The Evolution of the Horse 



in the horses; by which term I mean to denote 

 not merely the domestic animals with which 

 avc are all so well acquainted, but their allies, 

 the ass, zebra, quagga, and the like. In short, 

 I use "horses" as the equivalent of the technical 

 name Equidae, which is applied to the whole 

 group of existing equine animals. 



The horse is in many ways a remarkable ani- 

 mal; not least so in the fact that it presents 

 us with an example of one of the most ] 

 pieces of machinery in the living world. In 

 truth, among the works of human ingenuity 

 it cannot be said that there is any locomotive 

 so perfectly adapted to its purposes, doing so 

 much work with so small a quantity of fuel, 

 as this machine of nature's manufacture — the 

 horse. And, as a necessary consequence of any 

 sort of perfection, of mechanical perfection as 

 of others, you find that the horse is a beautiful 

 creature, one of the most beautiful of all land 

 animals. Look at the perfect balance of its 

 form, and the rhythm and force of its action. 

 The locomotive machinery is, as you are aware, 

 resident in its slender fore and hind limbs; 

 they are flexible and clastic levers, capable of 

 being moved by very powerful muscles; and, 

 in order to supply the engines which work these 

 levers with the force which they expend, the 

 horse is provided with a very perfect apparatus 

 for grinding its food and extracting therefrom 

 thv« requisite fuel. 



Without attempting to take you very far 

 103 



