224 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



or even y^, hands at the withers. Despite their 

 diminutive size, they stagger gamely along under 

 huge loads. Some Indian asses are, however, 

 considerably larger, and it is not uncommon to see 

 one of these ploughing with a humped ox or buffalo 

 for its yoke-fellow, while on rare occasions a camel 

 and an ass may be seen ploughing the same furrow. 



To refer to the domesticated asses of all parts 

 of the world would be of little use or interest, even 

 if it were possible. Brief mention may, however, 

 be made of those of Majorca, in the Balearic group, 

 where there are two distinct breeds, of which the 

 larger is extensively exported to the United States 

 for mule-breeding. The smaller breed is a dwarf 

 grey animal, imported from Northern Africa, and 

 employed for carrying small loads or children. 

 The second and m^ore abundant breed is a larger 

 animal, apparently allied to the asses of Spain, 

 and described as being black or dull chestnut in 

 colour, with the usual white muzzle and under-parts. 

 According to a figure given by Dr. C. Keller,^ from 

 whose work the foregoing details are taken, the 

 tail appears to be somewhat more fully haired than 

 is usually the case. 



A special characteristic of the domesticated ass 

 is its surefootedness, a feature in which it differs 

 markedly from the horse. 



1 " Studien iiber die Haustiere der Mittelmeer-Inseln," Neues 

 Detikschr. Schweiz. Naturjor. Ges., vol. xlvi. p. 112, 191 1. 



