Evidence of
this is furnished by the sow. For she always presents these foremost
dugs to the first-born of her litter. A single young one is of
course a first-born, and so such animals as only produce a single
young one must have these anterior dugs to present to it; that is they
must have the dugs which are under the axillae. This, then, is the
reason why the elephant has but two mammae, and why they are so
placed. But, in such animals as have litters of young, the dugs are
disposed about the belly; the reason being that more dugs are required
by those that will have more young to nourish. Now it is impossible
that these dugs should be set transversely in rows of more than two,
one, that is, for each side of the body, the right and the left;
they must therefore be placed lengthways, and the only place where
there is sufficient length for this is the region between the front
and hind legs. As to the animals that are not polydactylous but
produce few at a birth, or have horns, their dugs are placed in the
region of the thighs. The horse, the ass, the camel are examples;
all of which bear but a single young one at a time, and of which the
two former have solid hoofs, while in the last the hoof is cloven.
As still further examples may be mentioned the deer, the ox, the goat,
and all other similar animals.
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