THE ASS AND THE MULE 



l6i 



an easy gait, the latter trait making them much 

 in demand for riding, particularly for ladies. 

 They are also very suitable for pilgrimages 

 through the desert, such as the Mohammedan 

 pilgrims make to Mecca. The handsomest ani- 

 mals are found chiefly in Upper Egypt and in 

 Nubia, where they cost more than horses. 



Formerly there were such hordes of wild 

 asses in the Cape Verde and Canary Islands 

 that they had to be exterminated by hunting. 

 In South America they are equally numerous, 

 especially in Patagonia. Sardinia has an im- 

 mense number of very small donkeys, employed 

 chiefly in grinding corn and in drawing water. 

 The "asses mill," mola asinaria, was in use in 



for consumptives. It contains a great quan- 

 tity of sugar. Parmesan cheese is made of it. 

 The flesh of very young asses is eaten in Italy 

 and in Spain, where it is thought tender and 

 delicious ; that of the older animals is tough. 

 The skin of an ass is made into parchment, 

 vellum, and shagreen, and is thus very valuable. 



IV. The Mule 



The breeding of these animals is carried on 

 to a great extent in the south of Europe, in 

 America, and in Asia. The custom was early 

 known ; it was forbidden among the Israelites 

 bv the laws of Moses, but in David's time 

 they were certainly employing mules, probably 



On the Beach 



southern Italy in very ancient times. In Sicily 

 asses are very numerous ; they are generally 

 small in size and blue-gray in color, with longi- 

 tudinal and transversal stripes on the back. 



Asses were first introduced into England 

 in the days of Ethelred, the Saxon king, and 

 again under the reign of Henry III. The 

 English adopted the barbarous custom of 

 cropping their ears, with the idea that it made 

 them more good-natured, more wide-awake, 

 and more obedient, the popular notion being 

 that the animals were stupefied by receiving 

 too much sound. 



Asses have other uses than for riding or for 

 draft purposes. Ass's milk has always been 

 considered extremely wholesome and beneficial 

 (though formerly more so than to-day), especially 



imported. The Greeks and Romans raised 

 them, and they were even used in the Olympic 

 games. 



This mongrel product is a tall, strong animal 

 corresponding to the horse in height and in 

 the shape of the neck, shoulders, and body, 

 while the form of his head, his long ears, his 

 tufted tail, and his thin, wiry legs and narrow 

 hoofs are an inheritance from his father, the 

 ass. His voice also has something of the 

 paternal bray, but his coat resembles that of 

 the horse. In common with the ass he has 

 vigor and little tendency to disease ; even 

 when thirty years old he often shows no signs 

 of age. He is trained when about two and a 

 half or three years old, and at five he can be 

 used for the heaviest labor. These useful 



