HORSE'S SIGHT 157 



barbette of a warship ; and the horse's eyes to 

 two guns thrown out on sponsons wide of the 

 ship, so that they can be swung round to cover 

 the whole horizon. See how the horse's head 

 is raised so that his own body does not inter- 

 cept his backward sight. See how the head 

 widens to place the eyes as far apart as possible, 

 while the skull tapers upwards to give him a 

 clear view of the sky, and tapers downwards to 

 give a clear view of the ground. There is 

 nothing in the whole sphere of possible vision 

 which the horse cannot see by lifting and 

 lowering his head. 



The intention of the eyes, then, is not to see 

 ,the distances ahead, but to scrutinize at close 

 range all overhanging branches of the trees, the 

 minutest details of surrounding bush, and most 

 especially with microscopic detail everything 

 underfoot. 



Everybody knows that the horse is clever 

 in avoiding the earth heaps made by burrowing 

 animals, but I think there is also reason to 

 believe that he can distinguish by relative 

 dampness or dryness, and plant growth of the 

 soil those tunnels and chambers of badgers and 

 other ground game which do not reach up to 

 the surface. It is only at full gallop that he 

 fails to see the surface indications of blind 



