312 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



but to a partial reversion in colour to the common progenitor of these two species, as well as of the 

 other species of the genus." 



The Asses, beside the characters above mentioned, have the upper part of the tail covered with 

 short hairs, while the lower part terminates in a long hairy tuft ; horny excrescences, or warts, exist 

 on the fore legs alone. In England, as we have before remarked, Asses are small and without much 

 variation, because their points have not been selected. When, however, care is taken in breeding, the 

 result is as remarkable as in the case of the Horse. Near Cordova, according to Mr. Darwin, they are 

 carefully bred, as much as two hundred pounds having been paid for a stallion Ass. Asses from 

 Spain, Malta, and France have been introduced into Kentucky for the breeding of Mules, which have 

 been raised by the care of the Kentuckians from their original size of fourteen hands to sixteen hands 



WILD ASS Oi' ABYSSINIA. 



in height. Great prices are put on these splendid animals, one of great celebrity having been sold 

 for over one thousand pounds. At their cattle shows, one day is given up to the exhibition of Asses. 



Asses have always been in repute in the East, and much pains have been taken in their breeding. 

 They are frequently mentioned in the Bible, from which it appears that white Asses were used by 

 people of high rank, as may be seen from the following verse (Judges v. 10) : " Speak, ye that ride 

 on white Asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way." 



THE MULE AND HINNY. The hybrid offspring of the Ass and the Mare is the Mule ; while the 

 Hinny is that of the Horse and female Ass. Of these the Mule is by far the larger, taking more the 

 form and appearance, as well as the dimensions, of the mare ; while the latter assumes so much of the 

 nature and genei-al appearance of the Ass as to render the breeding of it undeserving of attention. 



THE WILD Ass OF TIBET. We are indebted to Dr. Sclater, the accomplished Secretary of the 

 Zoological Society of London, for an interesting account of the various species of Wild Asses. 

 The Kiang, or Wild Ass of Tibet, inhabits the high plateaux, at no less an altitude than from 

 fifteen to sixteen thousand feet above the sea. It is a large animal, measuring fourteen hands in 



