OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



THE most common occurrences, and such as are 

 brought under our eyes every day, sometimes escape 

 the notice of inobservant persons. A farmer, who 

 had lived all his life among stock, was not aware, 

 till I drew his attention to the fact, that horses and 

 oxen rise from the ground differently. There is a 

 slight difference in their mode of lying down, the horse 

 not generally remaining so long upon his knees as the 

 ox, before bringing the rest of his frame to the 

 ground. But in getting up, the horse invariably rises 

 first upon his fore-legs, before rising upon his hind. 

 The ox, on the contrary, rises first upon the hind, 

 and often remains upon his knees some few seconds 

 until his hind legs are straightened These differ- 

 ences probably prevail throughout the two Cuvierian 

 groups of Pachydermata and Ruminantia, to which 

 the horse and ox respectively belong. The elephant 

 and rhinoceros both rise first upon their fore-legs, 

 like the hqrse ; so does the pig : the sheep, goat, and 

 deer, in this respect, are like the ox. 



The horse, in trotting or walking, lifts his feet off 



