Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-25


facts may be CLEANED from a study Of these
semi-wild animals and their offspring, and
he expects to add to the general knowledge
of the evolution of the horse as result
of his trip.
In connection with the extensive study
carried on by the American scientists. men,
ton should be made of the elaborate ex-
periments In embryology carried on at
Penycuik, Scotland, by Prof. James Cossar
Ewart of the University of Glasgow. Prof.
Ewart is the owner Of a large breeding es-
Establishment, which has enabled him to con-
duct a more thorough study of this SUBJ
ject than has been possible for American
scientists. The results obtained by Prof.
Ewart have been remarkable
1t has been found that In the earliest en-
bryonic stages the embryo horse greatly
resembles the prehistoric horse of millions
of years ago. For example, the embryo
possesses the three toes SO characteristic of
that forerunner of the race horse-the
"neohipparion." Another characteristic is
the existence of a pad on the bottom OF
the foot similar to that on the underside
of a cats paw. This is survival of the
time when the horse, with his three or four
toes, stood firmly on the bottom of his
foot instead of on the tip of his toe. as
now. Although these experiments have
been conducted largely with a view to de-
velopfng the so-called theory of heredity,
they are regarded as having in large
measure confirmed the results arrived at by
a study of the fossil specimens.
Horses in the Stone Age.
1HeTe Is another matter, not altogether
unconnected with the study of the horse,
to which attention should be called. This
has to do with the stone age drawings of
horses found in the caves in France. These
skeletons have been of the utmost value to
scientists in showing the earliest form of
horses of the age of man. They have also
been serviceable to anthropologists in show
ing the rather high development attained
by the man of the stone age In order to
wit n 9,-in o. m do nv mo ID
ern school children. to whom the stone age
men have been likened as regards their
mental attainments Prof. Osborn, through
a friend at the head of a large school in
California, secured drawings of a similar
character made by fifty or more children of
varying ages and abilities. In every case
+. the cave drawings were found to show
more character and higher degree of men
tai development that were shown by the
drawings of the California youngsters.
AS regards the other two great families
of domesticated animals-the cat and the
dog-their development does not possess-the
same interest for scientists does the
evolution of the horse. This is because of
the comparatively slight changes these two
animals have undergone in their structure
and habits. Neither of them represents so
decided a change from the prehistoric ami
NAL does the horse of today from his
four-toed ancestor of the Eocene age. But,
at the same time, the lovers of domeSticat-
ed animals will probably be interested in
learning a few facts regarding the ances-
Try OF tnelr IdNOrlJe pets.
Cats Came From Asia.
No skeleton of a fossil cat or cat-like
animal has ever been found in this country,
and 1t is now generally agreed that this
animal had its origin in Asia or in eastern
Europe. 1t is supposed that the original or
ancestral cat differed very slightly from the
weli-known domesticated species, and, in
fact, a skeleton of fossil cat in possession
of of the European museums shows
the general outlines of our present-day
"tabby.' with the exception of a curious
boar-lke tusk extending from the head
One of the reasons for the slight changes
in the eat was undoubtedly the very early
domestication of the animal. 1t is agreed
by the biologists who have made the cat
the object of their special study that the
animal was domesticated in the earliest
years of the Egyptian civilization, when the
Egyptians We're indeed in need of some
protection against the rats and mice in
Testing their granaries. 1t can thus be
seen that the cat has exercised its peculiar
function of rat catcher from the earliest
civilized times.
The pedigree of the dog offers a some
what more extensive field Of study, princi-
paly on account of the numerous breeds
now existent. The number of these breeds
is so great that it is difficult for the aver
age layman to believe they are descended
from one or two wild types. It's, per
heps, even more difficult for the dog lover
to understand that the bark is an acquired
habit. Yet this has been conclusiveIy
demonstrated by tests on the semi-domesti-
Gated dogs of the Eskimos, which are I'M
able to bark until they have associated with
the domesticated animals. The ancestry of
the dog has been traced back ultimately
to the wolf and the jackal, and it is prob
able that the future work of the indefati-
gable paleontologist will finally trace it
back to ancestral type.
In constructing the chain of ancestry of
any animal of domesticated animals the
experts proceed upon the theory that where
the domestfcaton has taken place in a re-
mote age there has been much subse-
quent mngling and shifting of the popula-
ton the resemblance to the wild species
will be least marked while the other
hand where the tanning has been compare
lively recent, where there has been no
shifting of population or where the origi-
nal breed was best adapted to the needs
of the masters, the resemblance to the
original stock will persist longest. Fol-
lowing this rule, it has been found that in
most of those regions of Europe where the
original stock of the population, remains
unimpaired there are found wolf dogs and
sheep dogs bearing a close resemblance to
the races of wolves in the same localities.
The black Florida wolf dog is similar to
the black wolf found in that country while
in southeastern Europe and southern Asia
there are breeds of dogs so like the jackals
of the same districts that they are evidently
related.
Dog Habits Give the Clue.
Certain habits of the dog are also evil
IDENTIFY derived from the wolf. For example,
the custom of the dog in turning around
several times on hearth rug in order
to make a hole before lying down is COM
mon to wolves and jackals, as is the habit
of scratching up earth with the fore-feet
and throwing it backward with the hind
pair. Still more evidence as to the relation
ship of the dog to the wolf is found in a
study of the question of interbreedfng.
Whatever difficulty has been met in inter-
breeding the wolf or jackal with other ami
mails is not found when it comes to cross
ing the dog with them, and the Eskimos
go to the extent of nterbreeding their
sledge dogs with wolves in order to impart
to them vitality and stamina.
The ancestor of our domestic pig has also
had his picture hung recently in the Ameri-
can Museum, showing the pig in the form
in which he roamed the earth million
or SO years ago. This, be it understood is
not an imaginary portrait. 1t is founded
on the most careful Investigations, and
not feature or line has been added unless
the scientists had good and convincing rea-
sons for it,
Discoveries made by American scholars
| in their study Of the evolution of the horse