s 
food. The flesh of the tame Ass, however, 
is more dry, tough, and disagreeable, than 
even that of the horse ; and, accordhig to 
Galen, it is very unwholesome. 
The Ass is not only more hardy than the 
horse, but liable to fewer diseases ; and it is 
less subje6^ to be infested with vermin than any 
other hairy animal ; probably, on account of 
the dryness and hardness of it's skin. Like 
the horse, it takes three or four years in ar- 
riving at a state of perfedlion ; and frequently 
lives to t]\e age of twenty or twenty-tive. It 
sleeps very little, and never lies down for that 
purpose till quite worn out with fatigue. 
The female G^oes about eleven months with 
young, and iicvcr brings forth more tlian one 
at a time. M he mule mav be engendered be- 
tween a stallion and an Ass, or between an 
Ass and a mare ; but the latter breed is every 
way preferable, bting larger, stronger^ and 
better shaped. 
The skin of the Ass being extremely hard 
and elastic, it is used for many different pur- 
poses; particularly, in the maiiufadturc of 
shacrccn, 
