50 THE PENYCUIK EXPERIMENTS. 



Captain Lugard aud Major von Wissmann have advocated 

 that steps be taken to breed zebra hybrids. 



I have ah-eady referred to the views of Captain Lugard. 

 He writes : — " Some years ago I advocated experiments 

 on taming the zebra, and I especially suggested that 

 an attempt should be made to obtain zebra mules by 

 horse or donkey mares. Such mules I believe would be 

 found excessively hardy and impervious to the "fly' and 



to climatic diseases I would even go further and 



say that their export might prove one of the sources of 

 wealth and revenue in the future ; for, as everyone knows, 

 the paucity of mules both for mountain batteries and for 

 transport purposes has long been one of the gravest 

 difficulties m our otherwise almost perfect Indian Army 

 Corps." Since this was written much information has 

 been gained as to the dreaded tsetse fly, but apparently 

 there is extremely little chance of horses being made 

 immune, being so treated by inoculation or otherwise that 

 they will be able to survive if once infected by the peculiar 

 minute organism so intimately associated with the all too 

 fatal disease. 



Further, owing to the destruction of cattle by the 

 rinderpest, the transport diificulties have been increased 

 in Africa, while the frontier wars have enormously increased 

 the demand for mules in India. On the other hand, it has 

 been proved that it is a comparatively simple matter to 

 cross various breeds of mares with a Burchell zebra, and 

 if experts are to be trusted the hybrids (zebra-mules as 

 some call them) promise to be as useful and hardy as they 

 are shapely and attractive. The preliminary difficulties 

 having been overcome, it remains for those iu authority 

 to take such steps as may be necessary to ascertain of 

 what special use, if any, zebra hybrids may be in the 

 various parts of the Empire, but more especially iu Africa 

 and India. 



As I am anxious to obtain as much information as 

 possible bearing on equine hybrids — on crosses between 

 zebras, horses, and asses — and as to the fertility of the 



