ASS. — Jiti/n/s vitlf/dris. 



Man has so loiipj luld the Domf.stic Ass uihIit his control, tliat its originnl 

 pro^aMiitois Imvc entirely (lisaj)])eare(l from the fare of the earth. 



'riiere are. as it is well known, ahnndant exjunples of wild Asses fonnd in various 

 lands, hut it seems that tl»esc animals are either the descendants of domesticated 

 Asses which have escaped from captivity, or nudes between the wild ami domestic 

 animals. 



Strong, surefooted, hanly, and easily maintained, the Ass is of inlinite use to 

 the poorer classes of the conuuimity, who need the sen ices of a beast of burden, 

 and cannot afh>rd to ])ur(hase or keej) so e\i)ensive an animal as a horse. In the 

 hands of unthinking and uneducated })eople, the ])oor creature generally leads a 

 very hard life, and is subjected to uuich aud undeser\'cd ill-tre^itmcnt ; not so 

 nuich from deliberate crnclty as from want of thought. 



This crnel treatment is as impolitic as it is inhuman ; for there are few animals 

 which will better repay kindness than the Ass, or will develop better qualities. 



228 



