226 



A HISTORY OF 



dren ; and, instead of gaining by the lessons 

 he receives, is always a loser. He is conduct- 

 ed along by blows ; he is insulted by unneces- 

 sary stripes; he is overloaded by the lazy; 

 and, being generally the property of the poor, 

 he shares with them in their wants and their 

 distresses. Thus this faithful animal, which, 

 were there no horses, weuld be the first of 

 the quadruped kind in our esteem, is now 

 considered as nothing: his properties and 

 qualifications being found in a higher degree 

 elsewhere, he is entirely disregarded; and, 

 from being the second, he i& degraded into one 

 of the most useless of the domestic quadru- 

 peds. 



For this reason, very little care has been 

 taken to improve the breed ; it is suffered to 

 degenerate; and it is probable, that of all 

 other animals this alone is rendered feebler 

 and more diminutive, by being in a state of 

 domestic servitude. The horse, the cow, and 

 thesheep,are rendered larger by the assiduity 

 of man; the ass is suffered to dwindle every 

 generation, and particularly in England, 

 where it is probable that, but for the medi- 

 cinal qualities of its milk, the whole species 

 would have ere now been extinguished. Never- 

 theless, we have good reasons to believe, that, 

 were the same care bestowed on the ass that 

 is spent upon the horse, were the same indus- 

 try used in crossing the breed and improving it, 

 we should see the ass become, from his pre- 

 sent mean state, a very portly and serviceable 

 animal ; we should find him rival the horse in 

 some of his perfections, and exceed him in 

 others. The ass, bulk for bulk, is stronger 

 than the horse ; is more sure-footed ; and 

 though more slow in his motions, he is much 

 less apt to start out of the way. 



The Spaniards, of all people in Europe, 

 seem alone to be acquainted with the value 

 of the ass. They take all proper precautions 

 to improve the breed ; and I have seen a 

 jack-ass, from that country, above fifteen 

 hands high. This animal, however, seems 

 originally a native of Arabia. A warm climate 

 is known to produce the largest and the best ; 

 their size and spirit decline in proportion as 

 they advance into colder regions. 



Though now so common in all parts of 

 England, the ass was entirely lost among us 

 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Ho- 



lingshead informs us that our land did yield 

 no asses.* However, there are accounts of 

 their being common in England before that 

 time. In Sweden, they are at present a sort 

 of rarity; nor does it appear by the last his- 

 tory of Norway, that they have yet reached 

 that country. It is in the hotter climates alone 

 that we are to look for the original of this 

 serviceable creature. In Guinea, they are lar- 

 ger and more beautiful than even the horses 

 of the same country. In Persia, they have 

 two kinds; one of which is used for burdens, 

 being slow and heavy ; the other, which is 

 kept for the saddle, being smooth, stately, and 

 nimble. They are managed as horses, only 

 that the rider sits nearer the crupper, and 

 they are taught to amble like them. They 

 generally cleave their nostrils to give them 

 more room for breathing, and many of these 

 are sold for forty or fifty pounds. 



The ass is a much more hardy animal than 

 the horse, and liable to fewer diseases. Of 

 all animals covered with hair, he is the least 

 subject to vermin, for he has no lice, probably 

 owing to the dry ness and the hardness of his 

 skin. Like the horse, he is three or four 

 years in coining to perfection ; he lives till 

 twenty or twenty-five ; sleeps much less than 

 the horse ; and never lies down for that pur- 

 pose, unless very much tired. The she-ass 

 goes above eleven months with young, and 

 never brings forth more than one at a time. 

 The mule may be engendered either between 

 a horse and a she-ass, or between a jack-ass 

 and a mare. The latter breed is every way 

 preferable, being larger, stronger, and better 

 shaped. It is not yet well known whether 

 the animal called the Gimerro be one of these 

 kinds ; or, as is asserted, bred between the 

 ass and the bull. While naturalists affirm the 

 impossibility of this mixture, the natives of the 

 alpine countries, where this c^iimal is bred, as 

 strongly insist upon its reality. The common 

 mule is very healthy, and will live above 

 thirty years, being found very serviceable in 

 carrying burdens, particularly in mountainous 

 and stony places, where horses are not so 

 sure-footed. The siz<> and strength of our 

 asses is at present greatly improved by the 

 importation of Spanish jack-asses ; and it is 



_^___ _ . ,i m- 



British Zoology, vol. i. p. 11. 



