ASPIRATE ASS. 



301 



it hat! the virtues ascribed to it, his pecuniary pros- 

 pects would be essentially affected. But he deemed 

 it his duty to give it a fair trial ; and, finding it suc- 

 ceed, he promptly acknowledged its virtue, saying to 

 Dr Waterhouse, who raised the first vaccine pustules 

 ever seen in the new world, " This new inoculation 

 of yours is no sham. As a man of humanity, I rejoice 

 in it ; although it will take from me a handsome an- 

 nual income." As a physician, Dr A. obtained great 

 distinction. To his practice, which was very exten- 

 sive, he devoted himself, with unceasing ardour and 

 fidelity, for the space of 45 years, during the greater 

 part of which time he rode on horseback, often up- 

 wards of 40 miles a day, and seldom retired to rest 

 "until after midnight. For some years before his death, 

 he was afflicted with blindness, occasioned by a cat- 

 aract in the eye, which had been brought on by read- 

 ing and writing late at night. He bore this misfor- 

 tune with resignation and tranquillity, and preserved, 

 to the last, his curiosity about daily occurrences and 

 public events. He died, April 16, 1823, of natural 

 dt cay, having nearly completed his 80th year, with 

 the calmness and composure of a Christian, whose 

 duties he had always fulfilled. 



ASPIRATE, or SPIRITUS ASPER, in grammar; an ac- 

 cent peculiar to the Greek language, marked thus ( ' ), 

 and importing that the letter over which it is placed 

 ought to be strongly aspirated, that is, pronounced as 

 if an h were prefixed. 



ASRAEL, in the Mohammedan mythology ; the angel 

 who watches the souls of the dying. 



Ass (equus asinus, L.). This well-known and 

 valuable species of horse is a descendant of the ona- 

 ger, or wild ass, inhabiting the mountainous deserts 

 of Tartary, &c., and celebrated, in sacred and profane 

 history, for the fiery activity of its disposition, and the 

 fleetness of its course. But, in the state of degrada- 

 tion induced by rearing a succession of generations 

 under the most debasing influences of slavery, the 

 severest labour, combined with exposure to all the 

 rigours of climate, and miserable fare, the ass has long 

 since become proverbial for stolid indifference to 

 suffering, while the insensibility induced by protracted 

 ill usage has fixed upon the race the character of ob- 

 stinacy and stupidity. The ass is truly smaller in size, 

 ;iii'i wanting in that ardour and impetuosity which 

 distinguish the horse, yet there are circumstances in 

 which these differences give the ass a higher value. 

 He requires a smaller quantity, and is content with a 

 coarser quality, of food than the horse, and is there- 

 fore far better adapted for hilly and mountainous re- 

 gions, where the horse is more difficult to feed, as 

 well as less able to travel to advantage. In the 

 choice of water he is, however, very nice ; drinking 

 only of that which is perfectly clear, and at brooks 

 with which lie is acquainted. In highand dry situations, 

 over the most precipitous roads, the ass moves with 

 ease and security, under a load which would render 

 it almost impossible for a horse to advance with safety. 

 In various parts of South America, asses are exceed- 

 ingly serviceable in carrying ores, &c., down steep 

 mountains; and in the West India islands, they an- of 

 great value in carrying the sugar cane to the mills, 

 from situations barely accessible to man, on account 

 of the acclivity of the ground. Washington was the 

 first who introduced this useful animal into the United 

 States ; and his laudable example has since been imi- 

 tated by a small number of agriculturists. Neverthe- 

 less, either from prejudice or neglect, the benefits de- 

 rivable from a more general employment of this ani- 

 mal for draught and mirden have not been attained. 

 The best breed of asses is that originally derived from 

 the dry and hot regions of Asia ; perhaps the best 

 bred now in Europe is the Spanish, which was ob- 

 tained through Arabia and Egypt, and long received 



a most careful attention in Spain. During the exis- 

 tence of the Spanish dominion in the southern portion 

 of the American continent, this breed was generally 

 introduced, and may be thence obtained at this time 

 in considerable perfection. Those raised in Peru, 

 where the breeding of the animal is carefully attend- 

 ed to, are very good. Very valuable asses are also 

 exported from the island of Puerto Rico to the ad- 

 jacent islands, where they are more useful in the cul- 

 tivation of sugar than horses, as they consume much 

 less provender, and as already stated, are better 

 adapted to the work. The male ass is in condition 

 to propagate his species at two years of age ; the fe- 

 n.ale still earlier ; and both sexes manifest a sexual 

 ardour which is really surprising, and sometimes de- 

 structive. It therefore becomes necessary to geld 

 the males not intended to continue the race, and the 

 operation is performed in the same way as on horses. 

 The regular season for the females is about the month 

 of June, though many observe no regular period ; in 

 the latter case, however, they are less productive. 

 The ass carries her young eleven months, and foals 

 at the commencement ot the 12th. The mare is 

 again in condition to receive the male seven days 

 after foaling, and may thus be almost constantly kept 

 breeding, until too far advanced in life. It happens 

 exceedingly seldom that more than one foal is brought 

 forth at once : the mare exhibits great attachment to 

 this while it is suckling : it becomes necessary to 

 wean it at six months old, if the mare be again gravid. 

 The teetli of the young ass follow the same order of 

 appearance and renewal as those of the horse. The 

 most general colour of the ass is a mouse-coloured 

 gray, with a black or blackish stripe, extending along 

 the spine to the tail, and crossed by a similar stripe 

 over the fore-shoulders. Varieties of colour are ob- 

 served in different breeds, though by no means to the 

 same extent as among horses. In some places, dap- 

 pled and pied asses are not uncommon, and pure 

 white ones are also found. In proportion as the 

 colour of the ass verges toward reddish-brown or bay, 

 it is considered as an indication ot bad disposition and 

 inferior quality. As we cannot, for want of space, 

 enter upon a more detailed history of this species, we 

 may sum up the circumstances which entitle the ass 

 to a greater degree of attention than it has hitherto 

 received, by observing that it is gentle, strong, hardy, 

 patient of toil, requiring but a small quantity of coarse 

 food, sure-footed, and capable of a high degree of at- 

 tachment to its owner. It is especially suited to the 

 cultivation of light and dry soils, in hilly or mountain- 

 ous districts, or in hot and dry climates, where the 

 breed arrives at the highest perfection. The ass is 

 in general much healthier than the horse, and not so 

 subject to maladies. He requires less sleep than the 

 horse, and never lies down except when extremely 

 tired. He is seldom- troubled with vermin, probably 

 from the hardness of his skin. The skin is at once 

 liard and elastic, and is used as parchment, and for 

 other purposes, such as to cover drums, &c. It is of 

 asses' skin that the orientals make shagreen. The 

 disagreeable noise called braying, the voice of this 

 species, is owing to the peculiar construction of the 

 larynx. In the geldings, this ceases to be an incon- 

 venience, as they attempt to bray but seldom, and 

 always in a low key. Nothing is more certain than 

 that, as this species has exceedingly deteriorated un- 

 der a long continued ill usage, it might be improved 

 to an equal degree by the same attention which is 

 bestowed on the breeding of other domestic animals. 

 The life of the ass does not exceed thirty years. 

 Asses' milk, long celebrated for its sanative qualities, 

 more closely resembles that of the human female 

 than any other. It is very similar in taste, and throws 

 up an equally fluid cream, whir-h is not convertible 



