The horse, its treatment in health and disease with a complete guide to breeding, training and management (1906) (14779855761)

Identifier: horseitstreatm09axej (find matches)
Title: The horse, its treatment in health and disease with a complete guide to breeding, training and management
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Axe, J. Wortley
Subjects: Horses
Publisher: London, Gresham Pub. Co.
Contributing Library: NCSU Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: NCSU Libraries



Text Appearing Before Image:
aUS fossa for articulation of the lower jaw; CO, coronoid process of ^q^. niasticatiucf food aud for lower jaw; i^ and ^-, incisor teeth; c, canine; pvi^ and pm^j ^ . ,..,,. premolar teeth; mm^mS, the three molar teeth. tluS purjDOSe are dlVlClcd lUtO front and back teeth or in-cisors and molars, do really possess very special features, by the aid ofwhich the naturalist is enabled to determine the family or order to whichanimals belong. The exploit of the palaeontologist in constructing the model of anextinct animal from a single fossil bone or tooth is often accepted as atrick of sleight-of-hand, more calculated to amuse than to instruct, butwhen all the facts are known there is really nothing very wonderfulin the procedure. Anyone, for example, who is familiar with the formof the teeth of the shark could hardly make a mistake in their identifi-cation, and if a fossilized tooth of a shark were placed in his hand hewould at once, in imagination, construct the animal to which the tooth
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 6G0.—Side View of Skull of Man, with the boneremoved so as to show the whole of the teeth SPECIAL FEATURES IN STRUCTURE 493 belonged—iu fact, it would be impossible for him to avoid doing so. Inlike manner other characteristic structures and organs are in themselvesindisputable evidence of their origin, and to the naturalist the realizationof the form of an animal upon such evidence is a mere involuntary andquite spontaneous mental process scarcely attended with any effort. To understand the value of the evidence afforded by the teeth andcertain bones of the skull of the horse as connecting the existing animalwith its remote ancestors, it will be necessary to consider some of themost salient features of thosestructures, premising thatno more than a cursoryview can be taken out ofrespect for the patience ofthe reader. If we compare the skullof man with that of thehorse it will at once beevident that the differenceof form is very marked,as shown in the two illus-trations (figs.