, 1894-06-13

largest WaplCl OF the hOCky MouhCdAno
mains of creatures identical in character with
those which now frequent the regions they
once inhabited-seem visible evidence OF a
steady and universal decline, of which
instances might be multiplied without num-
Der. The theory that great size was III itself
a bar to the we'll being Of the giant species, IS
an easy, if not a wholly satisfactory meanso OF
accounting for the degenerate. n, for the failure
offood can hardly have been tlch, in the Indian
forests for instance, as to account for the dwln-
ding of forms like the "Elephas ganesa" IN
to the smaller but still normous bulk OF the
herds which still survive ana 4Aultiply III the
1uneles of Hindostan.
But if the limits Of the food-snpply is the
key to the apparent limitation of SIZE, as we
believe it to be in the case Of most animals
which are widely distributed, there seems no
reason WHY the loss should not be made good,
in the case of domesticated animals DIT least,
nv q process Of generous feeding continued
for generations, until, if it suited the needs OF
human society, we produced oxen far larger
than the Bos primigenus, rabbits as large
as sheep, dogs as tall as apolar bear, and a
breed of horses between twenty and thirty
hands high, which would of course, be too
large for riding, except with o howdah ora
camel saddle, but would draw loads of from
four TO five tons.
The argument of q natural limit set to size,
derived from the circumstances OF VIVA am
mails, must not be pushed too far. In the
case of many domesticated animals 1t certain
" has not yet been proved by experience
and its application to the case of those which
are wild and free is only partial; and its work
ing is often accompanied by variations which
leaveit quite open to doubt whether even now
the powers of animals to increase greatly mSlze
under favourable, conditions Is altogether lost.
Tho GREAT difference in bulk between the
small h"ill-tiger and the cattle eaters OF rich
or districts is we'll known. Stays in al Eng
lish nark. such as Windsor, probably average
onesthird more in weight for age than those
If the Scotch mountains, and the leopard
varies from O. creature almost as large as q
iaouar to a creature scarcely bigger than
a iunglescat. A very complete example OF
the nature Of the limits set to the SIZE OF
animals when wild, or IN conditions eXacIIy
similar to those of the wild life IS seehlnthecas
of the New Forest ponies. The whole OF ms
vast tract of country not SUBJECT TO lhcioSuro
has been the fe~eding-ground OF the ponies OF
the f~oresters for D period OF time Wh'ch must
have begun far earlier than the date OF the
removal of the deer; and even IN the reign OF
Henry Ill, the King himself seems To nave
"run them in the forest, as he made q grant
from his herd to the monks of Beaulieu. In
anv case. the Forest ponies are now Wild,
living in herds dominated at particular
seasons of the year by q master stallion just
asrin the.prairies of America, and so attached
TO ,particular localities that in whatever part
of the Forest a captured pony IS r%eleased, 1t
usually finds It's way back to that IN which
it was bred, Various attempts to improve
these ponies have been made, which have
met with marked success in all respect but
one. that, namely, of size. The influence OF
the thoroughbred sires which have been let
run in the Forest is still seen IN their hne
shape, high Arablike quarters, elegant heads
and extraordinary endurance. But the expert
ment of getting direct crosses from larger
animals always fails, if the object be to run
them in the Forest, for the simple reason that
an animal above a certain size cannot hnd
suficientf food to maintain it. BY browsing
all day, ana the greater part of the night,
little "foresters" of twelve or thirteen hands
can lust make both ends meet" though after
the winter they are extremely thin and rag
ged. But anything Iabove that size requires
artificial support, and its progeny naturally
deteriorates. On the other hand, the size does
not tend to fall betoao the standard at which
Nature sets the limit, the natural ar elite
and wants of these hardy features prompting
them to do the best for themselves from day
to day with a ccnstancy hardly to be under