REVIEW— THE NATURALIST’S LIBRARY. 
707 
Oppian denominated hippagrt, and by Pliny equiferi, are first 
mentioned by Herodotus, as being of a white colour, and inha- 
biting Scythia, about the river Hypanis, or Bog. He notices others 
in Thrace, beyond the Danube, distinguished by long fur. Leo and 
Marmol say that the colour of the African wild species is whitish 
ashy grey, with mane and tail short and crisped. In the woods 
and plains of Poland and Prussia there were wild horses to a late 
period. Beauplan asserts their existence in the Ukraine; and Eras- 
mus Stella, in his work “ De origine Borussorum,” speaks of the 
wild horses of Prussians unnoticed by the Greek and Latin authors. 
“ They are,” he writes, “ in form nearly like the domestic species, 
but with soft backs, unfit to be ridden, shy, and difficult to capture, 
but very good venison.” These horses, says Col. Smith, are 
evidently again referred to by Andr. Schneebergius, who states 
that there were wild horses in the preserves of the Prince of 
Prussia resembling the domestic, but mouse-coloured, with a dark 
streak on the spine, and the mane and tail dark. These and 
numerous other places are mentioned by the author in his chapter 
on the wild horse — all tending to shew that, in most places where 
horses have been discovered in a wild state, their colour and 
markings approach closely to the Isabella breed. We certainly 
consider these remarks on the wild horse to altogether discoun- 
tenance the opinion, that either the Eelback dun or Isabella breed 
owe their colour and markings from an ancient cross with 
Hemionus. 
Ere we conclude our Review, we must notice an extraordinary 
opinion entertained by our author respecting the blending of 
different species into one homogenous race, which is at variance 
with all our knowledge of living nature. “ We may assume,” he 
says, “ that civilized man, if it had been his lot to deal with the 
zebras of South Africa instead of the horses of Asia, in due time 
would have succeeded in amalgamating the three or four species 
now existing into one domestic animal, little inferior to our 
present horse ; that the powers of draught would have been found 
in the quagga, the qualities of charger in the zebra, and the 
properties of mountain pony in the dauw. In the chapter on 
hybrids, the reader will find this subject fully considered. 
It is very true, as we have pointed out, that unnatural unions 
take place in animals under the power of man, with the assistance 
of contrivance and stratagem ; but we defy the author to produce 
a single authenticated case where a true hybrid race has ever 
been established. If it can be shewn that a single permanent 
species has ever been produced by hybridity, it might have lent 
some assistance to such wild doctrines. The fact of hybrids 
