188 OTHEK ANIMALS 



So we must not blame the heavy-footed cattle that are so 

 stupid and tiresome when you try to ride among them 

 on the road, remembering that they are only animated 

 milk and flesh making machines of our own producing. 



W. K GILL. 



September 28, 1912. 



NOTE. It is said that horse-breeders artificially select 

 the most docile, the least spirited, enterprising, and sensi- 

 tive horses, and that by this means the intelligence and 

 individuality of the horse have been lowered. They are 

 descending, in fact, into animated motor-cars. Without 

 going into the utilitarian pros and cons of the matter, 

 this degradation must bring some sadness to the naturalist. 

 For the evolution of the horse is a great story. The very 

 early Eohippus had four toes in front and three behind ; 

 the side toes of Protorohippus (Eocene and 14 ins. high) 

 touched the ground and gave it more speed ; the little toe 

 of Mesohippus (Oligocene) was reduced to a splint and the 

 animal was the size of a sheep ; of the three toes of Proto- 

 hippus (Miocene) only one touched the ground, and this 

 animal was 36 ins. high ; while Hipparion (Pliocene) was 

 40 ins. high, and the ancestor of the modern horse. The 

 horse, that is to say, progressed from splay-foot to tiptoe, 

 and it progressed thus symbolically as well as physically. 

 The earlier hippoids lived in the swampy forests, and as 

 plains and grass lands were evolved took more and more 

 to the open. The horses which chose the hardier, more 

 adventurous, and freer life, that shook off the security and 

 sluggishness of their ancient haunts, and " faced the 

 bright eyes of danger," were the horses that survived. 

 The story of the horse is the story of nature's dislike of 

 the ungirt loin and the unlit lamp. When we reflect, 

 then, that this noble beast has written its own epic, its 

 descent to the prosiness of the " willing slave " is a 

 melancholy anti-climax. 



