ii 



1 1 



ORDKR VIII. THE RUMINAXTIA. 295 



tlicir instinctive aptitudes and mental capacity, tlie former being of a social 

 temperament, sjiirited, proud, and capable of a liiyli degree of education, 

 while the latter is dull, intractable, and solitary. The ass tribe has long 

 ears, a short standing mane, and the tail furnisiicd with only a tuft of hair 

 at tlie end. 



^1. Doineaficuf:. The domestic ass is patient and laborious, slow and 

 obstinate, and as it receives little care or kindness from its master, it is 

 not strange that it is both slow and vicious. When offended, it gives warn- 

 ing by drawing back the lips, and showing the teeth ; it repels an insult by 

 a kick, and wiien roused by danger will fight with skill and obstinacy. It is 

 more abstemious than the horse, and yet there is no domestic animal, in pro- 

 portion to its bulk, that can carry a greater weight, or continue to labor 

 longer without rest. This animal is cm[ihatically tlie poor man's horse in 

 every country but ours, where the ox and the horse are within tlie reach ot' ail, 

 and are better adapted to the condition of a civilized community. 



A. lIippot!(jrls. — The Striped Ass, or Zebra. This beautiful animal, 

 of which there appears to be three varieties, is a native of South Al'iica, 

 often appearing near the Cape of Good Hope, where a fine of fifty dollars is 

 exacted from any jierson who kills one of them. The zebra differs so much 

 from the true ass that some naturalists have hesitated to place it in the same 

 group. In size it is larger than the ass proper, and less than tiie horse ; but 

 it has all the obstinacy and viciousness of the ass, and, so far, all attem[ils at 

 domestication have proved fruitless. Its form is graceful and elegant, ar.d 

 its short, fine, and thick hair is handsomely marked with bands of alternate 

 brown and yellow in the male, and black and white in the female, w hich 

 give it a very pleasing appearance. 



OPvDER VIII. --THE EUMIXAXTIA. 



The ruminating animals are those which chew the cud, and, with a few ex- 

 ceptions, have cloven hoofs. Their food consists of grass, leaves, moss, and 

 tender twigs, which, being partially masticated, is swallowed and retained in 

 the stoniach fir a few moments, when, by a peculiar provision of nature, it is 

 returned to the moutli, for further preparation, before its final passage to the 

 di<Testive organs. The ruminants have eight incisive teeth in the lower jaw, 

 and none in the upper, but in stead a sort of callous jiad. Each jaw has 

 twelve orinders, six on the side. The order is distributed over all the known 

 world, excepting Australia, which appears to liave a fiinn of life peculiar to 

 itself. Among the members of this great family are found tiiose animals wliicli 

 are the most useful to man, as well as many that arc distinguished for their 



