Chap. 2. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



53 



THE MULE. 



The wild horses in Asia and America are 

 all descended from such as had been for- 

 merly domesticated, and had been set at 

 liberty. These wild horses are said to be 

 very numerous, going in troops upon the 

 prairies at the southwest, and that the In- 

 dians supply themselves with horses, by 

 catching and taming them. The period 

 of gestation in the horse is 11 months and 

 in the domesticated state the colt is al- 

 lowed to suck 5 or G months. At the 

 age of two years the sexes are separated ; 

 at three they are liandled and at four are 

 broke to the saddle and harness, and are 

 capable of service and of propagating 

 without injury to themselves. Tiie life 

 of the horse is from 27) to 30 years, but 

 they are not of much value after they 

 reach 20 years. The age of a horse may 

 be pretty nearly ascertained by his teeth. 

 According to Cuvier the milk teeth appear 

 about ]b days after the colt is foaled ; at 

 2.^ years the middle ones are replaced ; at 

 3^ the two following ones ; and at 4.^ the 

 outermost ones or corners. All these 

 teeth have at first indented crowns, which 

 are gradually worn down by use and en- 

 tirely effaced at 7 years old. The lower 

 canine teeth appear at 3 years old, and 

 the upper ones at 4. They remain poin- 

 ted till 6, and begin to peel otl' at 10. 



Vermont produces excellent horses and 

 considerable pains have been taken to in- 

 troduce the best varieties. The greatest 

 part of the labor upon the farms, and 

 nearly the whole of the travel and trans- 

 portation in this state is performed by hor- 

 ses, and large numbers of fine horses are 

 annually sent to market out of the state. 

 The whole number of horses in Vermont, 

 (including the mules, which are very few,) 

 according to the returns of 1840, was as 

 follows : 



6,674 

 3,46-2 

 6,200 

 4,3i30 

 4,909 

 8,440 



C2,402. 



THE ASS. 

 Equus asiims, — Linn.tjus. 

 The Ass is distinguished by his lono- 

 ears, by the tuft which terminates histaif, 

 and by the black cross on his shoulders. 

 His usual color is a brownish gray. He 

 was originally from the great deserts of 

 central Asia, where these animals are still 

 found in a wild state, and where they 

 range in immense herds from north to 

 south, according to the season. The Ass 

 in the domesticated state, is a patient, 

 submissive and serviceable animal, and in 

 many parts of the world is almost the only 



one employed as a beast of burden. It is 

 much more sure-footed than the horse, 

 and on that account is much used in 

 rough mountainous countries. The hoarse- 

 ness of the bray of the Ass is well known, 

 and it is produced by two small, peculiar 

 cavities, situated at the bottom of the lar- 

 ynx. The Ass is not kept in Vermont for 

 its labor, but a very few are kept for the 

 production of Mules from the mare. 



The Mule. — The Mule is an unprolif- 

 ic hybrid, produced betwixt the horse and 

 the ass. Wiien the sire was ahorse and the 

 dam a slie-ass, the offspring was termed 

 Hiiiniis by the ancients, but when the sire 

 was a jack ass and the dam a mare, it was 

 then called Mulus. At some periods a 

 considerable number of Mules have been 

 produced in Vermont, but tiiey have al- 

 ways been reared for exportation, none 

 of them being kept within the state for 

 their labor. 



Genus Sus. — LinncEus. 

 Generic Characters. — Teeth 42 or 46 — 



incisors, 1 or & canines, l.i grinders, l.V 

 '6 6 ' ' 1 1 > » ' 7 T' 



Lower incisors directed obliquely forward, the up- 

 pi;r ones conical ; the canines protruded and bent 

 upvvard.s ; grinders simple and tuberculous Body 

 covered with bristles; nose elongated, cartilagin- 

 ous and furnished with a particular bone to the 

 snout; feel with four toes, the two middle ones only 

 touching the ground, furnished with strong hoofs. 



THE COMMON HOG. 



Sus scrofa. — Linn^us. 

 The color of the Hog, in a wild state, 

 is blackish brown mixed with gray. 

 Its tusks strong, prismatic, curved out- 

 wards and slightly upwards ; its body short 

 and thick ; its ears erect, and the youncr 

 are striped with black and white. In the 

 domestic state it is subject to very o-reat 

 variety, both in form and color. Pork or 

 the flesh of the Hog, has always been to 

 the people of Vermont one of the most 

 iinportant articles of food. When the 

 country was new, the first settlers of the 

 state depended, to a very considerable ex- 

 tent, upon the spontaneous productions 

 of the forests for the means of fattenino- 

 their hogs. Hogs are extremely fond of 

 acorns, beech nuts, and other nuts, and 

 with these the forests abounded. When 

 on the occurrence of frosts in autumn, 

 these nuts began to fall from the trees, it 

 was the practice of the early settlors to 

 turn their hogs into the woods and let 

 them run till the setting in of winter and 

 the fall of deep snows, when tliey were 

 usually found in good condition to be 

 butchered. But on account of tiie great 



