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THE HOUSE 



Wild Asses. — The remaining existing species of 

 Equidce belong to the asinine group as defined above, 

 and may be conveniently divided into the plain-coloured, 

 or true asses, and the striped, or zebras. 



The extensive open plains of various parts of Asia, 

 from Syria in the west, through Persia, Afghanistan, 

 the North-west of India, and the highlands of Tartary and 

 Thibet, from the shores of the Caspian to the frontiers of 

 China, are the home of numerous herds of wild asses, the 

 individuals in each of which may be from a dozen to 

 twenty in number, or amount to thousands, as described 

 by Dr. Aitchison in his report on the zoological results of 

 the Afghan Frontier Expedition of 1884. They present 

 such a general resemblance to each other — being all of a 

 uniform yellowish or isabelline colour, lighter or white 

 below, and all having a dark brown stripe along the middle 

 of the back, and usually no cross-stripe on the shoulders — 

 that it is considered by many naturalists that they should 

 all be regarded as belonging to one species — Equus 

 hemionus of Pallas. There are, however, such marked 

 differences in size, form, and shade of colour, that they 

 may be easily divided into three local varieties, or races, 

 which have been described and named as distinct species. 

 The true Equus hemionus, the kiang or dzeggetai, is the 



desert of Dzungaria, and are said to have secured four skins and a 

 skeleton of the species, a full description of which, it may be hoped, 

 will shortly be forthcoming. 



