THE BLACK STOCK. 26? 



Hartz, but chiefly in the valleys of the Rhine, 

 Meuse, and Scheldt. * Many indications, partially 

 noticed in a former page, tend to conclusions that 

 this form of the horse, with the mysterious proper- 

 ties assigned to it, was indigenous in the West ; 

 but it must be admitted, that sooty races, more 

 lightly made, extend over the Scandinavian penin- 

 sula, and are scattered through Eastern Europe, till 

 they reach Tahtary, where there are black breeds of 

 great reputation. These may be considered to have 

 been mounted by some of the invaders of ancient 

 Egypt, or to have been conveyed to the Nile as 

 tribute, after the first conquest of Remses in Asia ; 

 for we find there are black horses in the hieroglyphic 

 paintings, which may indeed have been of the Don- 

 gola breed, but that this was itself unquestionably of 

 Asiatic origin, whether it came across the Red Sea 

 or by the Nile to where we now find it, resembling 

 the Karabulo and Katchenski races of Central Asia 

 in form, and even in their white feet, as we have 

 before noticed. 



Among the present races of Asia, we find the 

 Bashkirs possess one of a slaty black colour, with 

 tanned muzzle and inside of the limbs; the hair 

 does not grow to the length of the white villous 

 race, but undulates with an indication of curling. 

 The individuals we saw had large thick heads, full 

 necks, and heavy shoulders ; the withers were rather 



* The whole vegetable mould of the above geographical sur- 

 face is more than any other supplied with horse-bones a..d 

 heavy teeth, most applicable to the black stirps. 



