Quadrupeds. 5419 



possessing different forms and a different arrangement as to their 

 articulations. In the domestic ox the nasal bones articulate with the 

 frontal and inter- or pre-maxillary ; in the wild ox they have no con- 

 nexion with the inter-maxillary bones ; moreover, they do not meet 

 superiorly, so that at this point there exists a natural deficiency. 

 The anterior palatine openings are much larger in the wild than in the 

 domestic breed, and are quite differently shaped; the great cavity of 

 the nostrils is broader and more capacious in all its dimensions. 

 When w r e add to these the remarkable difference in the form and 

 dimensions of the cranial cavity itself, we feel almost warranted in 

 believing that, if such characters are found to be constant, the so-called 

 Urus Scoticus must be of a species distinct from the other known 

 domestic breeds. In the domestic ox the greatest breadth of the cra- 

 nium was 8f inches, in the wild ox 10J. The base also gave many 

 other differences, which need not be here adverted to. 



I had almost forgot to mention that the true turbinated bones, oc- 

 cupying the interior of the nostrils, are much the larger in the wild 

 ox, — circumstances which, taken in conjunction with an increased 

 capacity of the nostrils, would argue a higher development of the 

 sense and power of smell ; as the broader forehead and more project- 

 ing orbits would indicate an increased activity in the visual and intel- 

 lectual organs. The illustrious Goethe thought the domestic ox, with 

 its intelligent look and peaceful habits, to be the gift of domesticity 

 to man; and that the fierce look, savage character and deep-set eyes 

 of the buffalo and aurochs indicated the opposite untamed character. 

 It may be so ; nevertheless, it is sufficiently remarkable that it is in 

 the variety or breed of oxen which is generally thought to be the type 

 or origin, and which has undergone the least of that influence, domes- 

 ticity, to which Goethe attaches so much modifying importance, that 

 we find the wide, expanded brow, prominent eye and shortened face, 

 — characters which most are inclined to connect with finer powers of 

 observation and a larger share of intellectual capacity. 



R. Knox. 



Dreaming in the Canine Race. — If any of the readers of the /Zoologist' possess 

 any well-authenticated instances of any animal (the dog excepted) dreaming, I should 

 be extremely thankful if they would kindly forward the same to me. — /. C. Atkinson ; 

 Danby Parsonage, Grosmont, York. 



Musical Mice, but not singing Mice.— The subjoined curious paragraph appears in 



