64 



FIRST CLASS OF THE VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. 



points as to the causes which have served to retard the progress of his domestication. 

 The imbecility of the Ass, and his imperfect education, may partly be owing to the cir- 

 cumstance that the domestic species were continually united with the wild animals during 

 many centuries. This practice was one chief cause of the slow progress of do- 

 mestication among the ancients. Indeed, their rural system of large commons allowed 

 a hberty almost absolute to their herds. These animals passed the spring in the 

 valleys, the summer on the mountains, and the winter on the plains. It was, there- 

 fore, impossible to prevent the wild individuals, which then existed on several points 

 of the globe, from accidentally uniting with several domesticated individuals of their 

 own species or genus. This may probably explain the fable of the Mares of Bcetica, 

 said to have been fecundated by the West wind. Wild Horses were very numerous 

 in Spain, and the ignorant herdsman, seeing products formed with whose origin he 

 was unacquainted, easily resolved the problem by referring it to a miracle. With 

 the Ass, however, it was the constant practice of the Romans, according to Yarro 

 and Pliny, to select the Wild Asses (^onagri) as Stallions. Luitprand, Bishop of 

 Cremona, who wrote in 968, mentions that the domestic Asses of Cremona differed 

 but slightly, in his time, from the Wild Asses of Asia Minor. 



The attempts of the ancients to produce Hybrids or crosses between different spe- 

 cies were so common, that they had proper names to denote the Hybrids between the 

 Dog and the Wolf, as well as those between the Sheep and the Goat. They also had 

 names for the cross between the Pig and the Wild Boar, and between the Sheep and 

 the Mouflon. To obtain a fine race of Mules, the Romans united the Mare with the 

 Wild Ass. Columella remarks, *' that the Mule, the immediate descendant of the 

 Wild Ass, remains wild, difficult to tame, and slender like its father ; but that the 

 Stallion of this species is more usefxil in the second generation than in the first. For 

 when a Mare is united with an Ass descended from a Wild Ass and a domesticated 

 female, the savage nature of the Mule appears to have been softened down by the 

 influence of time, and the product of this union combines the beauty of form and the 

 mildness of its sire, with the courage and swiftness of its grandsire." This impor- 

 tant observation of Columella strikingly exemplifies the influence of domestication, 

 as well as the transmission of certain physical and intelligent qualities in the course of 

 generations, and is the more valuable, as we may at the present day search Europe in 

 vain for a Wild Ass to repeat this interesting experiment. 



Those Chapters in the writings of Varro, Pliny, and Columella, which treat of the 

 production of Mules, contain minute directions as to the precautions which were 

 necessary in their days to bring about an unnatural union between different species- 

 The Ass, intended ultimately to propagate, had to be taken from its mother the mo- 

 ment it was born, and placed under a Mare without its perceiving the change. The 

 Mare, on the other hand, had to be deceived by keeping her in the dark, and her own 

 foal had also to be removed. She would then suckle the Ass' foal intended for propa- 

 gating, and treat it as if it were her own offspring. In this way, the foal selected 

 to be a Stallion formed an attachment to Mares from its infancy. It had to be 

 consta,ntly introduced into the society of Mares even while yet at the breast, that it 

 might be habituated to their approach at the earliest age. The above mentioned 

 authors go on to describe that 1 accouplement doit se faire dans mi lieu etroit, ferme, 

 obscur, avec une jument liee, qui a deja porte, et dont les desirs ont ete d'avance irrites 

 par un ane coramun qui les eveille sans les satisfaires. 



These precautions clearly show that domestication had not yet induced that kind 

 of depravity which is its consequence, nor had it yet been sufficient to corrupt the 

 manners of the Ass and Horse as at the present day ; for we know that these Hybrid 

 unions, formed between different species, can now be procured without the necessity 

 of resorting to the slightest artifice. It must, however, be recollected, that such 

 unions can only arise among domestic animals of nearly-allied species, or between 

 animals of which one sex at least is domesticated. 



The Ruminantia, it has been already explained, are those over whom domestica- 

 tion has had the least influence. Yet among the Romans, it was found necessary to 

 employ only the most robust and powerful men, of a loud and menacing voice, to con- 

 duct their Herds of Oxen. Before yoking an Ox for the first time to the plough, 

 it was requisite to tie him strongly to his manger, to put the yoke on his neck, to 

 enfeeble him for four days by hunger and forced watches, and then to coax him with 

 cakes, salt, and wine. At the present day these precautions are wholly superfluous ; 

 and in any of our modern farms, a girl of fifteen years of age can induce the strongest 

 Bull to obey her commands, although he may have Uved for many years at large in 

 the meadows. 



There is a singular fact recorded by the ancients respecting the food of the Ox, 

 which was long considered to be of doubtful authority. jElian and Athenseus have 

 related, on the authority of Zenothemis, that in a lake of Pa?onia, certain Fishes 

 were produced, which the Oxen ate with as much pleasure they would have eaten 

 hay, provided the Fishes were presented living and palpitating. When dead, the Oxen 

 would not touch them. The singularity of this assertion, which would serve to break 

 down the usual distinctions between the digestive functions of Herbivorous and Car- 

 nivorou? animals, has, however, been removed by modern writers, several of whom 

 relate, that in the cold countries of the North of Europe bordering on the sea the 

 Oxen and Horses are fed on Fish. In respect to Horses, there can be no doubt as 

 to the fact, for the Horses which were brought in 1788 fi*om Iceland to France, by 

 M. de Calonne, had no other food than Fish on the passage, as well as during their 

 stay at the port of Dunkirk. M. du Petit- Thouars, who was garrisoned at the latter 

 place, reported this fact to M. de la IMalle, on whose authority it is inserted here. 

 Torf^us (Hist. Norveg.) relates the same fact for the Norwegian Horses. 



The more recent experiments of M. Magendie have fully confirmed this omni- 

 vorous property of the Domesticated Animals ; and it is perhaps one of the most 

 curious consequences of their association with Man. Wild Animals appear, however, 

 to possess this quality to a certain extent. M. Roulin reports that the Martin 

 (taira) of Columbia will cat bananas and green maize, as well as Quadrupeds, Reptiles, 

 Birds, and Insects. M. de la Malle has known a Polecat to devour pears, poaches, 

 apricots, grapes, and other fruits of our garden trees, besides its ordinary animal 

 food. These facts appear fully to verify the observations of ^Han and Zenothemis. 

 Another consequence of domestication, in modern times, may be remarked in the 



permanent secretion of milk with the Cows, Ewes, and She-Goats. The wild races 

 only suckle their young during the interval necessary to habituate the digestive organs 

 of their progeny to other food. We have already seen that the domestic species, 

 transported into the New World, have lost this property of their ancestors in acquir- 

 ing their independence, and only preserve their milk as long as the calves and kids 

 are kept along with their dams. We have a further proof of the imperfect domesti- 

 cation of the Ass, in the circumstance that the secretion of milk in the female Ass 

 does not remain permanent, but continues only during the time that the foal rem^na 

 with its dam. 



An interesting passage of Aristotle appears to show, that one of the most im- 

 portant consequences of domestication, the permanent secretion of milk, which is 

 at present maintained by an irritation of the Mammae almost mechanical, was first 

 induced by a stimulus procured from some plants of the Nettle family ( Urticea). 

 He adds, in reference to the She-Goats, that even when they have not been fecun- 

 dated, it was customary to rub their udders with Nettles so violently as to excite 

 pain. At first milk was di-awn mixed with blood, then a quantity of purulent matter, 

 and finally a milk as pure, as„ healthy, and in a quantity as copious, as that rendered 

 hy a She- Goat which had just produced. 



The progress of domestication may, however, be seen more especially in the 

 Dog, who has in all ages been the companion, the guardian, and we almost say the 

 intimate friend of Man. Being possessed of a superior genius, and habituated 

 to the society of his master, domestication has been truly wonderful in developing 

 his natm-al capacity. The ancients were acquainted with but few varieties of the 

 Dog, as far as we can gather from the descriptions of authors, and the figures on 

 the monuments of antiquity. They had the Watch Dog, the Coursing Dog, the 

 Shepherd's Dog, and the Uttle Maltese Dog, supposed to have somewhat resembled 

 the French Bichon. The intelligent qualities of these varieties had been but sHghtly 

 developed ; and the ancient Greeks and Romans were wholly unacquainted with those 

 Dogs which set game, such as the Pointers and Spaniels, upon whom a modern 

 education can produce results so surprising. The Water Spaniel or Poodle Dog, 

 whose fame is now widely spread for the constancy of his attachment and the extent 

 of his acquirements, was wholly unknown to them. 



Aristotle and Xenophon have expressly declared, that animals can be made to 

 understa.nd nothing by word of mouth. Those who have witnessed the intelligence 

 and dexterity of the modern Poodle Dog, will be able readily to appreciate the influ- 

 ence of domestication when continued through a long period of time. These animals 

 can be induced, at the word of command, to ring the bell, or perform many of the or- 

 dinary duties of a servant, such as to shut and open the door, or deliver a letter, A 

 black Poodle belonging to Robert Wilkie, Esq. of Ladythorn, in the county -of North- 

 umberland, would feign all the agonies of death in a very correct manner. When com - 

 manded to die, he rolled over on one side, stretched himself at full length, and moved 

 hiis hinder legs with a convulsive motion, first slowly and afterwards quickly, as if in 

 extreme pain. After putting his head and body in motion with these affected con- 

 vulsions, he would then stretch out all his Ihnbs, or he on his back with the legs 

 turned upwards as if he had expired, and remain motionless until the word of his 

 master restored him again to his customary animation. 



These instances, and numerous others, which need not here be produced, clearly 

 establish the important fact, that the education of the domestic animals has always 

 followed a gradual progress, which may be either slow or rapid, according to circum- 

 stances. We may thence further expect, that future ages, by bestowing more care 

 as well as skill, and being aided by the influence of a longer period of time, may de- 

 velop the intelligent powers of our domestic animals in a still higher degree. 



It appears, that with one species at least domestication has gone retrograde. The 

 Dziggtai (^Equus Hemionus') of Mongolia was once domesticated in Syria. Aris- 

 totle declares (Nat. Animal, vi. 30), that *' in Syria animals are to be found called 

 Hemionus, a species resembling the mule in appearance, but being in reality different 

 from it. These Hemionus are swifter than Mules. They produce among them- 

 selves a constant race. Some animals, which still remain in Phrygia, where they 

 were introduced in the time of Pharnaces, the father of Pharnabazus, prove the 

 truth of this assertion. Three animals now remain out of nine." 



Although the later writers among the ancients generally confound the Hemionus 

 with the different kinds of Mule, yet Aristotle carefully distinguishes them. There 

 was the Jlule (ot/geoj, mulus), or the Hybrid between the Ass and Mare; the 

 Bardeau (JuuQgj hiiinus), or the Hybrid between the Horse and female Ass; and a 

 cross of the second degree {yivvog, hlnnulus), between the Mule and the Mare. 

 From all of these Aristotle separates '* the Hemionus {vj^i^touog), which is not at all 

 of the same species as the Mule, notwithstanding its resemblance, since they propa- 

 gate together, and continue their race." Theophrastus confirms this remark of 

 Aristotle ; and more modern writers, such as Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and 

 Eustathius in his Commentary on the Eiad, remark, that the Hemionus was formerly 

 domesticated in that part of Asia Minor called Paphlagonia. 



Pallas has recently identified the Hemionus of Aristotle with the modern Dziggtai 

 of Siberia. It is probable that this species may have been brought to Syria by some 

 of the Tartar hordes, and that it remained there in domestication until the era of 

 Aristotle ; for after this time all notice of it disappears from the writings of the 

 ancients, and its place is supplied by the Horse and Mule. In certain parts of Cen- 

 tral Asia, the Dziggtai is said to be domesticated at the present day. 



Thus, upon considering the domestic animals in reference to those phenomena 

 which have attended their return from the domestic to the wild state, and upon 

 investigating the records of antiquity, we are led to form several important conclu- 

 sions which it may be proper here to recapitulate. 



In the first place, we find that the numerous variations of the domestic animals, in 

 respect to the colour and quality of the hair, are brought back by a state of liberty 

 to a uniformity almost invariable. In the New Worlil the common colour of the 

 hair is a chestnut bay for the Horse, a dark gray for the Ass, and black for the Hog. 

 In the Old Continent it seems to be gray for the Ass as, in America, but a different 

 colour for the Horse, which here becomes white. We are hence entitled to infer, 

 that all shades which diverge from these piiinitive hues are the evident consequences 



