History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

28 MAMMALIA. BELLU/E. Sb'siThat this animal should be regarded as indigenous, need scarcely requireproof.It lives and propagates, nearly in a state of nature in the Highlandsof Scotland, and the Zetland Islands. In the latter of these districts, the useof a stable was dispensed with, until lately. The remains of the species occurassociated with those of the most ancient of our native quadrupeds, as in theCave of Kirkdale, (Buckland's Rel. Dil. p. 18).The Britons, at a very early period, paid great attention to the horse, asappears from the excellency of their cavalry, according to the testimony ofCcesar (Com. lib. iv. 33.), and the present stock is unequalled, whether destinedfor the draught, the saddle, the turf, or for war. The breeds whichmay be regarded as nearest in character to the original stock, dwell in themore mountainous and inaccessible districts, where deficiency of food restrainsthem to a diminutive size.Gen. XXVII. SUS. Boar.—Hoof divided, with six incisorsin each jaw.43. S. Scrqfa. Back bristled in front, tail hairy.The sow is gravid four months, and, in a domesticated state, has been knownto produce twenty pigs. This species was formerly abundant in a wild state,and the bones of individuals are occasionally found in marl-beds, clay, graveland caves. The cultivated breeds are numerous, and chiefly distinguishedby the thickness of fur, or length of leg. In one variety the hoof is undivided.The ears are pendulous in some, and erect in others.By the influence of civilization, the Ass (Equus Annus) was added to thestock of our useful quadrupeds, so early as the close of the tenth century, atleast in the reign of Ethelred. It is occasionally employed as a beast of burdenin mines, seldom for the saddle. Other speciesof Belluse, however, havesuffered extirpation here, and elsewhere have become extinct.1. Mammoth.This is a species of elephant (Elcphasprimigenius), which, judging from thedistribution of its remains, was a native of the temperate and cold districtsof the northern hemisphere. The tusks, teeth, &c occur in thesilt of rivers, beds of marl, clay, gravel, and in caves. The markingsof the teeth distinguish it as a species from any of the recent kinds,and the condition of the fur, in the individual found in ice at the mouthof the Lena in Siberia, indicated its fitness to reside in a cold climate.Mr Trimmer gives figuresof two young teeth, found in clay nearBrentford, which he hastilv refers to the Asiatic and African recentspecies, (Phil. Trans. 1813, p. 131. tab. viii. f. 1. 2).2. Extinct Rhinoceros.This species appears to have been contemporary with the mammoth, andto have possessed the same geographicaldistribution. In this countryits remains occur in all the situations in which those of the mammothhave been detected.3. Extinct Hippopotamus.Doubts exist respecting the claims of this species to be regardedas differentfrom the existing African species.The bones are found in similarsituations with those of the two preceding animals, but the geographicaldistribution of this species appears to have been different, the individualshaving been more confined to the temperate regions. In thiscountry, peat-bog,— it has occurred in Lancashire under a at Kirkdale