158 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



nell, Cliilson, Jolm M. Bixby, Johnson, Pardee, Solon Robinson, and 

 others — sixty-three members. 



Hon. John Gr. Bergen in the chair, H. Meigs, Secretary. 



The secretary read the following translations and extracts, made by him 

 since the last meeting, viz : 



Bulletin Mensuel de la Soeiete Impcriale Zoologique d'AcclimatatioK. Paris, July 1858. 



ON THE ARABIAN HORSE. 



By General- Senator Daumas, to the President : 



Sir — People and their governments have at all times considered the 

 horse as one of the most powerful elements of their strength and of their 

 prosperity. At this time no question of rural economy and of the military 

 art, is more dicussed than the amelioration of the horse. Statesmen, 

 learned societies, agriculturists, the army — every body, is occupied with 

 this matter. As for myself, I have never ceased to study that precious 

 animal, as a matter of taste, and of love of my country. I have studied 

 everything relating to it, and I avow that the opinions of the Arabs are 

 best. I have written often to the Emir Abd-el-Kader, one of the most 

 learned of Arabs, about it. His last letter to me is as follows : 



Praise be to the only God ! To him who remains ever the same, in the 

 midst of the revolutions of this world. My friend. Monsieur le General 

 Daumas, safety be with you, with the mercy and blessing of God, prays the 

 writer of this letter, in behalf of his mother, his children, their mother, 

 and all the members of his family and of their companions ! You ask of 

 me what is the origin of our Arabian horses 1 You resemble a sun-crack 

 in a parched land ! no shower, however abundant, can fill it up. However, 

 to staunch your thirst, (if possible,) I will go to the fountain head, the 

 water of which is always most pure and abundant. 



Know then ! that with us, it is admitted that God created the horse out 

 of the wind, and Adam out of the mud, of the earth ; and this doctrine 

 cannot be discussed! Many prophets (safety to them) have proclaimed 

 that when God contemplated the creation of the horse, he said to the south 

 wind: " I am about to make a creature of you ; condense thyself!''^ And 

 the wind became condensed ! Then came the angel Gabriel, and took a 

 handful of that condensed wind, and presented it to God, who formed a 

 brown bay or brown chestnut (Koummite red mixed with black), saying: 

 "I have called thee Horse! (Frass.) I have created thee Arab! I 

 have given thee the Koummite color! I have attached happiness to the 

 hair which falls between thy eyes! Thou shalt be lord (Sid.) of all ani- 

 mals. Man shall follow you wherever you go ! Good for pursuit as for 

 flight, you shall fly without wings ! Wealth shall rest upon your back, and 

 good ever wait upon you!" God then marked him with the sign of glory 

 and hapiness — the ghora a pelote, or blase, on the head, and a star in the 

 middle of the forehead ! 



You wish to know, now, whether God created the horse before the man, 

 or man before the horse. Listen, God created the horse bsfore the man, 



