,;,,; VERTEBRATA. 



praetioed in boi jountriee in reaped to the horse. White asses are not uncommon, and .appear 



anciently to nave been selected for the use of persons of distinction. In Syria there are three or 

 four distinct breeds of asses, of which the mosl valued is thai of Arabia. Sonic are very large, 

 and are used for carrying persons In Bedan-chairs. 



Domesticated as the ass lias been from the remotesl antiquity, and valued as it has ever been 

 in Western Asia, it was long before it was introduced into Western Europe. Aristotle states that 

 in his time there were n<> asses in Pontus, Scythia, or in the country of the Celts — modern Ger- 

 iiianv and Prance; —and we knew thai even as late as the time of Queen Elizabeth the ass was 

 |y rare in England. At the presenl time it is common in France, Spain, Italy ami Greece, 

 cially in the large cities. It is astonishing to see the enormous burdens of fruits and vege- 

 tables which these creatures carry to market. Often a man and his wife, with two paniers — one 

 en each si.le, laden with manure, or greens, Or beets, or potatoes, or perhaps all of these — may be 

 trudging up hill and down from the house to the farm. The ass or donkey — in these coun- 

 tries usually a very Bmall beast — is the poor man's cart, coach, wheelbarrow, chaise, and buggy: 

 it takes the family to church, the wife and daughters to the wedding, the baby to the christening, 

 the cabbages, carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, to the market. The ass does all this and keeps 

 himself: for he needs litt'.' care, and will feed on dry leaves, stalks, thistles, briers, chaff, and 

 straw. The ass, with the goat, is a kind of gentle and gracious providence, which makes pov- 

 erty tolerable to millions ,,t the inhabitants of Europe and Asia. In the United States it is little 

 i. i sccpl at th'' south ; in Mexico it is more common.* 



• The following memoranda respecting the Ass of Mexico, furnished by E. E. Dunbar, Esq., to the author, will be 

 found exceedingly interesting: 



" It is in Mexico thai the '£terros,' as they are called — Jack, male, and Jenny, female — form a part of the household. 



They are the common porters from settlement to settlement, to the field, to the mill. They bring the wood and the 



They carry the produce to market, transport merchandise, food, and sometimes a part of the family, im- 



• distances over arid deserts and stupendous mountain paths, never faltering, never tiring, where life of man 



or bea<t can he Supported. Look at the long, bony frame, stout legs, tapering to a small, neat foot, the long ears, 



uth-shaped head, and shaggy coat. All go to make up the beast we call stupid, for 'stupid as an ass' is one of 



the ■ omon sayings in the English language. But there is no greater libel on any animal that walks than 



this. Bather say 'knowing as an ass,' or as they have it in the Spanish language, ' El sales mucho' — He is very 



knowing.' It i- true this beast is of a patient disposition, and fitted by nature to do drudgery and heavy work, but 



if a keen appreciation of all that renders animal life, happy and comfortable, and a manifestation of the highest order 



of cunning and indomitable perseverance in gratifying these propensities is stupidity, then is the ass stupid. 



" Witness the pretty ' Burrito,' of shaggy coat and dainty feet, as he is reared in the very domicil of the Mexican 

 i as his little frame can bear a few pounds' weight, the pack is on his back, and he is made to pay. For 

 its cheapi leasanter or more amusing exhibition of domestic felicity can be seen than his donkeyship, stand- 



ing demur.' and contented, with his head just inside a Mexican shanty, and half a dozen dark-skinned, half-shirtless 

 urchins !. i his i its, mounting him from before and behind, tumbling off one side, crawling under his belly, 



en his legs, and scrambling up the other side. lie usually stands at the door at the right time to secure such 

 odds and ends as may be thrown to him from the scanty meals of the occupants. When satisfied nothing more is to 

 be obtained in this quarter, he walks off quietly to the common or suburbs to finish his meal by browsing; and he 

 rally manages to be out of the way when wanted. Hunting up the burros forms no inconsiderable part of the 

 I ..11 youth. The said animal is usually found in some sly corner where grass and shrubs grow greenest 

 and i. 



" When found, the finder mounts well on the rear, and with a moderate-sized baton, with which to guide the truant 

 by gentle taps on the side of the head, brings him ambling to the point where duty calls. 



"They are the most inveterate thii re in existence, and Dickens's 'Artful Dodger' might take lessons of them to 

 advantage. 



, uebla and take notice of half a dozen burros, apparently idling away their time on the shady 

 d looking demure and innocent, as though butter would not melt in their mouths. These artful 

 dodg I excursions in the neighborhood, and good-bye to every thing in the shape of food in house or 

 camp thi unguarded. In high fruit season, especially in melon time, they manage — when not on duty — to 

 tion commanding a view of the avenues leading to the melon-shops, and if they see a stranger, or any 

 who look- aa though he had sufficient change in his pocket to buy a melon, they take up their unconcerned, 

 ""i- ch to the d ', and the hot sun scarcely kisses the juicy rinds thrown out ere they are appro- 



priated. 



"The n,,, -t useful and remarkable qualities of these animals are their great strength and power of endurance. The 



has known ,i train of donkeys to carry burdens of three hundred weight each, more than three-quarters their 



own weight, over a deserl ninety miles in extent, without water, the thermometer ranging one hundred and ten de- 



ring the day. and the trip occupying three days. 



•• They have no mean-, of defense from beasts of prey lint their heels. They sometimes escape by their speed, which 



is great only when frightened, and Bometimes they contend successfully by kicks, which are hard, incessant, and 



