ACCLIMATISATION AND BREEDING 219 
pect a great improvement in their stock from the result of 
such breeding. Falz-Fein was the first to produce this cross. 
Siberian roe-deer have also been crossed satisfactorily with 
our native roes. 
The importation of Mongolian pheasants is also very profit- 
able for breeding purposes. My first orders for this bird were 
from the Duke of Bedford and from Mr. Walter Rothschild. 
The hybrids produced by crossing these pheasants with the 
ordinary English species are 30 per cent. heavier in weight 
than any which have hitherto been bred. The example of these 
two gentlemen has been followed by many others, especially in 
England, where pheasant shooting is a very popular pastime. 
I myself have gained little advantage from the importation of 
these birds, for they have to be brought from very distant and 
inaccessable countries at great expense and with many risks to 
be run by the way. If only 300r 4o per cent. of the birds that 
are caught ultimately arrive at Hamburg I am fully satis- 
fied. 
An interesting cross which has hitherto attracted little at- 
tention is that between the horse and the zebra. Professor 
Ewart of Edinburgh made some very successful experiments 
in this direction, and I bought from him all the hybrids which 
he obtained. Two of these ‘“zebroids” were acquired by the 
British Government for use in the Mountain Artillery in 
India, and are said to have proved very satisfactory for this 
purpose. Two others, a stallion and a gelding, I have 
myself used for several years. They are excellent draught 
animals and as steadfast as ordinary mules. The latter, I may 
observe, deserve more attention than they receive in Germany. 
The Americans seem to understand the value of these hybrids 
better than we do, for according to some statistics which | 
saw some time ago, over a quarter of a million mules are 
bred in the United States every year. 
