646 WILD HORSES. 



texture of the hair is, naturally, a good deal influenced 

 by the surroundings. 



Professor Ewart informs me that the depth of the 

 colour of these animals which are in England, varies con- 

 siderably ; and that the colour of the muzzle and belly of 

 his Prjevalsky's horse is only slightly lighter than that of 

 the back. 



" On the approach of winter, strong tufts of hair which 

 Polyakov calls ' whiskers,' become developed on the side 

 of the head, but they more or less disappear towards 

 summer, at which time, the animal has a fairly long beard, 

 between the branches of his lower jaw " {Salensky). Pro- 

 fessor Ewart has observed this condition in Iceland ponies. 



Stripes. — Salensky states that there is a thin dorsal 

 stripe (p. 330), which is about half an inch wide, and 

 which runs from the withers, down the centre of the back 

 and croup, and down the dorsal aspect of the tail. It is 

 clearly visible in the summer coat ; but in the winter coat, 

 it can be distinguished only on the croup, close to the tail. 

 In its general width, it is similar to that of the horse. 

 There is a transverse shoulder stripe, which can be seen 

 much more clearly in the summer coat than in the winter 

 coat. As it is not clearly defined, it more closely resembles 

 the shoulder stripe which is sometimes seen in the horse 

 (P- 330) than that of the domestic ass. Near the knees 

 and hocks, there are more or less horizontal stripes which 

 are similar to those in some horses (Fig. 398). The 

 only difference I know between the stripes of Prjevalsky's 

 horse and those of the domestic horse, is that the former 

 are usually better marked than the latter. 



On visiting the zoological collection of the St. Peters- 

 burg Academy of Sciences {Academia Naook) seven or 

 eight years ago. Dr. Buchner, who was in charge of that 

 museum, very kindly showed me the stuffed skin of a 

 young Prjevalsky's horse, in which I could find no dorsal 

 or shoulder stripes, and no horizontal stripes on the legs. 

 The general colouring of the body was the same as in 



