OLIGOCENE PERIOD 
But this precocious jaw must be curtailed, 
Ere can the brutes as Elephants be hailed. 
Some Eocene Deer and Pig like forms are here, 
Of Donkey size, but soon to disappear. 
Some three-toed are, some " cloven " feet possess ; 100 
And hornless seem they all, and antlerless. 
Whilst some but Rabbit-sized haunt watery plains, 
And semblance bear to India's chevrotains. 
From what ancestral font did these descend ? 
What ancient stock did Deer-like forms portend? 105 
That multiplex old form, Phenacodon so named, 
That hope of much high life had first proclaimed, 
Amongst his jumbled comprehensive freight, 
Had borne some points of beasts that ruminate : 
And these the Anoplothers called half swine 1 10 
Half ruminants may owe to him their line. 
And through such forms does Nature not advance 
To all her varied groups of ruminants ? 
Within such folds does she not, hidden, keep 
Her antelope, her oxen, goats, and sheep, 1 15 
Her giraffes, camels, and the tribes of deer, 
That through the woods and grass plains will career ? 
Forms that have struck new lines in Life's domains, 
Of Cat-like build, are prowling on the plains. 
Some Leopard-sized boast in their upper jaws 120 
Long tusk-like canines, good for raids and wars. 
125 
