hey
were _quaggas_.

Modern naturalists have divided the _Equidae_, or horse family, into two
genera--the _horse (equus_) and the _ass (asinus_)--the principal points
of distinction being, that animals of the horse kind have long flowing
manes, full tails, and warty callosities on both hind and fore limbs;
while asses, on the contrary, have short, meagre, and upright manes,
tails slender and furnished only with long hairs at the extremity, and
their hind limbs wanting the callosities. These, however, are found on
the fore-legs as upon horses.

Although there are many varieties of the horse genus--scores of them,
widely differing from each other--they can all be easily recognised by
these characteristic marks, from the "Suffolk Punch," the great London
dray-horse, down to his diminutive little cousin the "Shetland Pony."

The varieties of the ass are nearly as numerous, though this fact is not
generally known.

First, we have the common ass (_Asinus vulgaris_), the type of the
genus; and of this there are many breeds in different countries, some
nearly as elegant and as highly prized as horses. Next there is the
"onagra," "koulan," or "wild-ass" (_Asinus onager_), supposed to be the
origin of the common kind. This is a native of Asia, though it is also
found in the north-eastern parts of Africa. There is also the
"dziggetai," or "great wild-ass" (_Asinus hemionus_), of Central and
Southern Asia, and another smaller species the "ghur" (_Asinus Hamar_)
found in Persia. Again, there is the "kiang" (_Asinus kiang_) met with
in Ladakh, and the "yo-totze" (_Asinus equulus_), an inhabitant of
Chinese Tartary.

All these are Asiatic species, found in a wild state, and differing from
one another in colour, size, form, and even in habits. Many of them are
of elegant form, and swift as the swiftest horses.

In this little book we cannot afford room for a description of each, but
must confine our remarks to what is more properly our subject--_the
wild-asses of Africa_. Of these there are six or seven kinds--perhaps
more.

First, there is the "wild-ass" (_Asinus onager_), which, as already
stated, extends from Asia into the north-eastern parts of Africa,
contiguous to the former continent.

Next there is the "koomrah," of which very little is known, except that
it inhabits the forests of Northern Africa, and is solitary in its
habits, unlike most of the other species. The koomrah has been
described as a "wild horse