DOMESTIC ASS.
DOMESTIC ASS.
The Ass varies greatly in colour, and its legs, especially the fore legs, are sometimes transversely barred; a fact which may be explained on the hypothesis of the reappearance of the attributes of the parental form. “The stripes,” Mr. Darwin says,“are believed to occur most frequently and to be plainest on the legs of the Domestic Ass during early youth, as is apparently likewise the case with the Horse. The shoulder-stripe, which is so eminently characteristic of the species, is nevertheless variable in breadth, length, and manner of termination. I have measured a shoulder-stripe four times as broad as another, and some more than twice as long as others. In one light-grey Ass the shoulder-stripe was only six inches in length and as thin as a piece of string; and in another animal of the same colour there was only a dusky shade representing a stripe. I have heard of three white Asses—not albinoes—with no trace of shoulder or spinal stripes, and I have seen nine other Asses with no shoulder-stripe, and some of them had no spinal-stripe. Three of the nine were light greys, one a dark grey, another grey passing into reddish roan, and the others were brown, two being tinted on parts of their bodies with a reddish or bay shade. Hence we may conclude that if grey and reddish-brown Asses had been steadily selected and bred from, the shoulder-stripe would have been almost as generally and as completely lost as in the case of the Horse.”
ONAGER.
ONAGER.
“The shoulder-stripe on the Ass is sometimes double, and Mr. Blyth has seen even three or four parallel stripes. I have observed in ten cases shoulder-stripes abruptly truncated at the lower end, with the anterior angle produced into a tapering point, precisely as has been figured in the Dun Devonshire Pony. I have seen three cases of a terminal portion abruptly and angularly bent, and two cases of a distinct, though slight, forking. In Syria, Dr. Hooker and his party observed for me no less than five instances of the shoulder-stripe being plainly forked over the fore leg. In the common Mule it is likewise sometimes forked. When Spist noticed the forking and angular bending of the shoulder-stripe, I had seen enough of the stripes in the various equine species to feel convinced that even a character so unimportant as this had a distinct meaning, and was thus led to attend to the subject. I now find that in theAsinus BurchelliiandQuagga, the stripe which corresponds with the shoulder-stripe of the Ass, as well as some of the stripes on the neck, bifurcate, and that some of those near the shoulder have their extremities angularly bent backwards. The forking and angular bending of the stripes on the shoulders apparently stand in relation with the changed direction of the nearly upright stripes on the sides of the body and neck to the transverse bars on the legs. Finally, we see that the presence of shoulder-, leg- and spinal-stripes in the Horse, their occasional absence in the Ass, the occurrence of double and triple shoulder-stripes in both animals, and the similar manner in which these stripes terminate at their lower extremities, are all cases of analogous variation in the Horse and Ass. These cases are probably not due to similar conditions acting on similar constitutions, but to a partial reversion in colour to the common progenitor of these two species, as well as of the other species of the genus.”
The Asses, beside the characters above mentioned, have the upper part of the tail covered with short hairs, while the lower part terminates in a long hairy tuft; horny excrescences, or warts, exist on the fore legs alone. In England, as we have before remarked, Asses are small and without much variation, because their points have not been selected. When, however, care is taken in breeding, the result is as remarkable as in the case of the Horse. Near Cordova, according to Mr. Darwin, they are carefully bred, as much as two hundred pounds having been paid for a stallion Ass. Asses from Spain, Malta, and France have been introduced into Kentucky for the breeding of Mules, which have been raised by the care of the Kentuckians from their original size of fourteen hands to sixteen hands in height. Great prices are put on these splendid animals, one of great celebrity having been sold for over one thousand pounds. At their cattle shows, one day is given up to the exhibition of Asses.
WILD ASS OF ABYSSINIA.
WILD ASS OF ABYSSINIA.
Asses have always been in repute in the East, and much pains have been taken in their breeding. They are frequently mentioned in the Bible, from which it appears that white Asses were used by people of high rank, as may be seen from the following verse (Judges v. 10): “Speak, ye that ride on white Asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.”
THEMULE ANDHINNY.—The hybrid offspring of the Ass and the Mare is the Mule; while the Hinny is that of the Horse and female Ass. Of these the Mule is by far the larger, taking more the form and appearance, as well as the dimensions, of the mare; while the latter assumes so much of the nature and general appearance of the Ass as to render the breeding of it undeserving of attention.
ZEBRA.(From the Living Specimen in the Zoological Gardens, London.)❏LARGER IMAGE
ZEBRA.(From the Living Specimen in the Zoological Gardens, London.)
❏LARGER IMAGE
THEWILDASS OFTIBET.—We are indebted to Dr. Sclater, the accomplished Secretary of the Zoological Society of London, for an interesting account of the various species of Wild Asses. The Kiang, or Wild Ass of Tibet, inhabits the high plateaux, at no less an altitude than from fifteen to sixteen thousand feet above the sea. It is a large animal, measuring fourteen hands inheight, and is exceedingly swift and wary. The back is marked by a broad black line, but there is no transverse bar across the shoulders; it is probably the trueEquus hemionusof Pallas. (See figure, p. 295.)
THEONAGER, or Wild Ass of the Asiatic deserts, presents several varieties. That variety which inhabits Cutch and Scinde is remarkable for its swiftness and difficulty of approach. It is closely allied to the Wild Ass of Assyria, named by St. HilaireEquus hemippus. (See figure, p. 311.)
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA.
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA.
THEWILDASS OFABYSSINIA, the parent form from which the domestic animals were derived, is readily distinguishable from the above species by the stripes on its hind legs. (See figure, p. 312.)
THEZEBRAS.—Dr. Sclater describes three species of Zebra: the black and white, or true Zebra, which inhabits the mountains; Burchell’s Zebra, or the black and yellow Zebra, which inhabits the plains; and the Quagga. The true Zebra inhabits the hilly districts of Southern Africa, and is remarkable for its beauty and its fierce and untamable nature. It is by far the most conspicuous and most beautiful of the Ass tribe. The stripes which define it from the ordinary Asses are remarkably like those of the Tiger in their arrangement. Those on its legs are horizontal, while those of its body are for the most part vertical.
BURCHELL’SZEBRAis found in great numbers north of the Orange River; and, according to Sir Cornwallis Harris,“seldom congregating in herds of fewer than eighty or a hundred, it abounds to a great extent in all the districts included between that noble stream and the southern tropic. Occupying the same regions and delighting in the same pastures as the Brindled Gnu, rarely is it to be seen unless in the companionship of that fantastic animal, whose presence would seem to be almost indispensable to its happiness. It is singular enough that the members of two families so perfectly foreign to each other should display so great a predilection for each other’s society, uniformly intermixing as they do, and herding in bonds of the closest friendship. Fierce, strong, fleet, and surpassingly beautiful, there is, perhaps, no quadruped in the creation, not even excepting the Mountain Zebra, more splendidly attired, or presenting a picture of more singularly attractive beauty, than this free-born child of the desert.”
QUAGGA.
QUAGGA.
The QUAGGA, which is less attractively coloured, and inhabits a different tract of country, is also described by Sir Cornwallis Harris, as follows:—“The geographical range of the Quagga does not appear to extend to the northward of the river Vaal. The animal was formerly extremely common within the colony; but, vanishing before the strides of civilisation, is now to be found in very limited numbers, and on the borders only. Beyond, on those sultry plains which are completely taken possession of by wild beasts, and may with strict propriety be termed the domains of savage nature, it occurs in interminable herds; and, although never intermixing with its more elegant congeners, it is almost invariably to be found ranging with the White-tailed Gnu and with the Ostrich, for the society of which bird especially it evinces the most singular predilection. Moving slowly across the profile of the ocean-like horizon, uttering a shrill, barking neigh, of which its name forms a correct imitation, long files of Quaggas continually remind the early traveller of a rival caravan on its march.... Bands of many hundreds are thus frequently seen during their migration from the dreary and desolate plains of some portion of the interior, which has formed their secluded abode, seeking for those more luxuriant pastures where, during the summer months, various herbs thrust forth their leaves and flowers to form a green carpet, spangled with hues the most brilliant and diversified.”