THE SHETLAND PONY AND THE DOMESTIC ASS. 



245 



seems to receive its teacher at once into its good graces, following him 

 like a dog, and rubbing its nose against his shoulder. 



Several breeds of partially wild Horses are still found in the British 

 Islands, the best known of which is the Shetland Pony. 



This odd, quaint, spirited little animal is an inhabitant of the islands 

 at the northern extremity of Scotland, where it runs wild, and may be 

 owned by any one who can catch and hold it. Considering its dimin- 

 utive proportions, which average only seven or eight hands in height, 

 the Sheltie is wonderfully strong, and can trot away quite easily with 

 a tolerably heavy man on its back. One of these little creatures carried 

 a man of twelve stone weight for a distance of forty miles in a single 

 day. The head of this little animal is small, the neck short and well 

 arched, and covered with an abundance of heavy mane, that falls over 

 the face and irresistibly reminds the spectator of a Skye terrier. It is 

 an admirable draught-horse when harnessed to a carriage of proportion- 

 ate size ; and a pair of these spirited little creatures, w hen attached 

 to a lady's low carriage, have a remarkably piquant and pretty 

 appearance. 



Man has so lonjr held the Domestic Ass under his control that its 

 original progenitors have entirely disappeared from the face of the 

 earth. 



There are, as it is well known, abundant examples of wild Asses 

 found in various lands, but it seems that these animals are either the 

 descendants of domesti- 

 cated Asses which have 

 escaped from captivity, 

 or the offspring of wild 

 and domesticated an- 

 imals. In size and gen- 

 eral appearance the Ass 

 varies greatly, according 

 to the country which it 

 inhabits and the treat- 

 ment to which it is sub- 

 jected. The Spanish 

 kind, for example, is 

 double the size of the 

 ordinary English Ass, 

 and even the latter an- 

 imal is extremely vari- 

 able in stature and general dimensions. As a rule, the Ass is large 

 and sleek-haired in warm countries, and small and woolly-haired in 

 the colder parts of the globe. 



Strong, sure-footed, hardy, and easily maintained, the Ass is of infi- 

 21 * 



The Ass (Asinvs vulgaris). 



