EQUUS. 



known in England before the reign of 

 Elizabeth. It is now, however, com- 

 pletely naturalized, and its services to 

 the poor, and consequently to the rich, 

 are of distinguished and almost indispen- 

 sable importance. With respect to food, 

 a little is sufficient for its wants, and the 

 most coarse and neglected herbage sup- 

 plies it with an acceptable repast. The 

 plantain is its most favourite herbage. In 

 the choice of water it is, however, ex- 

 tremely fastidious, drinking only of that 

 which is perfectly pure and clear. It is 

 one of the most patient and persevering 

 of animals, but in connection with these 

 qualities, it possesses also great sluggish- 

 ness, and often obstinacy. Owing to the 

 extreme thickness of its skin, it possesses 

 little sensibility to the application of the 

 whip or the stings of insects, and the 

 want of moisture, united to the above 

 circumstance, precludes it more effec- 

 tually than, perhaps, any other quadru- 

 ped, from the annoyance of vermin. The 

 ass is remarkable for particular caution 

 against wetting its feet, to avoid which it 

 will make various turns and crossings on 

 the road. It seldom lies down to sleep, 

 unless it is particularly fatigued, and 

 sleeps considerably less than the horse. 

 It is capable of being taught a variety of 

 exercises, and, though regarded as a just 

 emblem of stupidity, is far more suscep- 

 tible and docile than is generally imagi- 

 ned, though unquestionably far interior 

 to the horse in these respects. Its bray 

 is harsh and disgusting, particularly that 

 of the male. The female has been con- 

 sidered by many naturalists as incapable 

 of braying, contrary, in this country, 

 most certainly, to the most frequent and 

 obvious facts. Her voice is somewhat 

 shriller and weaker than the male. In 

 several countries of Africa, and in some 

 islands of the Archipelago, asses are 

 hunted for food, and their flesh is regard- 

 ed as highly nutritious and agreeable. In 

 England their milk is in high esteem in 

 cases of debility and decline, and where 

 the stomach of the patient is incapable of 

 digesting the more strong and oily pro- 

 duce of the cow. In America, the ass 

 was introduced by the Spaniards, and on 

 the southern continent of that quarter 

 of the woi-ld these animals are found at 

 present in vast herds, having multiplied 

 to an extreme degree, and being fre- 

 quently hunted by the natives, who con- 

 trive to surround a particular herd, and 

 enclosing them gradually within a very 

 small compass, entangle as many as they 

 . chuse to take, by throwing over each a 



noosed cord with unfailing dexterity 

 The animal is then fettered with extreme 

 ease, and left in that state upon the 

 ground till the conclusion of the chase, 

 which sometimes is continued for two or 

 three days. They are as swift as horses, 

 and indeed, in all ages, the wild ass has 

 been considered as distinguished by rapi- 

 dity. They attack and defend both witli 

 the hoof and teeth, in the same manner 

 as horses. The slowness and sluggish- 

 ness of the ass have frequently excited 

 ludicrous feelings, and it is related of 

 Crassus, that the only occasion on which 

 he was ever known to laugh was ut an ass 

 eating thistles. The habits of the ass, 

 however, do not appear certainly a more 

 fertile subject of ridicule than those of 

 that philosophnr. 



The mule is a hybrid animal, between, 

 the horse and the ass, and from its bar- 

 renness affords unquestionable evidence 

 of the distinctness of these two species, 

 In mountainous districts the mule is ex- 

 tremely serviceable as a beast of burthen, 

 as it moves over steep and rugged roads 

 with astonishing firmness, steadiness, and 

 facility. In England these animals are 

 but little used, and where they are em- 

 ployed, it is almost uniformly in the 

 above situations. The breed in this 

 country has been considerably improved 

 within a short period, by the importation 

 of asses from Spain, where mules are in 

 the highest estimation, and employed by 

 the first orders of the opulent and noble, 

 both for the saddle and the carriage. 

 They are not unfrequently sold in that 

 kingdom at the price of sixty or seventy 

 guineas. To those who reside in a coun- 

 try abounding with precipitous passes 

 and rugged roads, mules are invaluable, 

 on account of their steadiness and accu 

 racy of step. In the Alps they are uni- 

 formly employed by travellers to de- 

 scend roads, the narrowness, obliquity, 

 and danger of which fill the rider with 

 something approaching to consterna- 

 tion. 



Their manner, on particular occasions 

 of perilous and steep descent, is worthy 

 of being mentioned. Among the Alps 

 the path often occupies only the space of 

 a few feet in width, having on one side an 

 eminence of perpendicular ascent, and 

 on the other a vast abyss, and, as it gene- 

 rally follows the direction of the moun- 

 tains, presents frequently declivities of 

 several hundred yards. On arriving at. 

 one of these, the mule for a moment, 

 halts, and no effort of the rider can for 

 the time urge it forward. It appear* 





