THE DONKEY'S ANCESTORS. 1^7 



their special genealogical trees. So that the 

 donkey really cannot well avoid being an 

 extremely clever brute. Not quite so clever, 

 to be sure, as the higher monkeys and the 

 elephants ; for, as Mr. Herbert Spencer has 

 pointed out, the opposable thumb and the 

 highly mobile trunk with its tactile appendage 

 give these creatures an exceptional chance of 

 grasping an object all round, and so of 

 thoroughly learning its physical properties, 

 which has put them intellectually in the very 

 front rank of the animal world ; but in the 

 carnivores, the ruminants, and the horse tribe, 

 a very delicate sense of smell seems almost 

 to make up for the want of a special grasping 

 organ. At any rate the leading members of 

 these groups — the cats, bears, camels, deer, 

 bison, horse, and donkey — are all of them 

 conspicuous among their compeers for the 

 relatively high quality of their intellectual 



gifts. •. ':::■'•;-■,;;■-;: ■;. ::i,:::.%. .^ 



