Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-30
CONCERNING THE DONKEY.
He Has Some Characteristics That Are
Not Wholly Uninteresting.

From Our Animal Friends.
In the care of donkeys in our climate 1t
is common mistake to suppose that they
are not sensitive to cold. A donkey, on the
contrary, cannot begin to stand the degree
of cold which is comfortably supported by
the horse. In other respects he is far
easier animal to care forSthan the horse.
AS a beast of burden bis endurance is
greater; he may be fed coarse heritage and
will thrive upon it. His coat needs regular
brushing. but not that particular grooming
without which the horse cannot be kept in
health. In England the costermongers
donkey is SO invaluable to his master that
he is known as the poor mans horse"
while in France the baudet and in Spain
the barrico-a larger, heavier type of ass
which is used for mule breeding-is of equal
Importance. Tine term donkey" refers to
the ordinary dun color of the ass coat and
has come to be the popular name by which
he is known to English-speaking people. In
the treatment of the donkey the essential
thing to remember is to house him warmly
in winter, being careful never to expose
him to snow or to extreme cold.
The staple food for the ass in summer is
grass, but if hard work and long daily jour-
neys are required of him he must have oats
and beans in moderate quantities. His sta
pie winter feed Is good hay, with roots.
TurnpS and carrots are excellent roots, of
which the animal never tires. Still another
mistaken idea is that donkeys like thstles
AS a matter of fact, the donkey will eat
tEistles if nothing more appetizing be Of
fered him; he is not dainty in his tastes
but will eat almost anything, very like the
goat The thistle as a delicacy, however
is really enjoyed only by the camel
s a pet, the donkey is most inoffensive
little animal which may be cared for by
any fairly intelligent man or boy instead of
an experienced groom. His only vice is
that of obstinacy, which is the natural out
of Dap tinp of har h and inc ID
crate treatment. His mouth is SO callous
to the bit that it is temptation to ignorant
boyhood to consider the poor creature in
capable of feeling pain. His thick hide and
rough coat fortunately protect the body
from the torturing sting of flies.
The donkey is not excitable, but his emo
tons are strong enough to make him de-
votedly fond of a master who will pet and
care for him. When he is trained by kind
ness he will learn to follow like dog. Be
cause of the ass even temper the Egyp-
tians much prefer the ass to the horse, ex-
cept, we are told, on occasions of parade"
The horse is chiefly valued in the east as
"a charger for war purposes; the ass is the
hack for daily use where the much-endur
ing camel is not employed. wealthy
Copt will give as much as 200 for a white
ass of good stature and easy PAGES.
Even at the present day the native Egyp-
tan likes to ride the quiet ass, which
neither rears, plunges nor SHES, and keeps
a steady pace, fast enough under a tropical
SUM-
But Mr.. S. Sidney. an English writer of
authority the equine species, does not
fancy the donkey mount for boy to
study horsemanship. The donkey. he de-
clares, has not riding shoulders and does
not afford proper seat for a saddle. the
riders of donkey races sit on the hind
quarters. Anatomically considered, the ass
is essentially beast for the pack saddle"
into bad habits, if he has later ito deal
with the exquisitely tender mouths of
horses. All donkey riders not packed in
oriental saddles must hold on by the Bride
habit fatal to good horsemanship'
On the other hand, Mr.. Sidney speaks en-
Enthusiastically of what may be done with
donkeys in harness. "A gold donkey is lin
valuable for family use when he is har-
messed to a cart OF appropriate size. AS
humble servant of all work he is not ex-
pensive to purchase or I'd feed" N.,n a
well-trained donkey az cart load of children
is safe from the danger of those sudden
ebulliuons of excitement which sometimes
bring the soberest ponies to grief" Mr..
Sidney goes on to say that the London cos
termonger hawkers of fruit fish and vege-
tables are by no means unkind in the treat
ment of their donkeys. The pace at which
the costers asses travel, the distances they
complete in day with well balanced load
on their clever 'go-carts, and the sleek an
pearance of the animals prove that In the
main they are well treated-often better
treated than the costers' wives-and they
must be well fed. The owner of a very
fast donkey on the Brighton road In an
sWer TO an inquiry as to how he fed him
replied: Like a race hosS.'"