The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-06-30


horse, which delights Ia cleanliness, muddie
the water before drinking and Why his ears
erect ID servitude, turn downward IN the stat
Of liberty, contrary to what occurs in the dog
| The answer to These questions is easy and
in the first place, the horse does not mean tt
muddy the water which he sgitates.
| The horse is native Of sandy, suu-burnef
regions and he rejoices in the toilet-twt
reasons for loving the bath. But a. in thest
countries the rare and treacherous wave is thu
habitual resort Of crocodiles, Of loechcs ant
electric cells, the horse paws the water before
entering it, 80 as to drive away such vermin
and he sounds the bottom with his hoof te
see whether 1t be propitious for his bath, fol
every horse that feels the water is ready tc
roll in Il.
As to the second question, the answer 10
quires physiological study of the eat.
The ear is an organ destined to give infor
nation by the perception Of sounds in space
consequently the direction Of the ear Of q
beast should instruct you at once concerning
its behavior and its character. The ear of the
hare, directed backward, tells you that this
poor animal is destined to be chased. This
direction of its channel of sound announces
the especial object of the organ, viz, to inform
the fugitive of the number and the swiftness
Of its pursuers.
But, if the ear of the beast chased is turn
cd backward, so cannot be the ear of the pur.
suer, Of the fox, or the hunting dog.
The ear Of these forcers assumes, in fact, an
opposite direction. The primitive hunting
dcgs--the grey hound and the shepherds
dog, which only hunt by running down their
game--will then have their ears straight, and
the auditory canal directs forward, The weas.
el, the cat, even the fox, which need TO know
what is going on among the branches over
head, will have their ears large, ex panded,
and fitted to perceive little noises above them.
Tho horse, in his wild state, wandcrs in
pasturing, but does not hunt /; he has no man
in charge, and grazes with his head low. The
conduit of the ear is then directed toward the
soil, which is the best of all conductors Of
sound, and which transmits to 1t that Of the
march and the voices Of the enemy.
But, when the horse has once accepted the
OVu pehtvicAfp Va ulhu lduufS anu u1uB6TS,
other duties are incumbent on him in his ca
pacity, and he changes bis bearing along with
his diet. As soon as, with this change of
spirit he must take the lead, and guide his
rider in the dark, he raises his ear like grey
hound, SO as tocatch every sound in front of
him. BY virtue Of the same principle, the
setter dog, whom made to quit running down
liza gaules noEtz nss ssx ogzz5 nIzts
wears it like the mummy.
Why, then, all dogs of running breeds
ought to carry their ears straight, like the
greyhound and the Arabian horse? Certain
" aud you are up to your ears in the truth.
Pallas, cited by Cuvier ('s REGIME Animal }
has also noted the downward cast of che ear
IN wild colt caught upon the steppes Of Tar
tary, and which became extremely docile.
The horse has two muscles of the ear pecu-
liar to himself among animals, and which
give it a varied freedom of movements.
The ears Of the mole close by a sphincter
muscle which excludes the dirt. In the owl
and bat tribes, this organ has remarkable de-
velopments---in some Of the latter Ito which
II gives name) being as large as the rest Of
their body, and completing that grotesque
appearance which has made them favorite
type Of the hobgoblin. - Appsefon's Journal