THE PRJEVALSKY HOESE. 61 



those of the ass. The tail has more resemblance to that of the 

 horse ; but it is distinguished by its basal (root) part being clothed, 

 for a little distance from the root, by hairs which are coarser and 

 shorter than those on the distal part. These hairs, nevertheless, 

 are much longer than the corresponding hairs of the wild ass, and, 

 moreover, are closer together ; therefore, the shape of the tail as a 

 whole reminds one much more of the horse than of the ass. A 

 tail, similar to that of E. prjevahkii, may often be observed among 

 domestic horses, in which the proximal part is frequently covered 

 with short, stiff hairs. 



In the comparison of the Prjevalsky horse with other horses, 

 the consideration of the Tarpan naturally takes a premier place. 

 Concerning the Tarpan, as yet only somewhat scanty and often 

 contradictory statements have been made.* The first information 

 regarding this animal is found in Gmelin's account of his journey 

 through Russia,! during which he had an opportunity of observ- 

 ing these animals at Bobrow (Woronetz). According to his descrip- 

 tion, the Tarpan is a small, mouse-coloured horse, with a short and 

 curly mane, J and with the limbs, from the knee to the hoof, 

 coloured black. The head, he says, is immensely thick. Other 

 particulars, such as those relating to the ears and tail, are very 

 indefinite. The ears are now short, as in the domestic horse ; 

 now long, as in the ass, and hanging down. The tail is sometimes 

 compact, sometimes scanty ; but always shorter than in the horse. 

 I cannot enter here into a fuller discussion of the other descriptions 

 of the Tarpan which have been framed from the accounts of people 

 who have been able to observe the animal in a state of freedom 

 (statements relative thereto are collected together in Koppen's 

 paper), but Avill turn to the protocol drawn up on the inspection 

 of the Tarpan delivered at the Moscow Zoological Gardens by 

 I. N. Schatiloff on the 30th August, 1884. This Tarpan was 

 captured in 1866, when a small foal, on the Zagradoff Steppe of 

 Prince Kotschubei. It was brought up by a mare, castrated, and, 

 when eighteen years old, brought to Moscow. The protocol, 

 signed by the Vice-Presidents and members of the Moscow Society 

 of Acclimatisation, is a valuable document relative to the descrip- 



* A full review of the literature on tlie Tarpan will be found in the 

 papers by Th. P. Koppen (Kb iiCTopiu Tapiiana Bi Pocciit. HxypHa.rb miiiiik repcTBa 

 iwipojiiaro npocB'tinenifi. 1896. HiiBapb), and D. N. Anutschin (Kb Boupocy 

 4UKUxb -loiuaAaxb bi I'occia. (HxypH. MnniicTepcTBa Hap. DpocB. 1«S6, iioub, liojb).) 



f Gmelin. Beise durch Russlancl zur imtersuchung der drei Naiiirreicke. 

 I According to Viill-ds (Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, Vol. I., p. 260) the mane 

 in the Tarpan is " siib-erecta." 



