to twenty-one having the form of vertebrae only in the upper ones. The chest is capacious, com pressed laterally in front, and prolonged in advance of the first rib so as to somewhat resem ble the thorax of a bird; in middle and posterior portions it is rounded, and extends far back toward the pelvis; the ribs are eighteen pairs, the anterior broad and massive (eight being true), and the posterior more slei der. The clavicle is absent, and the c. racoid process very rudimentary; shoulder blades, triangular, with a prominent spine, closely approximated to the chest, transmitting the weight of this half of the body perpendicularly to the ground ; the arm bone is short and strong; the forearm consists almost entirely of the greatly developed radius, the ulna being a mere appendage consolidated in the adult animal to its posterior surface, though its olecranon process is of large size, affording a powerful purchase to the extensor muscles; generally recognized by horsemen everywhere,. and should be correctly kept in mind by the reader, in that he may get a correct idea of the several parts.
The skeleton of the horse is the frame work upon which is built the motive power of the animal. A study of the anatomy, and the names of the several parts, is important. The cut and explana tions below will give these correctly and clearly: A, the head.
a, the posterior maxillary, or under jaw.
b, the superior maxillary, or upper jaw; near the latter is a rot amen, through which pass the ne ves and blood ve -sela, which c telly supply the lower parr of the face.
c, the orbh, or cavity containing the eye.
d, the nasal bones, or hones of the no e.
e, the suture dividing the parietal hones below from the occipital bones 1, box e.
f, the interior max llary bone, containing tbe upper incisor teeth.
B. the seven cervical vertebra?, or bones of the neck. C, the eighteen dorsal verte mm, or bones of t e back. D , the six lumbar vet tebrre, or bones of the loin.
E, the the sacr .1 vertebra., or b..nes of the haunch.
F, the caudal verteuire. or bones of the tail, generally about fifteen in number.
G, the scapula. or shoulder blade.
E, the sternum, or chest.
./, the' ostre, or ribs, seven or eight, articulated with the sternum, and called the true ribs, and tell or eleven 'united together by cartilage, called the the humerus, or bone of the arm.
is simple and capacious; the intestinal canal is long, but short in comparison with that of the ruminants; but the colon is of enormous capac ity, as also is the cEecum, apparently occupying the greater portion of the abdominal cavity ; the small intestine is about fifty-six feet long, with a circumference of from two and a half to six inches; the cmcum is two and a half feet long, and two feet in circumference at the widest part; the colon and rectum are twenty-one feet long, the former averaging two feet in circumference; the whole canal, therefore, is about eighty feet long. The liver weighs between four and five pounds, having no gall bladder, and the spleen twelve ounces; the urinary bladder is small in comparison with the size of the animal, its cir cumference when moderately distended being about one and a half feet; the mammary nipples are two, inguinal, and have at the base a hollow cavity which permits the accumulation of a con siderable quantity of milk, which is often removed by man as an article of diet, especially for inva lids. The hoof of the horse presents an admira 11, the radios or bone of the forearm.
L, the ulna, or elbow. The point of the elbow is called the olectirmon.
M, the carpas, or knee, conais tog of seven hones. F, the metacarpal bones. The large metacarpal. or cannon a d shank in front, and the smaller metacarpal, or splent bones, behind.
g, the fure-p.istern and foot. conai-ting of the os suffrag inis, o. the upper and largsr pan. ern butte, wit.' the aeaamoid bones behind. ar icn at.ng with the cannon and g eater pastern; tt e os coron e, or iess pastern, the os petite, or coffin hour, the 08 avieulare, or navicular or shuttle bone, not seen, and ar iculating with the small. r pastern and r With hones.
h, the corresponding bones of the hind feet.
0, the haunch. consisting of three portions; the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis.
P, the femur, or thigh.
Q, the stifle j..in with the patella.
R, the tibia, or proper leg-bone; behind is a small bone called the fibula.
S, the tarsus, or hock, composed of six bones. The prom inent pa t is the 8 calck or point of the hock.
T, the metatarsala of the hind leg.
The salivary glands, especially the parotid, are remarkably developed; the stomach of the horse ble adaptation to secure solidity and elasticity in an instrument of progression; the whole exterior horny covering, to which the shoe is attached, composed of modified epidermic structure, is a hollow cone truncated above, into which the coffin bone is received; highest in front, it grad ually diminishes backward, where it is suddenly turned inward, becoming mixed with the sole, supporting the under parts of the foot, and pro tecting the sole and the frog from too rough pressure against the ground; this internal wall, called the bars of the foot, by its sloping direc tion distributes the weight of the body toward the sides of the hoof, with whose numerous per pendicular horny lamiute interdigitate similar processes from the vascular surface of the coffin hone. In the triangular space in the center of
the foot, is an elastic horny mass called the frog, its base connecting the posterior curves of the hoof, the sides united with the bar, and the point extending about to the center of the sole; on the sides are deep channels, to allow of its expansion and render the foot elastic; its actual thickness in horn is not so great as farriers seem to think, from the freedom with which they use the paring knife; in a well formed foot, the base of the frog ought to occupy a sixth part of the circumference of the circle of the hoof; in the center of the frog is a horny conical cavity of considerable depth, which protects the partially cleft foot from further rupture, adds to the elasticity, secures a firmer hold on loose soils, and passing above into the substance of the sen sitive frog, serves to unite firmly the two halves of the foot, which are completely divided in ruminants; this horny cone has been called the frogstay or bolt. The sensitive frog falls into the inverted arch of the. horny frog, which are thus held mutually in place and preserved from external shock. The sole is an irregular plate of horn, closing up the lower opening of the foot, of an arched form, abutting everywhere against the sides of the wall, another contrivance for securing elasticity. The foot of the horse, there fore, though solid in front, is partially cleft behind, so that the terms solidungula and soli poda can not strictly be applied to it; indeed a solid, continuous, unyielding circle of horn would be very painful if not entirely useless as an instru ment of active progression. Immediately under the hoof are extensive cartilages, attached to the last two bones, protecting the upper part of the structure and adding greatly to the elasticity of the foot, and permitting the movements of the coffin bone within the hoof. Under the hoof is also a very sensitive and vascular layer, from which the hoof originates, analogous to the soft core of hollow horns and the matrix of nails. The eyes of the horse are large, and the sight excel lent, and capable of distinguishing objects by night; the ears are large and very movable, and the sense of hearing very acute, as in other timid and comparatively defenseless animals; the sense of smell is also acute, as is seen in their selection of food and in the recognition of their masters; the cutaneous sense is very fine, and the tactile powers of their movable lips exquisite. The movements of the horse are many; besides the walk, trot, gallop, and amble, pace, or rack, some horses gallop with the fore legs and trot with the hind, others move each leg separately in succes sion, and others execute many artificial move ments, the result of education. The horse is quick to perceive and has an excellent memory, two qualities which render his training easy and extensive; he is capable of deep. and lasting attachment. The neigh or voice of the horse is well known, the females exercising it less fre quently than the males. In compact form, elegance of proportions, and grace of movement, combining speed and strength, it is surpassed by no animal; sculptors and painters have made the horse the subject of their chisels and pencils, and poets, sacred and secular, have sung its praises from time immemorial. Almost every part of the horse, after death, is useful to man ; his skin is valuable for gloves, his hair for making cloth, his bones for buttons and for grinding into fertilizers, his flesh as food for dogs, his hoofs for making glue, and his intes tines for the manufacture of delicate membranous tissues; so that the horse, said in ancient fable to have been created by Neptune as the animal most useful to man, can safely lay claim to being of the greatest value to the human race. It is an error to suppose there were wild horses found in America at the time of its discovery. The so-called wild horses of America are un doubtedly of Spanish origin escaped from the earlier Spanish adventurers, those of North America from the chargers abandoned by De Soto, and those of South America liberated at the abandonment of Buenos Ayres. This of course is mere conjecture, as to the exact source from whence they sprang. Certain it is, that no trace of horses were discovered by the first navigators visiting our shores. The same is true of the islands of the Pacific, and Australia, nevertheless, fossil remains of the equine race have been found, but they became extinct long before the historic period. Those which escaped from the Spaniards, however, soon multiplied, and congregated into vast droves in the tropical and semi-tropical regions north and south of the equator, where they live in a semi-wild, and even fully wild state.
.tEseulus hippocasks num. This tree is remarkable for the beauty of its figure, flowers, and early foliage. 7 he wood is soft and of little value. The nuts contain much nutritious matter, which is combined with a disagreeable bitter. The Buckeye is of this genus, or, rather, of the sub-genus Pavia.