Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1870-04-20
Written for the URHEEA J-NIoX.
Veterinary Science.
THE GEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF
THE HORSE.

ST. PARIS, OHIO, April ., 1870.
EDITOR URBANA UNIoN.-There are
so many thousand species of living be-
ings, some so much resembling each 9TH
er, and come so strangely and altogeth-
er diffeFeat that itwouId We been i'm
possible to have arranged them III any
order, or to have given any description
that could be understood had not nat
uraIists agreed on certain pecuIiarities
of fornaywhich Ahohld characBefize Ger
tain Glasses, and other lesser peculiari-
ties again sUbdividing these classes.
The first division Of animals is into
Uerte6rated and taUerte6ratod. Tierte6rq-
ted animals are those which have a
craniun9, or bony cavity containing the
brain, and a succession of bones called
the spine, and the division oft, JcltcbrT,
proceeding from the Uranium, and con-
tanning a prOlongation of the brain, de-
nominated the spinal n1dTTOlV
HlUerte5rHted animals are those which
have no Vertebre. The horse then be-
longs to the djUi8toI5 Uer5e5rated, be-
cause he has a Uranium or skull, and a
spine or range of vertebre proceeding
from it, The yertebFsted animals how
ever, are very TDrleEous.4 aIlley sill6lud8
man, quadrupeds of all kinds, birds,
fishes and many reptiles. We look out
then for some subdivision, and very
simple line of distinction is sqon present
ted. Some of these vertebrated animals
have maInme or teats, with which the
females suckle their young. The hu-
man female has two, the mare has, two,
the COW four, the hitch len or twelve,
and the sow more than twelve.
2 This class Of vertebrated animals,
having mammae or teats is called man.
malta, and the horse belongs to the di-
vision vertebratu, and the class Iaam-
malta. .r
The class mammalia is still exceedingly
large, and we must again subdivide it.
It is stated that this class Of qUadrupeds
or mammiferOus quadrupeds, admits Of
division into two tribes. 1st, those
whose extremities are divided into nm
gers or toes, scientifically called ungui-
latu, from the latin word for nail; and
End, those whose extremities are hoofed,
scientifically called ungulatu, from the
latin word for hoOf
The extremities of the first are armed
with claws or nails, which enable them
to grasp, to climb, or to burrow. The
extremities OF the second tribe are EN-.
ployed merely to support and move the
body. The extremities Of the horse are
covered with q hoof by which the body
is supported, and with which he cannot
grasp anything, and therefore he be-
longs to the tribe anguIatu or boCfed.
But there Is a great variety of hoofed
animals. The Elephant, the Rhinocer-
os, Hippopotamus, the Swine, the
Horse, the Sheep, the Deer, and many
others are aplgulated or hOofed. They
admit, however, Of an easy division;
some of them masticRte, or chew their
food, and 1t is Immediately received in
to the stomach and digested; but in
others the food previous to digestion,
undergoes a very singular process. It is
returned to the mouth, to be re-mastica-
ted or chewed again. These are called
TltH,ilantia or Tltlr1inants, from the food
beings returned, from one of the stom-
.achs for they have FOUR called the rl-
D7e" or paunch, TO be ohewed again.