The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-11 00:00:00

PROFESSOR HUXLEY ON THE HORSE,

A remarkable lecture was given at the Royal Institu-
tion by Professor Huxley on the " Pedigree of the Horse."
A very large and distinguished audience listened to this
exposition. The Professor opened his lecture by some
observations on the Darwin theory, remarking that the
principle of natural selection, though it was a repressed
doctrine ten years ago, had now established itself, and wes
rapidly making way, and in future would be known as one
of the greatest discoveries of the nineteenth century.
Coming to the animal in question, Professor Huxley ob-
served that all animals and things which were very accu-
ratel3r and delicately balancedwere aptto beverybeautiful.
On the same principle the beauty of the body of the horse
probably has much to do with its being one of the best
possible pieces of apparatus for running swiftly along the
land. In many respects the organisation of the horse de-
parted in an extraordinary way from what may be called
the average quadruped," and the peculiarities to which
he desired to call special attention were those of the fore
limbs
di
, the hind limbs, and the teeth. What was called
the knee" of the horse was in reality the wrist of the
animaL Human beings had two bones in the forearm,
and this was also the case with most quadrupeds, but in
the horse these two bones were completely fused and
bound together into one. In most horses and asses the
two bones were soldered together, and the shaft of the
ulna nearly disappeared. The horse's hoof answered to
the fingers of the human hand, only in the hoof
some of the bones and fingers of the hand were
missing, and the horse in reality rests upon the end
of the nail of the middle finger. What has become of
the other fingers? Two of them were taken away, and
two of the other bones were reduced to little splints,
which could be seen from the outside of the horse's foot.
This peculiarity was found only in these animals. In
the hind-legs of the horse the small bone was reduced as
in the fore legs, and the middle toe was there with its
nail made into a hoof. Sometimes horses were
born with extra toes, and there was a speci-
men of this kind in the museum of the College of Surgeons.
At the present time also there was a South American pony
in the Victoria Docks with an extra toe to each hoof, and
the toes could be felt by the finger. If these facts were
interpreted by the doctrine of evolution, what did it say ?
It said that the missing toes of the horse, which had the
normal number of toes, and that the ancestors of
the horse must at one time have have had the leg and
foot bones complete, although these were blotted out
bAore the horse was turned into a perfect running machine.
On going back to the upper miocene period—a time when
the world altogether differed from its present condition as
regarded its geographical features—the horse was still
found with all its present peculiarities, and the two differ
from each other only in minute details. But side by
side with the remains of the horse in this
deposit were the remains of another horse-like
creature, called the "hipparion," or "little horse."
As much was known about the hipparion as about the
horse. There was no break in the series of time, for both
are found in the same deposit. In the fore limb of the
hipparion the leg bones were united, but the extra one
was traceable, and the leg bones were nearer
to the average type ; the animal also had two
little hoofs or fingers, one on each side of the main
hoof, but they appeared to have been of no use
whatever. The tooth was still very horsey, but it
was changed nearer to the ordinary type. There was,
therefore, in the upper miocene, an animal which resembles
the horse in some particulars, and departs from it in
others. Professor Huxley continued : Did the horse
succeed the hipparion ? Was it conceivable that the
one.animal was struck out of existence altogether, and
that the other was then created afresh out of nothing ?
Was it thinkable ? If so, he might as well give up his
theory altogether. Having proceeded thus far,
the investigator turns with considerable confidence to his
geological remains to look for the hypothetical ances-
tor of the hipparion. The ancestor was found in
the anchitherium, and its remains were found in the
lower miocene, but not in the upper as yet, so that there
is a greater gap between the anchitherium and the
hipparion than between the latter and the horse.
In the anchitherium the leg bones are still more
separated ; it has three toes in the fore limb, the
two outside ones being half as big as the middle toe so
that the foot somewhat resembles that of the tapir. This
animal therefore, has the fore foot which theory requires
that it should have. In the hind leg the bones are more
divided than in the case of the hipparion, the hinder feet
have three toes, and the teeth have not the plasticity of
those of the horse, but approach more nearly to those of
the ordinary type. Thus in these three animals there are
proofs of gradual progression in teeth, hind legs, and fore
legs, all the rest of the organisation of each being horse-
like. He submitted, then, that these animals fulfilled the
conditions which he laid down at the beginning of his
lecture, and that it was impossible to obtain evidence
more complete in kind than this of the pedigree and origin
of the horse. He concluded by remarking that if Darwin's
doctrine is made out in this one case of the horse, it is
strong evidence that similar modifications have taken
place in all cases.

A ROYAL ISIARILIAGE.—The Paris papers assure
us positively that the marriage of the Prince of Orange
with Princess Louise of England is fixed for the month of
August. The Prince, who is heir apparent of the King
of the Netherlands, and a prominent member of the
Parisian Jockey Club, is thirty years of age. The
princess is twenty-two.

THE AUSTRIAN CHAMBER.—The Vienna Cham-
ber of Deputies, before the adjournment, adopted an
address to the Emperor declaring that the Chamber
deeply regretted the absence of part of its members. The
Chamber says the address maintains the principles of the
empire and the constitution. A greater extension given
to the principle of individual autonomy would be dan-
gerous at this moment. It would compromise the power
of Austria and prejudice the real interests of the people
and the Crown. The protection of all nationalities is
the fundamental idea of the Constitution, and the Cham-
ber will resolutely oppose any Government which en,
deavours to make unconstitutional experiments.
THE BURNING OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD BRIDGE.
—Four spans of the Central Pacific Railway bridge over
the American river at Sacramento, California, were
burned on the 23rd of March. The fire is believed to
have been the work of design, as fire was observed in a
number of places at the same time. The loss has been
estimated at $lOO,OOO. Several hundred men are engaged
in erecting a temporary bridge, which will shortly be
completed, and in the meantime arrangements have been
made for ferrying passengers and baggage over the river,
so that little delay will have been occasioned.
THE FIJI ISLANDS.—The Alta California says that
the enterprising adventurers in these islands had for-
warded a petition to Washington praying the Government
to take the Fiji group under its protection. In the early
part of 1869 the United States ship of war Jamestown
visited Jamestown to investigate the grievances of two
American citizens whose plantations were attacked by
mountaineers. The result was a decision in favour of the
Americans, damages £lO,OOO. The white settlers of Fiji
are greatly pleased with this decision, as it has made them
more desirous than ever of getting the protection of the
United States Government.
THE PARLIAMENT OF BADEN.—At the closing of
the Baden Parliament at Carlsruhe, on the 7th, the Grand
Duke, in his speech, thanked the members for their
labours during the session, and expressed a hope that the
people generally would persevere in their endeavours
to secure national unity in Germany. The several
treaties concluded with the North-German Confederation,
and with the States of South Germany, give evidence of
the progress being made towards a close union of all the
German States. The Grand Duke thanks the Parliament
for having maintained the law of the contingent which has
placed the Government in a position to pursue the national
policy with the conviction that when the moment came
they would be able to enter the great German)/ family elk
the same f9pting as tll9 9tior