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: 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 cmcum, 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 aboat 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 rnan as an article of diet, especially for inva lids. The hoof of the horse presents an admira 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 lamium 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 thiekness 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 pa,ssing 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 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 home are large, and the sight excel lent, and capable of distinguishing objects by night; the ears are large and vely 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 recog,nition 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 trainiug 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 naovement, 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 rnan ; 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 thc 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 fothad, 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. he wood is soft and of little value. The nuts contain much nutritious matter, which is combined with a disagreeahle bitter. The Buckeye is of this genus, or, rather, of the sub-genus Pavia.