CROSS-BREEDING 253 



Edinburgh, Scotland, the United States Department of 

 Agriculture and many others. The zebra-horse hybrid 

 is easily domesticated and can be successfully broken 

 to harness. The first cross is not so easily made as that 

 between the jack and the mare but is not impossible or 

 extremely difficult. The zebra possesses a much smoother, 

 finer and more horse-like form than the ass, and the 

 zebra hybrid therefore is possessed of more quality and 

 " finish " than the mule. This hybrid should prove 

 valuable, particularly in those regions where the " tsetse " 

 fly is fatal to horses but not to zebras and probably not 

 to the zebra hybrids. 



239. Crossing cattle and zebu. Many crosses have 

 been made between the zebu and European cattle and 

 between the zebu and the cattle of Tunisia. The first 

 cross in practically all of the experiments seems to have 

 been successful. 



The cross-bred zebu is resistant to Texas fever and 

 anthrax and is not seriously inconvenienced by foot and 

 mouth disease. 1 In Brazil 2 the zebu cross is popular. 

 It is claimed that the cross-bred zebu is more prolific and 

 that these animals herd together better than the ordinary 

 domestic cattle. The zebu hybrids are less tractable 

 and docile than domestic cattle, but are very active and 

 enduring draft animals. 



Because of the disease-resisting qualities of the zebu, 

 its prolificacy, adaptability to hot climates and general 

 hardiness, Nabours 3 is of the opinion that this type of 

 cattle may yet become an important breed in the United 

 States. 



1 Roederer, Journal of Heredity, 1915, p. 201. 



2 Hunnicutt, Journal of Heredity, 1915, p. 195. 



3 Nabours, American Breeder's Magazine, 1913, p. 38. 



