blade-bone and humerus, forming an oblique 

 angle with each other, the former receding 

 from the shoulder-joint, and directed towards 

 the long, spinous processes of the vertebrae 

 at the back at the withers. From the shoulder- 

 joint the humerus retreats, forming an angle 

 at the elbow-joint. In the fore-arm, the two 

 bones {ulna and radius) are consolidated into 

 one. The wrist-bones (carpus) form what is 

 commonly and conveniently termed the knee; 

 and below these well-knit bones, is a single 

 long bone called the canon-bone ; it represents 

 the metacarpal bones (bones on which the 

 fingers and paws are based) in other animals.* 



• There are two lesser bones on each side of the canon-bone, 

 posteriorly, which enter into the structure of the knee ; they are 

 called splint bones, and may be regarded as rudimentary vestiges 

 of two metacariml bones. 



