138 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



quite young, if caught napping in the paddock, the facility with which 

 he, as it were, rolled on to his feet and darted off was wonderful." 



The writer can fully confirm all the praise Professor Ewart lavishes 

 on his pets; in truth, Eomulus has been well described as a "bomrie 

 colt with rare quality of bone . . . and with the dainty step and the 

 dignity of the zebra." Remus, the offspring of the Irish mare, has 

 been from the first more friendly than his half-brother; he objected less 

 to the process of weaning, and, if he survives, promises to be the hand- 

 somest and fleetest of the existing hybrids. 



• On the whole, the hybrids are unusually hardy; only two have been 

 lost — one, a twin, which died almost as soon as it was born, and another 

 which lived some three months and then succumbed. It is only fair 

 to say that the dam of the latter, who was only three years old when 

 the hybrid was born, had been much weakened by attacks of the 

 strougylus worm, and that she was the victim of close inbreeding. 

 Both the zebras and the hybrids which have been under observation at 

 Penycuik show a remarkable capacity for recovering from wounds. 

 Accidental injuries heal with great rapidity. On one occasion the sur- 

 viving twin was discovered with a flap of skin some five inches long 

 hanging down over the front of the left fetlock. The skin was stitched 

 into its place again, during which operation the little hybrid fought 

 desperately and cried piteously; but it soon recovered, the wound 

 healed, and now scarcely a scar remains. There was no lameness and 

 no swelling either at the fetlock or above the knee. About a year ago 

 four hybrid colts and three ordinary foals were attacked by that scourge 

 of the stable, the strongylus worm. One of the latter died and another 

 was reduced almost to a skeleton; the hybrids, though obviously affected, 

 suffered much less than the others and soon recovered. It is further 

 noticeable that the hybrids suffer less from colds and other slight ail- 

 ments than the mares and horses among which they live. 



There is no doubt that it is a comparatively easy matter to breed 

 these hybrids, and that they are not only extremely attractive animals 

 to the eye, but hardy and vigorous, possessed of great staying powers, 

 and promising to be capable of severe work. 



From what we have said, it is evident that the Penycuik experi- 

 ments are of the highest interest, both practical and theoretical, and the 

 public spirit and self-devotion shown by the Edinburgh professor in 

 carrying them out can not be too widely recognized. 



