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THE HAKMONIES OF NATURE. 



Long and yet muscular legs characterise those quadrupeds 

 which are most remarkable for their agility in running. They 

 do not tread upon the whole sole of their foot as we do, but 

 only upon the extremity of their toes ; so that the foot con- 

 tributes to elongate their limbs, and enables them to make 

 greater strides without any increase of exertion. It is to this 

 peculiarity of gait and structure that the cervine and equine 

 races owe both the elegant form and the unrivalled celerity of 

 their limbs. 



Skeleton of the Deer. 



The bovine races being of a more robust shape, and lower in 

 proportion to their bulk, are of inferior swiftness ; but these also, 

 particularly in their wild state, unite considerable strength with 

 a remarkable agility. The bison is so strong, that sometimes 

 when pursued it has been known to knock down trees as thick 

 as a man's arm in its flight, and yet so quick as to plunge even 

 through deep snow faster than an Indian can run upon it in 

 snow-shoes. 



The limbs of the elephant are necessarily constructed more 



