38 THE PENYCUIK EXPERIMENTS. 



with the dainty step and dignity of the zebva." There 

 is nothing about the hybrids, strange to say, that suggests 

 the ordinary mule or hinny. 



The Hybrid " Remus." 



" Biddy/' the dam of Remus, is a three parts bred, 

 14' 1 hands Irish mare. She has been in my possession 

 since 1893, and is now nine years old. Biddy is a bay 

 with black points, but no white hairs anywhere, and 

 Remus is her first foal. She is a very gentle, quiet creature, 

 and has always been in excellent condition, winter and 

 summer alike. 



Evidently the zebra, before coming here, had not made 

 the acquaintance of any of his equine relatives. When 

 first introduced to Mulatto, he rushed into a corner with 

 his tail between his legs, and uttered peculiar little sounds 

 strongly suggestive of abject fear. Some of the ponies 

 rushed at him open-mouthed ; others deliberately pelted 

 him with their heels. On the other hand, a bay Arab 

 stallion and various mares could not have been more 

 alarmed had he been a tiger, or, when lie called "Quacha, 

 quacha," a troop of lions. To give him a chance of 

 discovering what sort of an animal a horse is, I turned 

 him loose one evening with a good-natured but very plucky 

 bay Shetland pony. The pony proceeded to tease the 

 zebra, who very soon began to show fight. He was soon 

 circling round the pony with the object of seizing her legs. 

 For a time the pony was unprepared for this mode of 

 attack, but ere long adopted similar tactics, with the result 

 that the zebra was several times brought to his knees."^ 

 After a couple of hours the duel came to an end, — the 

 damage being very slight on either side, — and ever after- 

 wards Matopo and " Sheila " were excellent friends. But 

 even during the spring of 1896 the zebra was ridiculously 



* I may meution tliat when his legs are touched with a rope or stick he 

 almost invariably drops on to his knees, or lies down altogether. This is, 

 I tiiink, the result of his having been periodically thrown before he came 

 here that his hoofs might be looked to. 



