The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-13

the manner in which he obtains his food
having somewhat modified mis- use of this
organ, but not sufficiently but that we may
trace some very interesting "reminiscences
of his origin therein. The lsng. taperlng
upper lin is a characteristic mark of a
Well-bred horse. a blunt, square nose is
al indication of coarse blood, even when
it accompanies an otherwise well-formed
head.
have said that q horse grazing is one
of the prettiest sights in nature, and
think those who have watched the process
will agree with NE. just outside my win
dow, as | write, a pretty mare IS feeding
upon the short. thick alfalfa. The ground
is strewn with eucalyptus leaves and
tHigs. and al the wind blown debris of
the recent storm. In with the alfalfa
burr-cIover is growing which horses never
eat in is green state. and few weeds,
but not stray leaf or twIg, not sprig Of
clover nor a stalk of any weed finds its
way into Madam's mouth. She has iu st
eaten every spear Of tuft of alfalfa, IN
the midst Of which 8 meadow mushroom
Is grOwlng-and left the mushroom intact
Weeds are bent back, leaves turned over,
clover brushed aside and tWigs tossed
away in the most unconscious manner by
the busy upper lip, while all TIE while the
even white teeth are nipping on leaf after
leaf Of just the Dasturage sought for,
never by any chance getting bite Of any
thing else. Il is quite wonderful TO watch
her
There Is no other animal quite so well
equipped in the dental line as is the horse
That IS to say, of course, for his own par
ticuar needs. His dentition is peculiar,
and shows clearly the modifying influence
of his sojouru among men.
[ have written before now OF the mOdifl.
cations that the horses locomotory apps-
ratus underwent In the process OF evOlu-
zion, but the changes in the creatures
teeth have been none the less marked. a
good dominic preaching once in my hear
ing On the evidently divinely intended
supremacy of man over the brute creation
instanced what is called the "taT"-thet
is, the spaces between the ineisors and the
first molars % each side Ia a horses
mouths proof that providence had in
tended the animal to be used and con-
trolled by man by means of the bit and
rein.
RThis convenient space, however, has
largely been produced by many centuries
of use of the BIZ. The earliest eQuida had
forty-four teeth. 10 the modern horse,
however, the last molar is rudimentary,
ana has no function to perform. Il is u
fact, not merely useless to the horse. but is
often o source OF serious trouble to him.
10 most Of the great stables a veterinary
dentist is in regular attendance, one of
whose chief duties is TO remove these teeth
from the mouths OF tWO-year-Old colts. 1t
is safe to say that on ordinary farms there
would be fewer bad-tempered colts, hard
10 break, restless and unmanageable, if
these teeth could be attended to in time,
They disappear. of their own accord.
very early in the young horses life,
but they, and be, would be much less
troublesome if they UereremoVed before
he comes to use them. The pain they oc-
casion makes MIN fractions, very often.
These last molars are evidently In process
of disappearance. Probably the twentieth
century horse may be entirely without
them. The CANNES, too, have nearly dis
appeared. In the female animal they
have. In fact, quite disappeared. although
occa sioually a mare is found with quite
we'll developed canine teeth, just as
Growing hen sometimes appears in the
pouItry-yari. The mares teeth, however,
are generally pulled, and the Growing hen
is usually brought early TO the cnopping-
block. which processes OF discreet dis
eouragement serve 10 render sucn instances
of feminine enterprise even rarer tnan tney
might otherwise be. In the horse the
canine teeth appear between ;ne tnl.d ara
fourth years. wear away and have usually
disappeared soon after the twelfth year.
The diastema or interval before alluded
20 between the iucisors and the nrst
molars obtained, to . slight extent, N TIE
primitive horse, butin the domestiesleo All
NAL it has grown much longer, through
years of carrying the bit.
1t IS in the ineissOrs, however, tnat the
most marked change has taken place, ana
IN the nature ard structure OF these The
modern horse differs from all other known
animals.
Until within 9 comparatively recent