40 



(Erca&trj) flf Natural $f start? ; 



in the state of degradation to which for so 

 many ages successive generations have been 

 doomed, the Ass lias long since become pro- 

 verbial for stolid indifference to suffering and 

 for unconquerable obstinacy and stupidity. 

 From the general resemblance between 

 the Ass and the Ilorse, it might naturally 

 enough be supposed that they were very 

 closely allied, and that one had degenerated : 

 they are, however, perfectly distinct ; there 

 is that inseparable line drawn, that barrier 

 between them, which Nature provides for 

 the perfection and preservation of her pro- 

 ductions their mutual offspring, the mule, 



being incapable of reproducing its kind 



The best breed of Asses is that originally 

 derived from the hot and dry regions of 

 Asia ; at present, perhaps, the best breed in 

 Europe is the Spanish ; and very valuable 

 Asses are still to be had in the southern ppr- 

 j tion of the American continent, where during 

 ' the existence of the Spanish dominion the 

 breed was very carefully attended to. In 

 truth, wherever proper attention has been 

 paid to improve the breed by crossing the 

 finest specimens, he is rendered nearly if not 

 quite equal to the horse for most purposes 

 of labour ; while on hilly and precipitous 

 roads he is decidedly better adapted from 

 his general habits and formation. The most 

 general colour of the Ass is a mouse-coloured 

 grey, with a black or blackish stripe, extend- 

 ing along the spine to the tail, and crossed 

 by a similar stripe over the shoulders. 



The female goes with young eleven months, 

 and seldom produces more than one foal at 

 a time : the teeth follow the same order of 

 appearance and renewal as those of the 

 horse. Asses' milk has long been celebrated 

 for its sanative qualities : invalids suffering 

 from debility of the digestive and assimi- 

 lative functions make use of it with great 

 advantage ; and to those also who are con- 

 sumptive it is very generally recommended. 



The WILD ASS {Equus hemiomis), [or 

 KOULAX, as it is called by the Pei^hm.s] 

 stands much higher on its limbs than the 



ccmmon Ass ; its legs are more slender, the 

 forehead is more arched, and it is altogether 

 more symmetrical. The mane is composed 

 of a soft woolly dusky hair, about three or 

 four inches long ; the colour of the body is a 

 fine silvery grey ; the upper part of the face, 

 the sides of the neck and body, being of a 



flaxen hue ; and a broad brown stripe run- 

 ning down the back, from the mane to the 

 tail, and crossing the shoulders, as in the 

 common Ass. The Koulan inhabits parts of 

 Central Asia, and migrates from nortli to 

 south, according to the season. Its flesh is 

 held in high esteem by the Tartars and Per- 

 sians, who hunt it in preference to all kinds 

 of game. We have alluded to the frequent 

 mention of this animal by both sacred and 

 profane writers of antiquity ; and we may 

 properly conclude by quoting the book of 

 JOB, xxxix. 5 8 : " Who hath sent out the 

 wild ass free ? or who hath loosed the bands 

 of the wild ass ? Whose house I have made 

 the wilderness, and the barren land his 

 dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of 

 the city, neither regardeth he the crying of 

 the driver. The range of the mountains is 

 his pasture, and he searcheth after every 

 green thing." 



ASSERADOR. (The Spanish word for 

 Sawyer.) The name applied in Columbia to a 

 remarkable L,amellieorn beetle, which will 

 be better understood by the accompanying 

 wood-cut than by any description. The 



female wants the singular horns on the head 

 and thorax from which the species derives 

 its local name of " The Sawyer ;" it being 

 the belief of the country people that the in- 

 sect saws off the small twigs of trees by 

 means of the friction of the two. Mr David 

 Dyson informed us that he found it abun- 

 dantly, and in clusters, on a species of 

 bamboo. Mr. Empson of Bath first dis- 

 covered this curious insect, and published 

 igure of it with the name of Asserador 

 llewitsom, and presented his unique spe- 

 cimen to the British Museum at a time when 

 the insect was very rare. It has also been 

 described by Mr. Hope as the Golufa Portcri, 

 and by Erichson as the Scarabceus Petircrii ; 

 and we see the learned Berlin entomologist, 

 now fancies it may be only a variety of the 

 Fabrician species, S. cegeon. We give this 

 one example of what naturalists call the 

 synonymes of a species, to show the utter 

 impossibility of our attempting to give or to 

 reconcile the different names applied to the 

 same species by different authors. 



ASTACUS. A genus of long- tailed Crns- 

 taceous animals, whose distinguishing cha- 



