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bellux. Tliey have six erect and parallel fore-teeth in the upperjaw, and six somewhat prominent ones in the under jaw ; one shorttusk on each side of both jaws, at a considerable distance from theother teeth ; and the feet consist of an undivided hoof. This gemi6is the only race of quadrupeds, in which the mamma; are wantingon the males. Mr. Kerr enumerates six species, and many va-rieties.
I. Caballu-s, the Common Horse, has a long flowing mane,and the tail covered on all parts with long hairs. The horse, in a do-mestic state, is a bold and fiery animal; equally intrepid as hismaster, he faces danger and death with ardour and magnanimity,fie delights in the uoise and tumult of arms, and seems to feel the.glory -of victory ; he exults in the chase ; his eyes sparkle withemulation in the course. But though bold and intrepid, he isdocile and tractable; he knows how to govern and check thenatural vivacity and tire of his temper. He not only yields to thehand, but seems to consult the inclination, of his rider. Constantlyobedient to the impressions he receives, his motions are entirelyregulated bv the will of his master, lie in some measure resignshis very existence to the pleasure of man. These excellencies,though in some degree natural to him are principally the effectsof education of which the horse is remarkably susceptible. Inmost parts of the world the horse is found in a domesticated state,.and it is said that in several parts of Asia ar.d Africa they maintaintheir original independence, and range at pleasure In herds ofseveral hundreds, having always one or more as an advancedguard, to alarm against approaching danger. These alarms are ex-pressed bv a sudden snorting, at which the main body gallop olf■with the most surpri-ing swiftness. Wild horses are found, accord-ing to Dr. Pallas, in the deserts on each side the river Don, to-wards the Pains MaroLis; but these are supposed to he the offspringof the Russian horses, which were employed in the siege of Aoph,-in the year 1(197, when for want of forage they were turned loose,and their descendants have gradually relapsed into the appearanceof natural wildness. Those which are found in some parts of SouthAmerica , are well known to be the descendants of the horses in-troduced by the Spaniards on the first discovery of America , andwhich have’sn far relapsed intoa state of nature a; to exhibit thegeneral characters of the. wild animals. Of the several breeds ofhorses in common or general use in Europe , it is remarkable thatjione car. come in competition wit h tho-e of our own isi. nd, eitherfor the strength required in laborious service;, i r for the swiftnessand elegance of such as are bred for the course. '1 he annals ofNewmarket record instances of horse, that have literally out-strip-ed the wind, a> is proved from accurate calculations. The ccle-rated Childers is commemorated, hi particular, as the swiftest
horse ever know n in the world ; and the in.-tances of his speed may-be found in various publications, lie was known to have run neara mile in a minute; and to have cleared the course at Newmarket,which is onlv 40G yards short of four miles, in six minutes andfortv seconds; running at the rate of eighty-two feet and a half inthe "space of a second. This country has produced some othersalmost equally swift with Childers. See Piate I.XVI. Draught-horses in'Great Britain exceed in size and power those of othercountries. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are the most celebratedcounties for this breed, whence several have been brought to Lon-don which has e eac;:, for a short distance drawn, without diffi-culty, tlie weight of three tons, half of which is considered as theregular dranght. A horse of this class wa» exhibited as a curiosityin London in the year 1305, no less than twenty hands in height.For the cart-horse see Plate LX.YI. Mr. Bruce informs us, thatthe horses ot Nubia are of unparalleled beauty ; far su erior, in hisopmion, even to those ot Arabia. lie observes, however, thatfrom the maimer in which they are fed they arc apt to become toofat or corpulent. The colour of the horse is not of very great iin-jxntf.ihe, the most beautiful general colour seems to he bright bav,which gives mi air ol pecul-ar neatness an 1 eleaance to the"animal.Black horses are ct.mv.y id;. of large izo, and in tills country arechief! v uh- 1 for tint c. and th- pliudi. hi some countries horsesare not the less esteemed fer being variegated or pi.-bahl, as it iscommonly termed, d id- is s-.ed to be the case in China.-
II. Equvs Asjnus, tlie Ass. T lie ass, having been long con-demned to a state of the lowest servitude, end considered as arpecies. of less dignity than tlie horse, lias acquired, in most parts ofEurope , a •character of contempt. Yet in its natural or wild state
it exhibits 3n appearance very far superior botli in point of beautyand vivacity. It is a native of many parts of Asia , living, like flicrest of this genus, in a gregarious manner. It chiefly occurs in tliedry and mountainous deserts of Tartary, and in the southern partsof India and Persia . It is also said to be found in Africa, and tooccur, though but very rarely, in some parts of Syria and Arabia;countries where it was in ancient limes extremely common. Intiiis its natural state its coifuir is said to be white, or of a very palesilvery grey, with a slight tinge of straw-colour on the sides of tlieneck and body: along the h ick runs a deep-brown stripe of thick*ish wavy hair, to the beginning of the tail: tiiis stripe is crossed overthe shoulders, as in tlie tame animal, by another of similar colour;butit is said that this is peculiar to tin; male. The neck is furnishedwith a brown mane fifree or four indies long, consisting of softwoolly hair: the tail is tufted at tiie end by dusky hairs of aboutsix inciips in length tile 'forehead is aiched, and the ears erect andpointed. The generality of European asses have large slouchingears, a heavy appearance, and are of an a-h-colour, more or lessdeep in different individuals, with a blackish dor-al stripe, crossedby another over the shoulders, and thus exhibiting the originalmark of their species. In their manners they exhibit no superiormarks of sagacity, but have the merit of being patient, quiet, andtractable, and are chiefly employed in the inferior offices of servi-tude. The ass is observed to be very temperate in his food, andby no means delicate in the choice of it; eating thistles, and a va-riety of coarse herbage which tlie horse refuses. He is said to lieparticularly fond of plantain, for which he will neglect every otherherb of tlie pasture. In his choice of water he is remarkably nice,and will drink only of that which is clear. He iias also an aversionto mud or water in his road, and will pass out of the wav ratherthan wet his feet in a puddle. He is by no means void of docility,as vulgarly supposed ; but may be made to practise several exer-cises not usual with his race. His voice, as is well known, is amost hideous bray ; a discordant succession of flats and sharps.The ass has a very fine eye, an excellent scent, and a good ear.When overloaded, lie hangs his head, and sinks iiisears; when toomuch teazed or tormented, he opens his mouth anti retracts his lip*in a disagreeable manner, which gives him an aukward air. If youcover his eyes, he will not move another step ; if you lay him onhis side, and place his head so that one eve rests on the ground,and cover toe other with a cloth, lie will remain in this situationwithout making any attempt to get up. He walks, trots, and gal-lops, in the same manner as the horse; but all iiis motions areslower. Whatever pace Im is going at, if pushed he instantlystops. Mules are the offspring of tlie horse and ass, or (lie jack-assand mare. Mr. Tennant mentions a mule produced between ajack-ass and a female zebra. The ass, like the horse, continuesgrowing three or four years, and lives till he is 25 or 30: lie sleeple^s than the horse, arid never lies down but when excessivelyfatigued. He is mere robust, and less subject to disease, than tliehorse. Ill America there were originally no asses, but tliey werecarried thither by the Spaniards, and afterwards by other nations,where they multiplied greatly; insomuch, that, in some places,there are whole droves of them that run wild, and are not easilycaught. Asses in general carry tlie heaviest burdens in proportionto their bulk; and, as their keeping costs little or nothing, it issurprising that the} are not put to more uses than they generallyare among us. The flesh of tlie common ass is never eaten in Eu-rope ; though some say, that of their colts is tender, and not dis-agreeable.
III. Equus Bisulcus, the Chinese Horse, in the size, num-ber, and arrangement of te> th, as well as general appearance, re-sembles the horse ; and is therefore ranked by Dr. Gmelin in thisgenus, though it differs from all tlie other species in having clovenhoofs. In its size, hair, colour, nose, eyes, neck, back, tail, legs,and internal structure, it rpsembles tlie ass, but wants tlie duskycross on its shoulders. It resembles the horse in tiie figure of itsears, and the sound of its voice. Hence Mr. Kerr supposes, itmay be only a wild horse, degenerated through tlie inclemency ofthe mountainous tiistrict it inhabits,” in tlie Andes, in S. Ame-rica ; am! that “ the circum-tance of its having cloven hoofs maybe exaggerated, or onlv a mistake.”
IV. IIemionus of l’ullas, the‘fifxiovo,-, or half-ass, of Aristotle and I'iiny, (he Cziuithui ot Buffon, and tlie Dsliikketei, Fecundor Wild Mule of Tennant, is of the size and appearance of the
common