THE ASS. 451 



left hand ! O man, take care ! O maiden, take care ! O boy, get out of 

 the way ! The howadji comes ! ' Kish had strong lungs, and his donkey 

 would let nothing pass him, and so wherever we went we contributed 

 our full share to the universal noise and confusion." 



The color of the Ass is a uniform gray, a dark streak passing along 

 the spine, and another stripe being drawn transversely across the 

 shoulders. In the quagga and zebra these stripes are much more 

 extended. In size, and in other respects, the Ass differs according to its 

 locality. The largest are those of the Spanish Peninsula, which are 

 nearly as large as a horse, and remarkably handsome. 



The flesh of the Ass has a disagreeable taste, so that it never can 

 become popular as public food ; but that of their foals, on the contrary, 

 is very tender, and differs but little from veal. 



As a strengthening agent, or as a mild and light article of food for 

 invalids, the milk of the Ass has long been considered excellent. The 

 Greeks of antiquity made use of it for this purpose. It contains more 

 milk-sugar and less caseous matter than cow's milk ; but it should inva- 

 riably be taken from a young and healthy animal in good condition, 

 which has been fed abundantl}' on wholesome food. As it is the secre- 

 tion of a non-ruminant animal, ass's milk is naturally more easy of 

 digestion than the milk of the cud-chewing cow. 



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