PERISSODACTYLA 335 



ORDER PERISSODACTYLA ODD-TOED, HOOFED MAMMALS 

 This order includes the horses, donkeys, asses, zebras, rhinoceroses 

 and tapirs, and perhaps the Hyraces. 



FAMILY EQUIDAE HORSES AND THEIR ALLIES 



This is probably the most useful family of mammals except the 

 Bovidae. The most outstanding member of the family is, of course, 

 the horse. Domesticated in the Old World long before the era of 

 written history, 1 it has been introduced into all of the continents and 

 principal islands of the world. Although large, one-toed horses de- 

 veloped from small, three-toed ancestors in North America during 

 the Cenozoic Era, they disappeared at the end of Pleistocene time. 

 The horses we have here now were brought over by Europeans after 

 the discovery of the New World by Columbus. 



In 1907 it was estimated that there were 100,000,000 horses in the 

 world, 80 per cent of them in the temperate zone, the majority in 

 Europe and America ; i horse to every 3 J/ people in the United States 

 and Canada, i to every 7 people in South America, i to 12 in Mexico, 

 i to 33 in Japan, i to 40 in Turkey, i to 50 in the Philippines, i to 1 50 

 in Africa, i to 200 in India and southern China. 2 In 1917 it was esti- 

 mated that there were 21,563,000 horses in the United States, 

 35,000,000 in Russia, 3,000,000 in Canada and 8,000,000 in Argen- 

 tina. 3 In 1925 the combined estimate for horses, mules and burros in 

 the United States was 22,267,000 head, valued at $2,569,570,000; 

 exports, $4,141,000; imports, $1,640,000.* In 1927, horses and colts in 

 the United States numbered 15,279,000, worth $974,886,000; 

 5,734,000 mules, worth $426,i75,ooo. 5 Perhaps the marked decrease 

 in number is due to the fact that the automobile has supplanted the 

 horse to a great extent. 



Because of their great strength and speed, horses are the most use- 

 ful of all draft and saddle animals. Their flesh is used as -food by 

 various nations, and their skins make excellent leather. The imports of 

 horse hides to Germany in 1909-1910 were valued at $2,906,498, and 

 exports at $i,9O4,238. 6 



1 Heller, The derivation of the European domestic animals, Ann. Rept. Smith- 

 sonian Inst. for 1912, pp. 483-491. 



* Austin, Queer methods of travel in curious corners of the world, Natl. Geog. 

 Mag., xvin, 687-688, 1907. 



s Holmes, Hides and skins, Yearbook U. S. Dept. Agric. for 1917, pp. 425-426. 



4 Statistical abstract of U. S. for 1925, U. S. Bur. Commerce. 



6 New York World Almanac for 1928, p. 371. 



*U. S. Dept. Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Manufactures, Special Aaent 

 Series, No. 50, 1912. 



