CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 10. S OL IDU NGUL A. 597 



fleet, graceful race -which we call Arabian. Just as we find the sturdy German, the stout Dutch- 

 man, the athletic Englishman, occupying the rich soil of Middle Europe, and the thin, lithe, elas- 

 tic Arabian the plains and deserts of Africa and Asia, so we find the horses of these two sections 

 of the earth — the one large, ponderous, and powerful, and the other light, swift, and elastic. 



Thus, mainly by the influence of climate and its accessories of food, the various races of the 

 horse are spontaneously produced. There is, however, another principle at work, which lies at 

 the foundation of all the operations of nature, the object of which is to break the uniformity of 

 kinds and races by an infinite diversity in individuals. The wisdom of this system, and its admira- 

 ble balance in the vast scheme of universal creation, may well excite our admiration, if indeed it does 

 not call upon us to kneel in awe before its Omnipotent and Omniscient Author. It is a common 

 observation, even with children, that amid the myriad grasses of the field two blades precisely 

 alike in size, tint, and form, cannot be found. Two leaves among the millions that flutter in the 

 forest, in all things the same, are never discovered. Two lilies or two roses, even on the same stem, 

 identical one with another, cannot be found. As between two sisters, twins if you please, even 

 while the common lineaments of the father or mother show the golden links of relationship that 

 bind their hearts together, there will be something of form, air, attitude, expression, to distinguish 

 them ; so, between these flowers there will ever be a difference, open and palpable to observa- 

 tion. This difference, let it be remembered, in the works of nature, is the foundation of our inter- 

 est in them. Were all things alike, they would neither excite curiosity nor attract regard. "Were 

 all the children of a family precisely alike, they would be objects of comparative indifference. 

 It is the special speech, look, air, tone, manner of each, around which our interests and affections 

 cluster. It is an old adage, that variety is the spice of life. Without variety, life would be a 

 blank. Everywhere it is produced, for everywhere it fixes the attention, stimulates curiosity, and 

 excites admiration. The principles or provisions of nature to produce it are universal, and lie at 

 the foundation of all existence. Hence variety is not superficial : it exists in the sap of plants 

 and the blood of animals. It is in both so blent with life as to be transmitted to the offspring, 

 and thus to spread over the face of nature a never-ending diversity. 



Nor is this the whole of that wonderful system of nature to which we allude. Beyond the 

 common diversities of individuals among animals, and especially those of the higher and finer or- 

 ganizations, it is provided that instances of prominent and remarkable constitutional endowments 

 shall arise from time to time, not only to diversify the species, but to counteract the tendency to 

 declension through commonness and impurity, and thus to maintain and exalt the race by the 

 descent of superior blood. Through this provision it is that such instances occur as Bucephalus 

 in the olden time, and Flying Childers, Eclipse, and Highflier in more modern ones. And finally, 

 we may remark that it is by the careful application of the principle here laid down — that these 

 superior animals stamp their character, in a greater or less degree, on their offspring — that the 

 artificial breeder seeks to improve and perfect the horse. The finest examples which nature pro- 

 duces are selected, and as in the main like produces like, so in a course of years, by the union 

 of chosen specimens, a whole generation or breed, combining all the possible perfections of the 

 race, is obtained. 



OR RACE-HORSE. 



This is in fact the history of the English Horse, which, according to the testimony of the best 

 judges, takes precedence of all others in strength, speed, and power of endurance, and also for 

 the capacity of perpetuating its own qualities in its offspring. This superiority is manifested in 

 various ways, and especially by beating in all trials, not only the best Turks, Arabs, and Barbs 

 with which it comes in competition, but even winning, of late years in all cases, where the best 

 Eastern blood had been crossed with its own, and thus proving that, neither Barb, Turk, nor Ara- 

 bian is equal to the English thoroughbred. A curious and interesting reason for this superi- 

 ority is found in the fact that the bones of the thoroughbred horse are more solid and compact 

 than those of any other kind. The bones of the cart-horse, or indeed any other, are compara- 

 tively porous, light, and spongy. The shank-bone of a thoroughbred will weigh down that of 

 the heaviest cart-horse, though in size the former is only half equal to the latter. 



