first sight it may seem as if these alterations
are due to the admixture of previously existing varieties, or to the
institution of peculiarities by some process of selection. I am,
however, well convinced that these variations are in good part due to a
direct influence from the environment. Thus in our high northern lands
there is a distinct and spontaneous reduction in size of the creatures,
which attains its farthest point in the Shetland pony. Again, as we go
toward the tropics, a like though less conspicuous decrease in bulk is
observable. The largest animals of the species develop in the middle
latitudes, the realm where the form appears to have acquired its
characters. The speed with which these local variations are made is
often great. Thus the horses of Kentucky have, in about a century,
acquired a certain stamp of the soil which makes it possible, in most
cases, for the observer to identify an individual as from that State,
though he may find it in a field a thousand miles away. The defining
indications are not limited altogether to bodily form, but are shown in
what might seem trifling features of carriage and behavior. The
difference between the horses of Great Britain and those of the United
States seems to me, from repeated observations, to be quite as great as
that separating the men of the two realms. I believe that if a lot of a
thousand, taken in equal parts from either land, were put together, a
person well accustomed to taking account of these animals could
separate them into two herds, with less than ten per cent. of error. It
is doubtful if a more perfect selection could be made if the same
experiment were tried on an equal number of men, provided the indices
to be derived from peculiarities of speech or dress could be excluded.

[Illustration: An Arabian Horse]

By some the Arabian horse is thought to be the most remarkable
specialization of the kind which has been attained. In his native
country and in his perfection, the Arab breed has been seen by but
few persons who have been specially trained in noting the
peculiarities of the animal. So far as I have been able to judge by
pictures and a few specimens, said to be thoroughbreds of their
stock, which I have had a chance to see, the Arabian form of the
horse appears to have been led less far away from the primitive
stock than many of our European and American varieties.

[Illustration: Arabian Sports]

The very great, if not the preeminent,