Cuttlebone

“ Now, as we have pointed out in the section on osteology (see p. 34) , the forearm in quadrupeds is always in the position of pronation. Should we, then, in order to maintain the symmetry with human anatomy, first study the forearm in the position of supination? Evidently not. Besides the fact that this would in some cases be impossible since—as in the horse, for example—the radius and ulna [175] are fused together, we should not gain any advantage; this position being never completely realizable even in those quadrupeds which have the radius relatively movable—as, for example, in the cat. ”

“ In animals possessed of hoofs (ungulates) , such as the sheep, ox, and horse, the clavicle does not exist. Indeed, in them the freedom of movement of the anterior limbs is limited; they move by projection in the forward and backward directions only; they merely fulfil the functions of giving support to and carrying about the body. The clavicle is rudimentary in the cat and the dog; in the cat it is a small, elongated bone (Fig. 16) , 2 centimetres in length, thin and curved, connected with the sternum and the scapula by ligamentous bundles. ”

“ The sutures uniting the bones can usually be seen in the fetus or in the baby chick soon after it emerges from the shell. The major portion of the cranial bones become entirely fused. Each cranial and each facial bone ossifies from a distinct center or centers.
The cavity for the cerebrum is much larger than the cavity for the cerebellum. The cranial cavities in birds are relatively larger than in mammals. The bones are designated as in mammals. There are three single bones, the occipital, the ethmoid, and the sphenoid. ”

“ On the inferior surface of the human occipital bone are found, at the level of, and external to, the condyles two bony elevations which bear the name of jugular eminences. They are long in quadrupeds, and constitute what are designated by some authors the styloid processes, but they must not be confounded with the processes of the same name which in the case of man form part of the temporal bone. These processes are very highly developed in the pig, horse, ox, and sheep. ”

“ The shoulder girdle consists of the scapula, the coracoid, and the clavicle. The fore limb consists of the arm, forearm, and the hand. The arm consists of the humerus, the forearm of the radius and the ulna; and the hand consists of the carpus, the metacarpus, and the phalanges. The pelvic girdle consists of the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis. The hind limb consists of the thigh, the leg, and the foot. The thigh consists of the femur, and the leg consists of the tibia and the fibula. The foot consists of the metatarsus and the phalanges. ”

“ Soon I had met in the valley and tried my cudgel's strength
On the enemy horned and winged, a-straddle across its length!
Have at his horns, thwick — thwack: they snap, see! Hoof and hoof —
Bang, break the fetlock-bones! For love's sake, keep aloof
Angels! I'm man and match, — this cudgel for my flail, —
To thresh him, hoofs and horns, bat's wing and serpent's tail! ”

“ For that matter, I don't even know what kind of an animal a cuttle is, although I should say from the shape of his bone as used by the canary instead of a pocket handkerchief, that he is circular and flat and stands on edge only with the utmost difficulty. ”

“ The bones of the deer and birds outnumber those of all the other kinds. The condition in which they are found bears a striking resemblance to that of the bones from the shell-heaps of Scotland, the Orkneys, and Denmark. Nearly all the fragments from the deer were those of the long bones, which in the living animal are either covered by the largest amount of flesh, or contain the most marrow. ”

“ In order that the animal may be able to carry off its prey, it must have a certain degree of vigour in the muscles which elevate the head; whence there results a determinate form in the vertebræ from which these muscles take their rise, and in the occiput into which they are inserted.
In order that the teeth may be able to cut flesh, they must be sharp-edged, and must be so in a greater or less degree, according as they have flesh more or less exclusively to cut. Their base will be solid, according to the quantity and size of the bones which they have to break. ”

“ The "pastern," "coronary," and "coffin" bones of veterinarians answer to the joints of our middle fingers, while the hoof is simply a greatly enlarged and thickened nail. But if what lies below the horse's "knee" thus corresponds to the middle finger in ourselves, what has become of the four other fingers or digits? We find in the places of the second and fourth digits only two slender splint-like bones, about two-thirds as long as the cannon bone, which gradually taper to their lower ends and bear no finger joints, or, as they are termed, phalanges. ”

“ The pointed horn of the deer furnished the ready-made dagger, lance head, and harpoon; the incisor tooth of the larger rodents supplied a more delicately edged chisel than primitive art could devise; and the very process of fracturing the bones of the larger mammalia, in order to obtain the prized marrow, produced the splinters and pointed fragments which an easy manipulation converted into daggers, bodkins, and needles. ”

“ The mighty forest giants about her bent like reeds under the terrible force, and shrieked aloud their fears at the coming of the devouring demon.
The mare rushed down into a wide hollow. A culvert bridged a reedy slough. The affrighted beast raced across it. The stream of the animal world 314 swept on about her. She breasted the steep ascent opposite, and Prudence was forced to draw rein. She dared not allow the horse to race up such an incline, even though the fire were within a quarter of a mile of her; she would have been mad to exhaust the faithful creature, which was now her only hope. ”

“ One reason why they do not show spavin and ringbone so much at the horse, is because our blacksmiths do not cut their heels as low as they do a horse's, and consequently that part of the foot is not made to work so hard. If you believe a mule has a ringbone, and yet is not lame, just cut his heel down low, and give him a few good pulls in a muddy place, and he will soon develop to you both lameness and ringbone. ”

“ The increased weight of the horns would also act directly on the skull, in the same manner as, when one bone is removed in the leg of a dog, the other bone, which has to carry the whole weight of the body, increases in thickness. But from the facts given with respect to horned and hornless cattle, it is probable that the horns and skull would immediately act on each other through the principle of correlation. ”

“ The head and neck can be placed in any attitude; the body supported, the wings closed, extended, or elevated; the tail depressed, raised, or expanded; the thighs set horizontal, or oblique, without any aid from wire. Cotton will effect all this.
A very small proportion of the skull bone — say from the fore part of the eyes to the bill — is to be left in, though even this is not absolutely necessary. Part of the wing bones, the jaw bones, and half the thigh bones remain. Everything else — flesh, fat, eyes, bones, brain and tendons — are all to be taken away. ”

“ The limb of the modern race-horse is a nearly perfect piece of machinery, especially adapted to great speed on dry, level ground. The limb of an antelope, or deer, is likewise well fitted [190] for rapid motion on a plain, but the foot itself is adapted to rough mountain work as well, and it is to this advantage, in part, that the Artiodactyls owe their present supremacy. The plantigrade pentadactyl foot of the primitive Ungulate—and even the perissodactyl foot that succeeded it—both belong to the past humid period of the world’s history. ”

“ Not to trust too much to memory, it is desirable to measure and note the proportions of the animal before skinning, first taking the muzzle to the tail. Afterwards, 205from the junction of the tail to the tip. Secondly, from the middle of the shoulder-blade, or scapula, to the articulation of the femur, or thigh-bone. Thirdly, the animal being placed on its side, measure from the upper part of the scapula to the middle of the sternum—that is, to the spot where the two sides meet above, and finally from the socket of the scapula to the socket of the articulation of the femur, or thigh-bone. ”

“ In fowls the wing, which corresponds to the fore leg of mammals, shows a well-developed humerus, radius and ulna, while only one carpal and one metacarpal bone remain, along which the wing feathers are attached. In the leg the femur and tibia are strong bones, but the fibula is a mere splint. ”

“ Let us now suppose that a man wishes to walk in the attitude of a quadruped. It will be necessary, in order that his upper limbs, being for the moment anterior ones, may act as members of support, to place the forearm in pronation, in order that, as is more normal, the hands may rest on the ground by their palmar surfaces. In this position the radius, being rotated on its own axis at its upper extremity and around the ulna in the rest of its extent, shall have its inferior extremity situated on the inner side of the corresponding extremity of the latter. ”

“ Size medium or small; build generally thick and clumsy; naked muzzle large; anteorbital glands opening into a row of pores, which form a long naked line on each side of the muzzle; crown of head tufted, so that the horns are often quite hidden in the hairs; tail short or medium, not heavily tufted; mammæ four; lateral hoofs well developed.
Skull with large lachrymal fossæ, but no fissure at the base of the nasals, and no large pits above or beneath the eyes; auditory bullæ divided by a septum; upper molar teeth short and broad; in the larger species with an additional column on the inner side. ”

“ The muscles of the limbs, themselves so hard as to blunt the keen-edged knives employed by a dissecter, are enveloped in their glittering sheaths, playing upon each other like well-oiled machinery, and terminating in tendons seemingly strong as steel, and nearly as impervious to the knife. Not until the skin is removed can any one form a conception of the enormously powerful muscles of the neck, which enable the Lion to lift the 22 weighty prey which it kills, and to convey it to a place of security. ”

“ If you notice a hungry eye fixed yearningly on your tender calf, let your calf stray ever so little from under the protection of the hanging guard. If this bait takes your friend in, and he comes with a reckless lunge at it, throwing all his heart into the cut, spring up to your full height, heels together, and leg well out of danger, and gently let your avenging rod fall along his spine. This, by the way, is the only occasion, except when you are acknowledging a hit, on which you may be allowed to desert the first position for legs and feet. ”

“ The feats which the mere skin and bones of a horse can perform during hunting are surprising. The comparatively small shin-bone of his hind legs will, without receiving the smallest blemish, smash any ordinary description of dry oak or elm-rail, and occasionally shiver the top of a five-barred gate, and yet, strange to say, though the frail bone so often fractures the timber, the timber is never able to fracture the frail bone, which,156 generally speaking, receives not the smallest injury from the conflict. ”

“ For, in all these varieties of the dog, says Cuvier, the relation of the bones with each other remains essentially the same; the form of the teeth never changes in any perceptible degree, except that, in some individuals, one additional false grinder occasionally appears, sometimes on the one side, and sometimes on the other.804 The greatest departure from a common type—and it constitutes the maximum of variation as yet known in the animal kingdom—is exemplified in those races of dogs which have a supernumerary toe on the hind foot with the corresponding tarsal bones ”

“ Powerful loins; a long and straight back, and a [76] nicely rounded croup are essentials of beauty. A deep chest, well-rounded ribs, and powerfully-built fore-quarters are equally important.
A good Clumber must have staying power, and if he has not a well-developed muscular system, he cannot have this requisite.
Neck.—To be of medium length and stoutly built.
The head, body and hind-quarters constitute fifty per cent. of the total value of points, and the neck and shoulders fifteen per cent., hence the significance of being well done up in these regions. ”

“ On one long bone, for example, of the ox, there were cuts made by a flint implement, as well as the mark of the blow by which it had been split longitudinally; and another ox-bone, and the canine of a boar, bore marks of burning. The bones of the animals were very abundant, and belonged to the following species: beaver, hamster, and other small rodents, hare, badger, fox, boar, stag, roe, ox, and goat. ”

“ Do not try to take the bone from the next joint, as that is not in the way when carving, and it gives a more natural shape to the bird. Now begin at the wish-bone, and when that is free from the flesh, run the knife between the sides and the flesh, always using the fingers to press the meat from the smooth bones, as, for instance, the breast-bone and lower part of the sides. Work around the legs the same as you did around the wings, always using great care at the joints not to cut the skin. ”