DISEASES. 69 



at the rutting season, which amounts to a posi- 

 tive malady. It lasts through a period of some 

 weeks, during which he hardly tastes food ; and 

 Tavernier even affirms that he neither eats nor 

 drinks for forty days. At this time he is ungov- 

 ernable, violent, and revengeful, to that degree 

 that his master or others sometimes fall victims 

 to his rage. Carbuccia declares, as before 

 noticed, that the paroxysm may be calmed by 

 tarring the head of the animal. Castration is 

 attended with the same general results and ad- 

 vantages as in the case of other quadrupeds, and 

 it may be performed, it is said, at any age, and 

 without risk to the animal, or even a temporary 

 loss of his services. Various methods are em- 

 ployed, among which puncturing the testes with 

 a sharp red-hot iron is recommended as the best. 

 The period of gestation does not appear to be 

 uniform. At least, most travellers state it at a 

 year for cold climates, while some declare that 

 the period varies from ten or eleven months to a 

 year in warmer ones. Alfred von Kremer even 

 informs us, that a ten month's foal is preferred in 

 Egypt to one of longer gestation. The female 

 bears every second year, and always a single 

 foal. She is used during pregnancy and lacta- 

 tion, at least in hot countries, though in colder 

 climates she is generally allowed to repose for a 

 part at least of the former period. Harlan thinks 



