50 CLASS I. MAMMALIA. 



which bears a distant resemblance to that of the elephant 

 It subsists entirely upon vegetables, and is of a gentle and 

 timid disposition. 



From the Wild Boar is derived the domestic Hog and all 

 its varieties. The wild animal is extremely violent and fero- 

 cious, and is armed with much larger and stronger tusks than 

 the domestic. All the numerous varieties of form, size, and 

 color, which are observed among hogs, are to be attributed 

 to the circumstances to which they are exposed in their do- 

 mestic state. 



Under this order are included the Solipeda or single-hoofed 

 animals, in which the whole foot is enveloped in a single 

 hoof. Of these, the most celebrated is the horse, one of the 

 most beautiful and noble of quadrupeds. These animals are 

 distinguished, beside the formation of their hoofs, by the pos- 

 session of six incisive teeth in each jaw; and, in the male, of 

 two small canine teeth in the upper, and sometimes in the 

 under jaw, which are wanting in the female. Between these 

 and the double teeth, or grinders, there is a vacant space, 

 just corresponding to the angle of the lips, where the bit of 

 the bridle is placed, by which man is enabled to guide and 

 restrain him. Beside the horse, which is the most valuable 

 and highly prized of all the domestic animals, this family em- 

 braces the ass, the zebra, the dziggetai, a species between 

 the horse and the ass in size, of a light bay color, inhabiting 

 the central deserts of Asia, and the Couagga, an inhabitant 

 of Africa, resembling in shape the horse, but in stripes of dark 

 and white colors, the zebra. 



All these animals are found naturally in the wild state, ex- 

 cept the horse. They are gregarious animals, live in immense 

 herds, and subsist entirely upon vegetable food. Even the 

 horse, in "Tartary and America, is found, free from the domin- 

 ion of man, collected into troops or companies, each of which 

 is led and defended by an aged male. But in such cases it 

 has been proved that the wild animals are the descendants of 

 individuals who have been set at liberty by their masters, or 

 who have escaped from them. Different breeds of horses 

 differ, as is well known, in their color, size, speed, shape, 

 strength, and many other qualities, which render them more 

 or less valuable. These differences depend very much upon 

 the care which is taken in rearing the young. The most 

 beautiful, if suffered to become wild, will begin soon to de- 

 teriorate, and give birth to a progeny destitute of elegance 

 and symmetry. The horse in the wild state has a large and 



