314 THE HORSE ASTD HIS STRUCTURE. 



bone ; C the short pastern ; and D the coffin, or last bone 

 of the middle finger. The same letters are employed to 

 designate the same bones in both the illustrations. 



If the reader will refer to D, Fig. 1, he will see that the 

 bone is of a light and porous nature. At the upper part, 

 where it plays upon the bone above it, C, it is stout and 

 solid, but it becomes more and more porous towards the 

 edge, so that the last inch of it bears a curious resem- 

 blance to pumice-stone. This is for the double purpose 

 of insuring lightness and obtaining a large surface for 

 the attachments of the tendons which connect it with the 

 muscular system. 



A similar structure of bone may be seen in the skull 

 of the elephant, the jaw-bone of the whale, and many 

 other cases Avhere lightness and bulk have to be com- 

 bined. The reader will also notice that although the 

 coffin bone in the section looks unlike the same bone 

 when seen in full, it is because the "wing" near the 

 spectator is cut away, and that the other is hidden 

 behind the soft structures. 



In the first place, there are no muscles in the foot. 

 The muscular power is in that part of the leg which lies 

 above the so-called " knee," and the bones are worked by 

 tendons or " ligaments " running from the muscles down 

 the shank or " metacarpus," A, and fastened to the bones 

 of the foot. The human fingers are worked in just the 

 same way. Let the reader grasp his fore arm with one 

 hand, and then clench the other. The swelling of the 

 muscles under the grasp will show where the power resides. 



