The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-07
WILD ASIATIC HORSES.
Suspicious That a New Species Has
 Been Found.

Been Found.
 The modern belief is, of course, that
 all these breeds Carriage, draught and race horses) are mere varieties of one species, and that species is believed to be the wild horses-the Equus caballus of Mid-Asia. R. Lydekker Ca prom inent British naturalisD has of late days been making a study of new
 species of horse, speciments of which are now resident at Woburn Alb bey where they have been domiciled by the Duke of Bedford It would seem that some twenty years gone by
 a certain Colonel Przewalski came across a horse in the deserts of Mon eolia which was duly dubbed "Prze-
 walski's horse" in honor of it's dis
 coverer From the first naturalists
 suspected that this horse was a species
 distinct of itself and therefore not a
 mere variety of the ordinary wild horse Only one speciment was ob-
 tained. Later on others came to hand, and from an examination of the car dinal points of the animal the idea of it's distinct nature was strengthened.
 The Duke of Bedford, 1t appears, has
 acquired twelve colts of Przewalski
 horse. They were bought from that king of dealers, Mir Carl Hagenbeck of
 Hamburg. Therefore, English zooo-
 eists will have the opportunity Of studying the new horse in the flesh as
 living entity, and doubtless when death overtakes any member of the t> ha banded tn science for the due anatomical exami- nation of it's frame.
 The colts are described as having been i born last year. They resemble ponies rather than horses, and the opinion is expressed that in size the mature crea- ture will not exhibit large proportions The fact of this character appearing lh a wild race would argue in favor or its proba bly, representing a distinct species that Is to say, a race of horses which ! may be presumed to be a natural group ia entitled to have It's size regarded as one of it's own special features. The m,lzzles are white in eleven out of the twelve colts at Woburn The ears are short, and the tails MT Lydekker de scribes as being well provided with hair to near the roots There are, however, variations to be noted in the conforma- tion of the tail The winter coat is of dun hue while darker color prevails on the front of the legs. Mane and tail are also dark coored The mane stands l upright, but is also described as tend ing to fall over The forelock is not
 well developed, nor is the dark stripe along the back seen in the horse fam l | 1oy ,,,af fly Tbn p1l1pSi- ties CT horny excrescences seen on the legs of horses and asses exist in the
 case of Przewalskis horse on both fore and hind limbs
 With regard to the hoofs, these are
 noted to be of the larger proportions which distinguish the horses from the ass tribe Taking the whole history of
 this horse into account as far as it can be detailed at present the opinion may
 be held that as MT Lydekker puts it. | the ordinary wild horse, the kiang or | Asatc wild ass, and Przewalskis s | horse constitue of themselves the true horses, while the ordinary asses and zebras, with the African wild ass, form second and different group of the family In these true horses shoulder 1 stripe is usually wanting, as also are | dark markings on the legs
 This is an interesting record of the , family history of our good friend the l horse But there are other phases of | it's history that are even more remark l ble than those which relate to it's 1 living neighbors. How many people 1 know for example, that the horse is
 a one- toed animal. and that it walks 1 on the third toe of each foot, which l has it's nail in the shape of the hoof? When we examine the skeleton of a | horses leg-fore or hind leg-We see
 this single toe, which is the third, and corresponds therefore, to the middle
 digit on our hand and foot, On each
 side of this well developed toe are
 two splint bones which are rudiments
 of two missing toes, the second and
 fourth. If it be asked how we know
 this, I reply, first, because occasion | ally horses are born with the second l and fourth toes fairly devleoped, and,
 second, because the geological history | of the horse suplies us with all the missing links from the one-toed horse of to-day backward to the five-toed an | cestor from which all the horses have been evolved No doubt exists on this | point, for in our mbuseums and espe- | cially in American collections-th fos- 1 Sil horses of tha continent being nu- l merous-we have the whole pedigree of l the animal set up before our eyes.-Il- | lustrated London News.