MAMMALIA SOLU'EDA. 457 



fleetiiess with strength has been the obvious design 

 of nature in the construction of these animals. We 

 find, accordingly, that the consolidation of the 

 bones of the foot is carried still farther than in the 

 ruminant tribe; for in place of the two parallel 

 ])halanges, which are in the latter articulated with 

 the cannon bone, there is here only a single meta- 

 carpal bone. The three phalanges, of which that 

 single finger consists, bear the names of the pastern, 

 the coronet, and the coffin bone; and the hoof, of 

 course, is single likewise ; there is also a small 

 bone, connected witli the last, and called the shut- 

 tle hone. To the cannon bone are joined, behind, 

 and on the side, two much shorter and very slender 

 bones, which are rudiments of the other metacar- 

 pal bones. They have been termed the styloid, 

 or splint bones; and are generally united by ossi- 

 fication with the cannon bone. The scapula of 

 the horse is very narrow, and placed very nearly 

 in a straight line with the humerus ; which latter 

 bone is very short, and scarcely descends below 

 the line of the chest. The thigh-bone is also un- 

 usually short. The muscles, which extend the 

 joint, and throw the thigh backwards in kicking, 

 are particidarly powerful. This is the natural de- 

 fensive action of the horse ; and its force is in- 

 creased by a particular process with which the 

 bone is furnished, and which has the form of a 

 strong curved spine, situated on the outside, and 

 opposite to the lesser trochanter,* giving to the 

 muscles the advantage of a long lever. The cer- 

 vical vertebrae have only short spinous processes, 



* This process has been termed the processus lecurvatus fe- 

 moris. 



