THE HORSE AND ITS KIN.* Many books have been written
on the horse—more than four thousand, according to the authors of the little work before us—and there is yet no sign of the subject being exhausted. The excuse, however, offered for this last addition to equine literature is valid enough. Not only have certain species of the race, hitherto untamed, been lately pressed into the ser- vice of mankind, but discovery has also been made of one or two unknown varieties of the wild-horse, and our knowledge and experience in the breeding of hybrids has been consider- ably increased. Upon this latter branch of horse-lore the joint authors, Messrs. Tegetmeier and Sutherland, write with peculiar authority, and, as it is one which promises to become more important every year, their opinions should prove of much value to every one who is interested in the question of mules and military transports.
Of the two most recently discovered specimens of the wild- horse, Grevy's zebra, as it has been called, is the least interesting. Until now the naturalist has recognised three different species of zebra,—the mountain zebra, Burchell's, and Chapman's ; or four, if we include under the same head the quagga, an animal, by the way, which has been nearly, if not altogether, exterminated. The difference between Burchell's and the mountain zebra is a very distinct and curious one, the former animal showing characteristics of the horse as strongly marked as those of the ass which are seen in the latter. But the difference between Burchell's zebra and Chapman's is chiefly a superficial difference of colour and marking, and not much more can be said of the difference between the moun- tain zebra and Grevy's. Mr. Tegetmeier evidently inclines to the belief that they were originally the same animal, and it is difficult not to share his opinion. Of the two classes which are thus left, the mountain zebra, or asinine, and Burchell's zebra, or equine, the latter is the best known, and promises to be of most use to the service of man. Some specimens have been imported into England, and, we believe, have been tried with success for draught purposes. In South Africa, where an extensive use has been made of them in horsing the coaches, they have proved most satisfactory, and the two photographs of zebra teams which are included in the illustrations of this book show an appearance as workmanlike as it is striking. One great advantage they possess over horses in that country is that they enjoy a complete immunity from the "horse-sickness," that terrible scourge of African horse-flesh. The most interesting feature of the other recently discovered member of the family of Equidm, Prejevalsky's horse, is its possession of both equine and asinine characteristics. If, as it seems generally supposed, this beast was really a specimen of a distinct class, and not an accidental hybrid, say between the Kiang, or Thibetan wild-ass, and the horse, its existence would completely break down the generic distinction which some zoologists establish between the equine and asinine groups of Equidw. But the evidence of its existence in any number is, tip to the present time, not very weighty, for, although three or four other specimens of a similar animal are said to have been procured, there is no proof that they were absolutely identical with it.
Mule-breeding is a pursuit which has never gained any footing in this country. Nor, while we have so little use for the mule in England, is it one which would be likely to repay the trouble it involves. Still, we require mules for foreign service, and our supply is somewhat hindered by our ignorance of what a good mule ought to be. In India, and in some of the Colonies, where the mule is invaluable as a beast of draught or of burden, and where mule-breeding is a necessary as well as a profitable industry, we are reduced, as a rule, to importing the donkey sire from France or Spain,—countries where the mule being in more constant service, the importance of a fine race of donkeys is better understood. Now, a really good "Jack" is an animal of considerable price, and it seems a pity that he should not be supplied by Ireland or England where he could be bred every whit as well as in Spain or Poitou. So far, we have been content, as the Americans have also been, to take anything in the shape of a big donkey that the Spaniards have offered us,—generally animals which would not find favour in the Spanish market. Nor can it be said that the Poitou ass represents the result of
• (3..) Horses, Asses, Zebras, and Mules. By W. B. Tegetmeier, F.Z.B., and C. L. Sutherland, F.Z.S. London; Cox.—(2.) The Stable. By G. Bastin, Wellington: Lyon and Blair,
really scientific breeding, being rather the product of the most curious tradition and prejudice. The account given by the authors of mule-breeding in Poitou is rather interesting in so far as it shows the weak side of French scientific farming, —the universal predominance of custom over common-sense. Not only do they subject the mule progeny to a treatment which is the most likely to be injurious to its early growth, but they also select the donkey sire according to rules which are perversely capricious. One of the chief desiderata in a Poitou ' Jack ' is a rough coat, an inheritance of the very least profit to his children and a very doubtful boon to himself 3—
"From the day he is born to the day of his death no brush or comb is ever allowed to be used on him ; and as from the un- natural condition in which he is kept he is prevented in a great measure from shedding his coat, the functions of the skin become suspended, and the animal gradually assumes year after year an accumulation of coats, all matted together with stable filth, till at length they almost trail on the ground ! When he has assumed this extraordinary and bear-like appearance, he is pointed to with no little pride by his owner, and is termed bourailloux or sometimes guenilloitx. Such is ignorance and prejudice!"
Mr. Bastin's book on the stable is one which deserves a warm recommendation to all owners of horses who find difficulty in persuading their coachmen to adopt new methods of treatment. The coachman is an expert—often a very ignorant one—who is not easily convinced of the error of his ways. He possesses, as a rule, the usual contempt for theory
which is born of knowledge acquired by practical experience ; and, though he is willing in cases of emergency to subordinate his own ideas to those of a veterinary surgeon, he is wont to regard his master's recommendations as the idle whims of an amateur. He will more readily, perhaps, listen to the counsel of a brother-coachman; and as Mr. Bastin's treatise is not only written by one of the craft, but is also set forth in a very plain and readable style, it forme a book which may really find favour in the stable itself. The author addresses himself principally to the Colonial public, amongst whom he is now living; but the reforms which he advocates are not much less necessary at home than they are in the Colonies. He is a strong opponent of all violent measures, either in health or in sickness. He will not even admit the efficacy of the time-honoured remedy of blistering. His system of horse-breaking, founded upon that of Rarey, has the game end in view, and should give the same excellent results. In the matter of stabling and of the stable-treatment of the horse, his book is especially to be recommended, as he has evidently made a careful study of the minor comforts and discomforts of horse-life, and offers many suggestions which, without any undesirable coddling, should add greatly to the well-being of our four-footed servants.
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