30 MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS. 



times they are those of the same side, and sometimes 

 those of the opposite sides. The latter is that kind 

 of motion which in horses is called z.pace. The ri2:ht 

 fore leg is advanced so as to sustain the body, which 

 is thrown upon it by the exteation of the left hind 

 foot ; and at the same time the latter bends in order 

 to its being moved forward. While they are off the 

 ground, the right hind foot begins to extend itself, 

 and the moment they touch it the left fore foot 

 moves forward to support the impulse of the right 

 foot, which likewise moves forward. The body is 

 thus supported alternately by two legs placed in a 

 diagonal manner. When the right foot moves, in or- 

 der to sustain the body, pushed forward by the right 

 hind foot, the motion is then called an amble. The 

 body being alternately supported by two legs of the 

 same side, is obliged to balance itself to the right 

 and left, in order to avoid falling ; and it is this ba- 

 lancing movement which renders the gait of a horse 

 so soft and agreeable to women and persons in a weak 

 state of body as it is generally found. — In the ani- 

 mals that have their fore feet longer than the hinder 

 ones, and have their strength chiefly in the anterior 

 part of the body, the principal impulse is given by 

 extending the fore foot. The hind foot then rises 

 to follow it, and it is not until the moment that the 

 latter extends itself in its turn, that the fore foot is 

 raised. This is the manner in which the Girafie is 

 said to move. But when the fore leg-s are greatly 

 disproportionate to the others, and particularly when 

 the posterior extremities are feeble and not closely 

 articulated, as in the Sloths, the animal is obliged to 



