THE ONAGER. 309 



before the horse was known in that country. Its introduction 

 into Europe, however, has been comparatively of recent 

 date. It does not appear to have been known in England 

 before the time of the Saxons, and did not come into general 

 use until the beginning of the seventeenth century. The 

 horse, as we all know, was employed by the ancient Britons, 

 even for purposes of war, at the time (55 b. c.) when Caesar 

 landed. The donkey, used by native washermen in India, 

 is the smallest and most miserable of its kind. It is often 

 not more than eight hands high, and from overloading at a 

 far too early age, its hocks frequently are so much turned in 

 that they rub against each other at every step, even when 

 the animal is at liberty. In countries like America and 

 Spain, where care has been bestowed on the breeding of 

 this ass, it may be found as big as an ordinary saddle horse, 

 and proportionately strong. 



The donkey associates itself to man as readily as does the 

 dog ; and, unlike the horse, evinces little or no inclination to 

 return to a wild state of life after it has become domesticated. 

 It is interesting to note that this ass, which is characterised by 

 a stripe (sometimes two stripes), down the shoulder, and 

 frequently by horizontal stripes on the fore-arms, is a native 

 of the country (Africa) in which zebras are indigenous. 



The Onager [Egtms onager, see PI. 66). — The wild asses 

 which are found in Syria, Arabia, Persia, Baluchistan, Turki- 

 stan, Afghanistan, and Kutch (in India), resemble each other 

 so closely that they may be classed under the one heading of 

 "onager," which is the term usually reserved for the Indian 

 and Persian wild ass. It is lighter in colour and longer 

 in the leg, in comparison to its length of body, than the 



