264 



SHARP EYES 



varnished buds, I was struck with a remarkable resem- 

 blance to the leg, fetlock, and hoof of a horse. 



I give herewith a careful and exact drawing of the 

 twig as I have since repeatedly found it, and as it may 

 be discovered by any one who will take a little care in 

 the search. The three-cornered leaf scars may be seen 

 conspicuously on the winter twigs in opposite pairs, 

 particularly on the youngest wood, towards the budded 

 tips. In themselves they bear only the faintest suggest- 

 ion of the foot or shoe of a horse, as may be seen by 

 reference to the isolated scar represented in the sketch. 

 It is only when we find a branch with an accidental 

 forked tip that the conditions give rise to the mimicry 

 I have shown. Each of these 

 branching twigs, naturally 

 straight, has now acquired a 

 curve at the fork, by 

 which they seek to 

 neutralize the vacancy 

 caused by the loss of the ter- 

 minal shoot. This curve an- 

 swers to the fetlock joint of 

 a horse's foot; while the dis- 

 torted scar, with its row of 

 seven raised dots around its edge, takes its place with 

 striking significance. If with a sharp knife we now cut 

 off the twig, trimming the wood close to the edge of 

 the mimic hoof, the resemblance is still further en- 

 hanced, while the surface beneath discloses other mark- 

 ings which seem almost patterned after the sole, or 

 "frog," of a hoof. Here we have the leg, hoof, fetlock, 

 frog, seven nails, and all. It is certainly a curious 

 freak, and well worth a hunt among the winter twigs. 



