The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-07
HORSE PUSHES; MEYER PULLS.
HE rs THE DESCENDANT, TOO, OF
s TOED EOCENE STEEDS.

changes In lis Build Due Sc Demand for
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Osborn on Equine Eyolution-Horse
OF Casar-IIorned Horse From Texas.
The horse In its relation 10 evolution was
the topic OF the second lecture in the series
being delivered at the Museum Of Natural
History by Henry Fairfield Osborn, Da
Costa professor of zoology and a curator
in the museum In the previous lecture
Prof. Osborn treated Of the condition OF
the modern horse and its development into
speed machine. Last night he took
survey Of hippic ancestry as far hack as
the stone age, and the progenitora OF the
present day horse were shown to have
possessed five toes on each foot instead OF
the single hoof horses have nowadays
BY means OF excellent stereoptioon slides,
Prof Osborn pointed out the muscles about
the limbs tnat give the horse the peculiar
fore-and-aft motion which necessity for
speed has developed at the expense OF any
lateral motion he used 10 possess. The
modern horse, the lecturer pointed out. has
developed certain tendons that his ancestor
never had, in order 10 sustain his joints IN
such work al leaping fences and rearing.
f1OIetht bdlu iIOls OoOOAHF
miss their vocation, just as men do, The
great horse Hambletonian was born TO trot,
vet he was for many years driven in wagon
az a beast of burden before his owner dis
covered that he was born with that peculiar
gift that made him "a great trotter.
predispostion TO any particular facility
in horse can be cultivated by proper
exercise and training But normal
heredity normal activity and normal
environment are required to produce a
normal horse, though modification OF hered-
ity or variation is possible.
By the aid Of a picture showing the
horse pulling n burden. the lecturer pointed
out the position which the frame OF the
laboring horse assumes.
1T is" he said. an optical illusion to
suppose that horse pulls. He really
never pulls. He pushes the collar 10 which
are attached the traces which pull the
load. The only way a horse could pull is
by having the load tied TO his tail. A horse
made to push continuously develops special
articulation of his spine. He develops
special muscles as a draught horse
number Of rudimentary and useless
members, it was shown, still cling to the
horse. relics OF ages gone by, but now fall
len into distlse. For instance there is a
slender bone in the shin that was won't 20
support the great toe OF the horse when
ne ntiQ one. buI tut LOS NUS long Since
disappeared, and its prop aud stay is now
IN process Of vanishing. Yet horses with
toes are occasionally seen.
This poydactylism,' said Prof. Osborn,
lie In every case a genuine revival of an !
ancient condition. Suetonlus. the Roman |
historian, speaks of Caesars horse that |
had many fingers besides the main hoof.'
This was no malfounation but reversion |
TO an earlier type
The stereopticon man then flashed upon |
the screen "Choque. the horse with six
feet, and the Horned horse from Texas |
Cheques forefeet are as if split into two |
each. The horned horse has an outer |
finger" on each forefoot and an outer |
as well al an inner one on each hind foot.
These vertigial fingers, pursued the |
speaker, are one Of the strongest argu
ments for the validity OF the doctrine OF |
evolution as regards horses. Slvier. the
French naturalist. WAS an accurate OBJ |
server, but not an able generalizer. He |
created a philosophical condition that !
dominated for half century 80 that Owen, |
the English naturalist, a follower of Cuvier, |
found a number of types OF the eocene |
horse. or the horse Of the dawn of the ages,
but save no relationship between them
and the modern horse.
1T was Darwin who started the idea OF |
the evolution Of the horse and Of all other |
things. He treated the subject synthet- |
cally After him, successors like Albert |
Gaudry, the French naturalist. Huxley !
and Profs. Joseph Ieidy and Edward !
d. Cope Of this country rendered excellent |
service. In his address in 1870, Huxley |
predicted that it would be discovered that |
horses are descended from five fingered and !
five toed ancestors. Prof. Cope Of Phila-
delphia prophesied similarly. Prof Marsh |
Of Yale In the years ls7l73 in his explora
tions OF western Wyoming, found types |
Of horse ancestors with five and four toes"
The lecture next Wednesday will deal |
more intimately with the polydactylio an
cestors OF the horse.