THE BIETH OF A ZEBRA HYBRID. y 



add, before proceeding to describe the hybrid, that the 

 foals of the black Highland ponies are frequently at first 

 mouse-coloured, with in some instances a faint dorsal 

 stripe, and a patch of dark hair at the shoulders, which 

 represents the bands so often seen in dun-coloured Nor- 

 wegian ponies. The dorsal stripe usually disappears soon 

 after birth, and the mouse-colour never reappears when 

 the first or foal's coat is once shed. 



Turning now to the hybrid, I may fi.rst mention that the 

 period of gestation was normal, 342 days. With the mare 



Romulus, tweuty-seven days old. 



it usualljr varies from 340 to 350 days. In the zebra, as in 

 the ass, it is said to extend over twelve months. Within a 

 minute after birth the hybrid (fig. 3) was rushing about as 

 if he were a young zebra, whose existence depended on his 

 at once joining the troop of which his dam was a member. 

 Being extremely alert, and ready to gallop off at any 

 moment, he seemed at a loss to understand the inaction of 

 his placid dam. Though when nearly a month old (Fig. 4) 

 Romulus was no longer so restless, or like a timid young 

 animal whose only safety was in flight, he was still surpris- 



