540 
WILD MULE. 
WILD MULE. 
In its size and general appearance,, this animal 
nearly resembles the common mule, the progeny of 
the horse and the ass. Its head is rather large 
in proportion to the body ; its forehead is fiat, and 
becomes narrower towards the extremity of the 
nose. Its ears are considerably longer than those 
of the horse ; they stand erect ; and are lined with 
a thick coat of whitish curling hair. In both jaws 
it has only thirty-eight teeth ; whereas the common 
horse is possessed of forty. Its neck is slender 
and firm, not loose and soft. The breast swells 
forward, and is sharp. The limbs are long and 
finely shaped ; the thighs thin like the common 
mule's. There is an oval callus within the fore 
legs ; but none on the hinder legs. The hoofs 
are oblong, smdoth, and black. The tail resembles 
that of a cow ; it is slender ; for one half of its 
length bare, and covered on the other with long 
ash-coloured hairs. 
This animal changes its coat with the season. 
In winter, its hair is about two inches long, soft, 
like that of a camel, waved on the back, and, on 
the superficies, of a grcy-colour, but under that of 
a brownish ash-colour. In summer, the hair is 
much shorter, beautifully smooth, and marked all 
over the body with beautiful round spots. The 
extremity of the nose is, at this time, white ; and 
from that part, up the front, the colour is nearly 
tawny. The buttocks, the inside of the limbs, and 
the under part of the belly, are white. A blackish 
line extends from the mane, along the ridge of the 
back, to the tail : this line becomes broader upon 
the loins, and narrower again as it approaches the 
tail. The upper part of the body is now of a light 
yellowish grey colour, — paler towards the sides. 
