FIRST PRINCIPLES OF CONFORMATION. 



Marey's Law. — The foregoing observations will prepare 

 us for the law cited by Marey in his book, La Machine 

 Animale, which states that muscles of speed are long and 

 slender, and those of strengdi are short and thick. This 

 distinguished Frenchman gives as instances the long breast- 

 bones of birds — such as snipe and partridge — which can 

 move their wings with great rapidity, and the short ones of 

 hovering birds — such as the eagle and albatross — which can 

 overcome the immense resistance of the air upon which the 

 large area of their pinions presses, only with slow, but very 

 powerful strokes. The expanse of the outspread wings of 

 birds of quick stroke - such as wild pigeon and partridge — is 

 of far less comparative size than is that of those of hovering 

 birds. The relative speed with which these birds can cleave 

 the air does not, of course, affect the question of the form 

 and action of their muscles. 



I may remark that the foregoing principles govern the 

 conformation of horses as closely as they do that of other 

 annuals. I shall, however, defer* their application to horses 

 till further on, when we shall have acquired a certain amount 

 ol exact knowledge of the physical conditions of the horse, 

 which will greatly aid us m drawing accurate conclusions as 

 to his "shape and make." 



