HO RSE-STI NGER HO V E A. 



78.5 



animals of Southern Africa are all blended in it with 

 most perfect confusion. " The zebra," says Button , 

 " is perhaps of all quadrupeds the best made, and the 

 most beautifully clad by the hand of nature. To the 

 figure and graces of the horse, it adds the light ele- 

 gance of the stag, and the black and white bauds with 

 which its body is ornamented are arranged with such 

 wonderful symmetry that we might almost be disposed 

 to imagine that rule and compass had been employed 

 in their formation. These alternate bands are narrow, 

 parallel, and exactly separated ; they extend not only 

 over the body, but the head, thigh?, ami legs, and 

 even over the ears and tail. They follow so exactly 

 the contours of the different parts, enlarging more or 

 less according to the development of the muscles, and 

 the roundness of the different forms, that they exhibit 

 the entire figure in the most advantageous point of 

 view. In the female, these bands are alternately 

 black and white ; in the male they are black and 

 yellow, but always of a lively and brilliant tint. They 

 also rest upon a ground of short, fine, and copious 

 hairs, whose lustre considerably augments the general 

 beauty of the colours." 



These markings are : the ground colour milk or 

 cream white, with a slight tinge of pale buff or rust 

 colour ; but this ground is not absolutely constant in 

 the different individuals. The stripes are black, or 

 blackish brown, running crossways on the body and 

 limbs and down the face. The tail is of moderate 

 length; round in its section, rather slender, marked 

 witli a few rings of black or brown, and ending in a 

 brush of hairs of the same colour. Their voice is 

 different from that of all the other species of the 

 genus, being a sort of whizzing or booming sound 

 broken into short lengths. 



In their native plains, zebras assemble in large 

 herds, and add much to the interest of places whose 

 character is otherwise both tame and dreary. They 

 are still found in several districts within the Cape 

 colony, but they appear to be more numerous farther 

 into the interior. 



The Hottentots and Bushmen of Southern Africa 

 hunt the zebra with great assiduity, in order to feed 

 on its flesh, which they esteem a dainty ; and the 

 skin, besides its beauty, is firm and compact, and used 

 for many domestic purposes. The zebra, though 

 much hunted, is not a very timid animal ; but it is 

 of rather unsteady temper, and very prone to biting 

 and kicking. Hitherto there has not, we believe, 

 been any instance of its complete subjugation to such 

 a degree as that its obedience could be depended on 

 for any length of time ; though there have been many 

 instances in which one that had been long accustomed 

 to the society of human beings allowed certain liber- 

 ties to be taken with it. There was one in the Tower 

 of London which would suffer a boy to be set on its 

 back, without -either biting or kicking; and it was 

 sometimes in the habit of going to the Canteen for a 

 draught of ale, a beverage of which all the horse tribe 

 are particularly fond. Of those which have been 

 kept in other collections in Europe, some have been 

 comparatively mild, and others mischievous ; but we 

 are not aware of any case in which they have been 

 completely trained, or where full confidence could be 

 placed in them. Their heels are generally pretty 

 ready, and they not unfrequeutly try to get a kick 

 even at those who are giving them their food. It by 

 no means follows, however, that they are untameable, 

 or that they might not, if treated with sufficient skill, 



NAT. HIST. VOL. II. 



be brought into complete subjection. Their hand- 

 some appearance renders this well worthy of a trial ; 

 for as the whole race are capable of enduring great 

 changes of climate, there is no doubt that they could 

 in time be brought to bear our winter without any 

 difficulty. 



The female zebra is understood to go twelve months 

 with young ; and the young ones have the markings, 

 only the brown is much paler. Zebras produce mules 

 both with the horse and the ass : and those produced 

 with the horse are said to partake of some of the 

 docile qualities of that parent, and submit to be driven 

 in harness. It is also said, that in these crossings the 

 markings of the zebra are much more perfectly re- 

 tained than in the crossings with the ass ; and this is 

 highly probable, because the horse is far more prone 

 to break into different colours than the ass ; and it is 

 a general law, that that which is most yielding in its 

 own colour as a species takes most readily the colour 

 of another species in the case of a cross. The cross 

 with the ass has but little of the marking of the zebra, 

 and one is mentioned which was produced between a 

 female zebra and a Spanish ass. It continued to suck 

 for a year ; but as it grew it gradually lost the resem- 

 blance of the mother, and became vicious and mis- 

 chievous. Its colour was dark grey, with transverse 

 bands on the legs, the shoulders, and the tail. It did 

 not neigh, and, as M. F. Cuvier expresses it, it 

 " loved to wallow in the mire, and attacked all the 

 world with feet and teeth." 



Such is a brief outline of the genus horse, in which 

 we have endeavoured to touch upon as many points 

 as appeared to be at all consistent with our limits. 



HORSE-STINGER. A name improperly given 

 by the ignorant to the insects composing the family 

 LibcllutidoE or dragon flies, a perfectly harmless group 

 of insects. 



HORSE-CHESTNUT. See HIPPOCASTANE.E. 



HORSE-RADISH is the Cochlearia armoracca of 

 Linnaeus, a well-known culinary plant, and found wild 

 in many places in England. It belongs to Crucifera. 



HORSE-RADISH TREE is the Moringa ptery- 

 gosperma of Decandolle, a common East Indian tree 

 belonging to the order LegnminoscE. The roots are 

 used as a condiment like those of horse-radish. 



HORSE-TAIL is the Equisetum palustre of Lin- 

 naeus, a marsh plant of curious structure belonging to 

 a natural order to which it gives a title, Equisetacea. 



HOSTA (Jacquin). A genus of Mexican ever- 

 green shrubs belonging to Linnseus's second class, 

 and to the natural order Vcrbenace<. The species 

 are cultivated in our stoves, and succeed well under 

 the ordinary management. 



HOTTONIA (Linnaeus). A small herbaceous 

 plant indigenous to England, belonging to the fifth 

 class of sexual botany, and to the natural order Pri- 

 mulacecE. It is usually found in wet ditches. 



HOUSE-LEEK is the Sempervivum tectorum of 

 Linnaeus, a common British plant, frequently seen 

 growing on roofs of houses. It belongs to the Cras- 



HOUSTONIA (Linnams). A genus of North 

 American herbs, belonging to Rulnacece. The 

 flowers are pretty, and the plants are usually kept in 

 pots or placed in rock-work. 



HOVE A (R. Brown). A genus of evergreen or- 



namental shrubs from New Holland. The flowers 



are diadelphous and belong to Lcguminosce. The H. 



celsi and H. purpurca are esteemed greenhouse plants, 



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