3CKEC CASK REESE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Received ^^I^^^JlL^i^ 188(0 / BIOLOGY Accessions No.^,^.^^ Shelf No LIBRARY ' G LIBRARY ^P" [A.TTO &WINDUS THE NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. EDITED BY SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, BART. F.R.S.E., F.L.S., ETC. ETC. VOL. XX. HORSES. BY LIEUT.-COL. CHARLES HAMILTON SMITH, K.H. AND K.W., F.R. AND L.S., PRESIDENT OF THE DEVON AND CORNWAJ^s-TJAl'.. jkiyiT-SQC., ETC. ETC. THE -r [VEBBIT CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY. BIOLOGY LIBRARY G CONTENTS. PAbA MEMOIR OP GESNER NATURAL HISTORY OP THE EQUIDJE. Introduction . Breeds of Horses noticed by the Ancients from Medo-Persian Horse, ancient maned Dun Stock, 1 Bas-reliefs of the Che-el-minar Plate A. fig. Egyptian Horse, Ancient Bay Stock, from Thebes, .fi.2. 83,109 Skeleton of the Horse, Plate I. External Muscles of the Horse, Plate II. The Wild Horse from a The Tarpan Wild Horse, primaeval Bay Stock, Drawing sent from Russia, Plate III. Feral Horses of America . .173 THE EQUID^B IN GENERAL . The Horse. Equus caballus . The Domestic Horse. Equus caballus domesticus Races and Breeds of Domestic Horses The Arabian Race. Plate VIII. OO4 The Barb of Morocco The Shrubat-ur-reech, grey, of the Morocco Desert, Plate XI. from the print published in Italy, The Bornou White Race of Africa, drawn from life by Col. Hamilton Smith, Plate X. from the The Dongola white-footed Black, Lithograph the horse which published in Italy. It represents across carried a Mameluke chief from the Upper Nile . 223 the Desert to Tunis 1 Plate X.* CONTENTS. PAGE The Turkish Race . .231 The Persian . 233 The Toorkee Races . .238 East Indian Races (see Advertisement, p. viii.) . 241 The Paramero of Peru, from a. beautiful Model done in Peru. Plate XII. 248 The English Breeds of Horses . .250 The English Race-horse. Eclipse, from the print, drawn to scale by Sainbel. Plate IX. 253 The Villous Horse, primaeval White Stoek, drawn from life by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate IV. 262 Marengo Arab, once the property of the Emperor Bo- naparte, white breed of the Bay Stock, from the print. Plate VIII. 263 Crisp-haired Horse, probable original Stock of the Black Horse, drawn from life by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate V. .266 The English Draught Horse, Black Race, from life, by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate XIII. 263 Decussated Horse, Eelback Dun of the Ukraine, drawn from life by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate VI. 274 Head of Hungarian Horse, with slit septum naris, from a . drawing by Zoffani. Plate XXXI. 278 Shetland Pony, from life, by Mr. Stewart. Plate XV. 283 The Saran Race ..... 287 The Tangum, or Tangan, Piebald primaeval Stock of race of Tibet, domesticated Sikim, Lower Tibet ; drawing sent from India. Plate VII. 288 The Koomrah (by mistake named Lalisio), Equus hif>- pagrus, from life, -by Col. Hamilton Smith. PI. XVI. 2.94 The Asinine Group . .298 The Yo-to-tze (by mistake named Hippagrus), Asinus equulens, from life, by Col. Ham. Smith. PI. XVII. 304 The Onager, Asinus onager, from life, by Col. Hamil- ton Smith. Plate XVIII. .... 307 The Wild Ass of Persia, Asinus kamar, from Sir R. Kerr Porter. Plate XIX. 313 CONTENTS. PAGK The Domestic Ass. Asinus domesticus . 314 Tie Djiggetai (by mistake engraved Quagga Male), Asinus -hemiwtus, from the print, An. Litluxjraph., of Fred. Cuvier. Plate XX. .317 The Hippotigrine Group of Zebras . 320 The Zebra Male, from life, by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate XXI. ... 321 The Angola Dauw, Hippotigris antiquorum, by Mr. Stewart. Plate XXII. 327 Dauw Mare and Colt, Hippotiyri* Burtfielli, by Mr. Stewart. Plate XXIII. .329 The Quagga, Hippoligris quaclia, from life, by Col. Ha- milton Smith. Plate XXIV. 330 The Isabella Quagga, Hippotigris isabellinus., from spe- cimen in the British Museum, by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate XXV. .... 832 The Mules ...... 334 Brood Mare and third Foal, with marks of Quagga, . from the paintings by Agasse, in Surgeons' College, London. Plate XIV. 342 Filley, bearing ditto, from ditto. Plate XXVI. 342 Colt, bearing ditto, from ditto. Plate XXVII. 342 Hybrid first Foal of Brood Mare and Quagga, from ditto. Plate XXIX. o42 Hybrid Ass and Zebra, from drawing by Mr. Stewart. Plate XXV1H. .3*5 The Hinny, from a drawing made at Paris, by Col. Hamilton Smith. Plate XXX. .'.'-. .346 PORTRAIT OF GESN i^ ... 2 Vignette Title-page ... 3 In all Thirty-Jive Plates in this Volume. LIST OF PLATES. PLATE PAGB A. MedoPersian and Egyptian Horses, from ancient Bas-reliefs . .83, 109 . -1. Skeleton of the Horse. 2. External Muscles of the Horse. 3. The Tarpan Wild Horse, primaeval Bay Stock . 160 4. The Villous Horse, primaeval White Stock . 262 5. Crisp-haired Horse, probable original Black Stock 266 6. Decussated Horse, Eelback Dun of the Ukraine . 274 7. The Tangum Piebald, primaeval Stock of Tibet . 288 8. Marengo Arab, once the property of the Emperor Bonaparte, white breed of the Bay Stock . 262 9. Eclipse. The English Race-horse . 253 l 10. The Bornou White Race of Africa . 228 1 0.* . The Dongola Race . 229 11. The Shrubat-ur-reech . .227 12. The Paramero of Peru . .248 13. The English Draught Horse, Black Race . 269 14. Brood Mare and third Foal, with marks of Quagga 342 15. Shetland Pony . .283 1 6. The Koomrah. Equus hippagrus . 294 17. The Yo-to-tze. Asinus equuleus . 304 18. The Onager. Asinus onager . , 307 19. The Wild Ass of Persia. Asinus hamar , . 313 20. The Djiggetai. Asinus hemionus . 317 21. The Male Zebra ..... 321 22. The Angola Dauw. Hippotigris antiquorum . 327 23. Dauw Mare and Colt. Hippotigris Burchelli . 329 24. The Quagga. Hippotigris quacha . 330 25. The Isabella Quagga. Hippotigris isabellinus . 332 26. Filley, bearing marks of Quagga . 342 27. Colt, third issue of Brood Mare, and second by a Black Arab ..... 342 28. Hybrid Ass and Zebra .... 343 29. Hybrid first Foal of Brood Mare and Quagga . 342 30. The Hinny ..... 34G 31. Head of Hungarian Horse, with slit septum naris 278 PORTRAIT OF GESNER .... 2 Vignette Title-page ..... 3 ' In all Thirty-five Plates in this Volume. MEMOIR OF GESNER. MEMOIR OF GESNER. IN several of the biographical memoirs accompany- ing former volumes of this Work, we have, given a record of the labours, and attempted to appreciate the merits, of some of the most eminent naturalists who flourished in the sixteenth century. Such of them belonging to that early period as deserve to be held in remembrance, are comparatively few in number ; but these few are entitled to our warmest gratitude. It was by their means that Natural History was enabled to emerge from the obscurity in which it was sunk, in common with every other department of knowledge, during the long intellec- tual night of the dark ages. The generations who " may be described as having eyes but who saw not, ears but heard not, and understandings but un- derstood not," had given place to others in which the senses and faculties were beginning to be con- verted to their proper use. Individuals appeared in various countries making observations for them- selves, collecting and appropriating the knowledge which had been transmitted by the sages of Greece 18 MEMOIR OF GESNER. and Rome, and, in short, accomplishing, though in a smaller degree, for natural history, what Dante, Petrarch, and others, had previously done for lite- rature. Among the small band of congenial spirits by whom this result was brought about, there is none more meritorious than Conrad Gesner. Indeed, when we consider his high scholarship, indefatigable industry, general knowledge of natural history, arid the influence which his works have had on the pro- gress of knowledge, it may perhaps be doing him injustice not to assign him the first place. We should not at least hesitate to do so, were we to trust implicitly to the eulogiums that have been passed on him by his admirers, for he has been affirmed to be the greatest naturalist the world had seen since Aristotle, the discoverer of the only true principles of a botanical arrangement in the flower and fruit, to which the very existence of botany as a science is owing, as the German Pliny, a pro- digy of diligence, learning, and penetration. Even the more philosophical and discerning judgment of Cuvier allows him a high degree of merit, which will, we think, be fully borne out by the character of his works hereafter to be examined. CONRAD GESNER was born at Zurich on the 26th March. 1516. His parents were in very humble circumstances; his father, Ours Gesner, being a worker in hides, and his mother, Barbara Friccia. of a very poor though respectable family. Having MEMOIR OF GESNER. 19 a numerous offspring besides Conrad, his parents could do little to encourage the love for reading and learning which he showed at an early period. But his maternal uncle, John Friccius, who was a minis- ter, did every thing in his power to promote the talents which he could not fail to discover in his relative and it to this individual that young ; was Conrad was indebted for the rudiments of his edu- cation. Besides instructing him in the elements of literature, his uncle inspired him with a love for the study of plants, from which the transition be- came easy to other branches of natural history. He had a garden well supplied with plants, in- cluding many of the rarest kinds then known, the care of which was in a ogreat measure entrusted to young Gesner, who even at this early period, ac- quired some reputation in his immediate neighbour- hdod as an herbalist.