166 MULES. 



and females to propagate, he is confident that their 

 parents are of a species distinct from each other. He 

 says " the ass is not a horse degenerated," as some had 

 supposed, " he is neither a stranger, an intruder, nor 

 a bastard ; he has, like other animals, his family, his 

 species, and his rank ; his blood is pure and untainted, 

 and although his race is less noble, yet it is equally 

 good, equally ancient as that of the horse." This pro- 

 found naturalist continues a very minute and eloquent 

 comparison between the horse and ass ; some of his 

 expressions I have taken the liberty to apply to the 

 mule and the horse in a preceding paragraph. 



It may promote the object in view to enter exten- 

 sively upon the history of the ass ; and we commence 

 with the supposition, that when men became so far 

 civilized as to have burdens to carry, or required to be 

 carried themselves, this animal was the first domesti- 

 cated for that purpose — and it is reasonable to infer 

 that those of the least spirit and most tractable, were 

 put in requisition in the first instance ; when by breed- 

 ing in and in, without any care in the selection of sire 

 or dam, became in process of time degenerated to a 

 very inferior grade. Be this as it may, it is an unques- 

 tionable fact that different races of the ass now exist, 

 possessmg properties as distinct as are found in the 

 species of camel. For instance, the Baclrian or single 

 hunched camel, called the dromedary, by far the most 

 numeious race, being lightly formed, exhibits great 

 activity, and is able to traverse vast tracts with the 

 speed of a high mettled race horse. The Arabian 

 camel, with two protuberances on his back, is con- 

 siderably larger, of much stronger form, travels at a 

 pace seldom exceeding three miles an hour, and is 

 tiapable of conveying such burdens, that the A-rabs 



