THE size of the Ass is about two-thirds that of the horse. His form is similar, but his ears are larger, and his tail thinner. He is generally of a dun colour, and is found in almost all countries.

CURIOUS PARTICULARS.

The Ass is a beast of burthen, and is very serviceable to mankind. Of greater strength comparatively than most animals of his size, he bears fatigue with patience, and hunger with apparent cheerfulness. A bundle of dried herbs, or a thistle on the road, will suffice him for his daily meal, and he compensates with the clear and pure water of a neighbouring brook, in the choice of which he is particularly nice, for the want of a better fare.

The treatment which this very useful animal often receives from his owners is both wanton and cruel, and most ungrateful, considering the great services he renders at a little expense. When very young, the Ass is sprightly, and even tolerably handsome; but he soon loses these qualifications, either by age or ill-treatment, and becomes slow, stupid, and headstrong. The female is passionately fond of her young; and it is said she will even cross fire and water to protect or rejoin it. The Ass is also sometimes

greatly attached to his owner, whom he scents at a distance, and plainly distinguishes from others in the crowd. Like some other animals, he also possesses the faculty of finding his way home when lost at a great distance. An Ass has been known to find his way from Point de Gatt to Gibraltar, a distance of more than two hundred miles through an intricate country where he had never been before.

ANECDOTE.

An old man who, a few years ago, sold vegetables in London, used in his employment an Ass, which conveyed his baskets from door to door. Frequently he gave the poor industrious creature a handful of hay, or some pieces of bread or greens, by way of refreshment and reward.

The old man had no need of any goad for the animal, and seldom, indeed, had he to lift up his hand to drive it on. His kind treatment was one day remarked to him, and he was asked if the beast was apt to be stubborn? "Ah! master," replied he, "it is of no use to be cruel, and as for stubbornness I cannot complain; for he is ready to do any thing, and go any where. I bred him myself.

"He is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from me; you will hardly believe it, but there were more than fifty people after him, attempting in vain to stop him; yet he turned back of himself, and he never stopped, till he ran his head kindly into my bosom."

THE QUAGGA.

THIS is a species of Wild Ass, found in the wilds of Africa. It lives on vegetable food, like other animals of the horse kind, and goes in large herds. Vast numbers of this animal, with the springbok and hartebeest, two kinds of antelope, fall a prey to the lion.

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THE Zebra is a little larger than the ass, and resembles the horse in figure. His colour is white, with regular black stripes. He is a native of Africa. His appearance is very beautiful, and he is esteemed one of the handsomest of quadrupeds.

The Zebra feeds in the same manner as the horse, ass, and mule; and seems to delight in having clean straw and dried leaves to sleep upon. His voice can hardly be described; it is thought by some persons to have a distant resemblance to the sound of a post horn. It is more frequently heard when the animal is alone, than at other times. He is only known in a wild state.

In northern climates, as the Shetland Isles, the horse dwindles in size, and is called Pony; a name which is also used in other countries for a small-sized horse.

THE height of the Camel is about five and a half feet; his length is about ten feet. His legs are long, his body short and large, his neck long and crooked; his head small and homely. On his back he has two bunches. He is covered with coarse hair, and his colour is generally a light brown. His feet are soft and flat, and well suited to travel in a sandy country. His appearance is awkward in the extreme; his motions are also awkward, and he walks as if in distress.

We have here described the Bactrian Camel, which is often seen in this country; the Arabian Camel, or Drome

dary, differs but little from the other.

He has but one bunch on his back, and is somewhat smaller. These two varieties possess, in general, the same character and qualities.

HABITS.

The Camel is a domestic animal, and is used principally as a beast of burthen. He travels as far in a day as the horse, and will carry a load of from five hundred to a thousand pounds. He is mild, patient, and hardy, needs little food, and is capable of sustaining a march of several hundred miles in a burning sandy desert without water. He is emphatically called "the ship of the desert." He lives on hay, grass, and grain; furnishes a kind of wool for cloth, carries his master on his back like a horse, and the females yield milk like cows. Homely and awkward then as he is, the Camel is one of the greatest blessings afforded to man.

COUNTRIES.

The Camel is a native of Asia and Africa. In most parts of Asia he takes the place of the horse and the cow. The Camel is also found at Pisa in Italy, and the vicinity, though it is much degenerated in that climate. It has also been recently introduced into South America.

The Bactrian Camel is found better suited to a cold or moist climate than the Arabian Camel, and is consequently found as far north as Siberia. The Arabian Camel is better suited to warm countries, and is generally confined to the middle regions of Asia. It is this species, however, that is found in Italy.

CURIOUS PARTICULARS.

The lean and almost fleshless body of the Camel is covered with hair, which is very short on the fore part of the muzzle ; this becomes longer on the top of the head, and almost tufty on the neck and parts of the fore legs, on the back, and particularly on the hump, which covers it all over.