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than such as are reared in troops. The mare attains her full length and height
at five years old, the stallion at six; in another six years the animal reaches its
full bulk, and goes on improving until it is twenty years old. The female, then,
reaches maturity more rapidly than the male, but in the womb the case is
reversed, just as is observed in regard to the sexes of the human species; and
the same phenomenon is observed in the case of all animals that bear several
young.
The mare is said to suckle a mule-foal for six months, but not to allow its
approach for any longer on account of the pain it is put to by the hard tugging
of the young; an ordinary foal it allows to suck for a longer period.
Horse and mule are at their best after the shedding of the teeth. After they
have shed them all, it is not easy to distinguish their age; hence they are said
to carry their mark before the shedding, but not after. However, even after the
shedding their age is pretty well recognized by the aid of the canines; for in
the case of horses much ridden these teeth are worn away by attrition caused
by the insertion of the bit; in the case of horses not ridden the teeth are large
and detached, and in young horses they are sharp and small.
The male of the horse will breed at all seasons and during its whole life; the
mare can take the horse all its life long, but is not thus ready to pair at all
seasons unless it be held in check by a halter or some other compulsion be
brought to bear. There is no fixed time at which intercourse of the two sexes
cannot take place; and accordingly intercourse may chance to take place at a
time that may render difficult the rearing of the future progeny. In a stable in
Opus there was a stallion that used to serve mares when forty years old: his
fore legs had to be lifted up for the operation.
Mares first take the horse in the spring-time. After a mare has foaled she
does not get impregnated at once again, but only after a considerable interval;
in fact, the foals will be all the better if the interval extend over four or five
years. It is, at all events, absolutely necessary to allow an interval of one year,
and for that period to let her lie fallow. A mare, then, breeds at intervals; a
she-ass breeds on and on without intermission. Of mares some are absolutely
sterile, others are capable of conception but incapable of bringing the foal to
full term; it is said to be an indication of this condition in a mare, that her foal
if dissected is found to have other kidney-shaped substances round about its
kidneys, presenting the appearance of having four kidneys.
After parturition the mare at once swallows the after-birth, and bites off the
growth, called the ‘hippomanes’, that is found on the forehead of the foal.
This growth is somewhat smaller than a dried fig; and in shape is broad and
round, and in colour black. If any bystander gets possession of it before the
mare, and the mare gets a smell of it, she goes wild and frantic at the smell.
1125
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156