476 ASSES 



any other breed of pony measuring a hand higher. Their 

 docile temperament and tractable disposition, which are 

 quite remarkable in comparison with ponies of any other 

 British breed, adapt them admirably for either purpose. 

 Their sure-footedness, intelligence, and good-nature, make 

 them ideal companions and pets of children. 



THE DOMESTICATED Ass, 1 



Equus asinus, differs from the horse mainly in the 

 absence of wartlike processes (chestnuts) on the hind legs ; 

 in the croup being higher than the withers ; in having con- 

 tracted upright hoofs, long ears, and a short erect mane ; in 

 the hock being longer, thinner, and weaker than that of the 

 horse ; in the long hair of the tail being confined to a tuft 

 near its extremity ; and in the sound of its voice or call. 

 The difference between the bray of the ass and the neigh of 

 the horse needs merely to be mentioned, not described. 

 The voice of the mule has a sound intermediate between the 

 two. Three black stripes, one down each shoulder, and the 

 third along the line of the back-bone said traditionally to 

 represent the results of the three strokes given by Balaam 

 to his refractory ass though regarded as typical charac- 

 teristics of the ordinary Brown or Mouse-coloured Donkey, 

 are not always present. In relation to other dark markings, 

 Darwin's Animals and Plants under Domestication says: 

 " With the Common Ass, as the legs of the wild progenitor 

 are almost always striped, we may feel assured that the 

 occasional appearance of such stripes in the domestic animal 

 is a case of simple reversion." 



The large white-haired, though black-skinned, Syrian 

 Donkey, popular in Egypt with European visitors, has no 

 dark hair on any part of its coat. A small star is the only 

 white marking seen on a dark haired donkey, and that rarely. 

 " The ass is never of a bright bay, chestnut, red, or blue-roan 

 or nutmeg-grey." The best colour is black with a mealy 

 ring round the muzzle. 



The domesticated species is generally supposed to be 

 most nearly related to the wild ass of Abyssinia (E. tceniopus). 

 The wild ass of Central Asia (E. onager), which is noted for 



1 Refer also to Horses, Asses, Zebras, Mules and Mule Breeding, by 

 Tegetmeier and Sutherland, Field Office, London, 1895. 



