. The Bible and science. ourse of the horses development weshould find its ancestors gradually getting nearer andnearer to the typical vertebrate, and this, in fact,we find to be the case. The single bone of the horses fore-leg is not aradius only, but consists of the radius and ulna fusedtogether, the upper part of the ulna being distinct,and the lower end traceable, even in the adult horse,and separable in the young horse, but the shafts ofthe two bones are completely fused. In the hind-leg Y 322 PEDIGREE OF THE HORSE. we find a somewhat similar characteristic, for the head,and the lower end
. The Bible and science. ourse of the horses development weshould find its ancestors gradually getting nearer andnearer to the typical vertebrate, and this, in fact,we find to be the case. The single bone of the horses fore-leg is not aradius only, but consists of the radius and ulna fusedtogether, the upper part of the ulna being distinct,and the lower end traceable, even in the adult horse,and separable in the young horse, but the shafts ofthe two bones are completely fused. In the hind-leg Y 322 PEDIGREE OF THE HORSE. we find a somewhat similar characteristic, for the head,and the lower end of the fibula also, are united to thetibia, only here the shaft of the fibula, instead ofbeing completely united to the tibia, as the ulna isto the radius, seems to have simply disappeared, leav-ing, however, an indication of its presence in the shapeuf a small splint at its upper end. In the fore-foot there seems at first sight to be onlyone finger, but on looking at it more closely we notice upper lower inolar. Fig. 174.—Recent Equus. at each side of it a splint-shaped bone which isthe rudiment of another finger. In the hind-foot we see the thing. The teeth of the horse are also peculiar, as in themthree substances; viz. hard enamel, somewhat softerdentine, and still softer cement, are arranged in com-plicated folds, the consequence of which is that thesofter part, being more quickly worn away in theprocess of mastication, the more the horse eats themore do the ridges of enamel project and form a SIMILARITY OF IMMEDIATE PREDECESSORS. 323 grinding apparatus admirably adapted for the purposeof masticating the food, just as, in the rodent, themore the animal gnaws, the sharper do its teeth remains of horses found in all the formations fore-foot. hind-foot. forearm, O
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