CLASS VII. rACilYDERMATA. 291 



T. JLihnjnnus. The ]\I;i];iv fnpir lias no mane, and tlic colors arc a 

 vcrv deep purplish-brown on the head, shoulders, fore legs, and also on the 

 Jiind quarters and hind legs. The rest of tlie body is white. This animal 

 is somewhat larger than the American species ; but is equally iuoifensivc, 

 capable of being tamed, and becomes as familiar as a dog. 



Vi'e now come to the last, and, in many respects, most interesting division 

 of the I'achydermous Order, viz., the £qi(ul(C, or solidungular fmiily, com- 

 jirising the horse and the ass. As in the earliest period of human history 

 the dog appears as the intimate companion of man, so history offers no 

 picture of human society, however remote, where the horse and the ass do 

 not occupy a prominent place in the foreground. The grace and elegance, 

 the speed and strength of the horse, and the patient endurance and sure- 

 footedness of the ass, have from time inmicraorial given them very nearly, if 

 not quite, the first place among domestic animals. 



The EquidiC are graminivorous animals, but are by no means delicate in 

 regard to the quality of their food. Brambles and thistles, prickly shrubs 

 and the coarsest grasses, are alike welcome. Like many other animals, they 

 see well in the dark, and instances are recorded where they have carried their 

 riders over the most dangerous passes, where man would scarcely have 

 ventured in broad daylight. Their eyes being placed far apart, they are able, 

 when the head is down, to observe objects with case, both before and behind, 

 as well as sideways. Their senses of hearing and smell are very acute, and 

 as in a wild state they seldom lie down, and sleep little, they consequently 

 have an individual security, as well as the collecti\e protection of their gre- 

 garious habits. The tame horse endures the severest climate, and braves any 

 degree of cold, providing food can be found ; but the ass delights in the sunny 

 and warm skies of the south. There is a great difference, intellectually, 

 between all species of wild horses and the domestic animal, whose acts 

 frequently exhibit mental attributes quite equal to those of the dog. A tena- 

 cious memory, and a power of abstraction and comparison, and a generosity 

 and benevolence of disposition often manifested, have made the horse an 

 oliject of most atfectionate solicitude among some nations, and of deep interest 

 in all. All the Equida? are of a frolicsome disposition, sociable and enndons ; 

 the ass even has the instinct of ambition, and will try his speed against com- 

 petitors, while the tame horse is gay and proud, and seems to court the praise 

 of his master. 



The period of gestation is about eleven months, and the young, which are 

 usually born in April or j\lay, see, and have the use of their limbs from their 

 birth. They are thin, short-bodied and short-ribbed animals, standing very 

 high on the legs, full of playfulness, sporting about their mother, scratching 



