It is perhaps not surprising that the earliest book treating of Mules was written by a Spaniard,* seeing that Spain has long been famous for these animals, and the Spanish Asses are celebrated for their size, height, and elegant build. A writer on Asses and Mules, whose essay has escaped notice by both Capt. Huth and the authors of the volume before us, comments on the height of Spanish Asses (sometimes fifteen hands and upwards), and states that at the date of his remarks (1801) the best of their kind would sell even in Spain at very high prices, fetching sometimes a hundred guineas and more.†

The work of J. E. Ridinger on Horses, Asses, and Mules (folio, 1754) might have been consulted with advantage, if only to direct attention to the excellent illustrations which show the points which were held in estimation at that date as compared with those now in fashion. Then there is the treatise by John Mills, F.R.S. (8vo, 1776), on 'The Breeding, Rearing, and Fitting for Use Horses, Asses, and Mules, with Directions for the Treatment of their Disorders.' Passing over some half-dozen works in German and Italian which followed that of Mills, we come to a volume of similar title and scope by R. L. Allen, which was printed in New York in 1848, and reprinted in 1852. Somewhat nearer to our own time, we find the veterinary work of M. Roche, which deals exclusively with the Ass, and expounds the French method of treatment. We refer to these works merely for the purpose of showing that the recently published volume of Messrs. Tegetmeier and Sutherland is by no means exhaustive, and in several particulars might be materially amplified and improved.

It is a curious fact which seems to be well vouched for, that the duration of life in the Mule considerably exceeds that of either the Horse or the Ass. Capt. Langhorne Wister, of Philadelphia, a well-known breeder of Mules, writes:-"I think I can say that Mules live on an average five years longer, and are able to do heavy work at least seven or eight years longer, than Horses; they thrive on coarser food, and are more free from disease." He

* Manual Diaz, 'Libro de albeyteria, es a saber de los Cavallos y de las Mulas,' folio, Saragossa. 1495. This work has been frequently reprinted; no less than seven editions are mentioned by Huth.

Anderson, Recreations in Agriculture and Natural History,' 1801 vol. iv. pp. 321—334).

'L'Ane. Médecine Vétérinaire,' par A. E. Roche. 12mo. Paris. 1882. ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.-AUG. 1895.

2 B

adds:-"They are very easily broken by those who understand them, but need kind treatment, as they are apt to repel force by force, i. e., by kicking or striking with the forefeet” (p. 78).

On the subject of the non-fertility of Mules we are told (p. 80) that those who have paid the greatest amount of attention to Mule production and Mule industry, know of no instance of a female Mule producing young. A figure is given of a supposed fertile female Mule living at the "Jardin d'Acclimatation" in Paris, but in the opinion of the authors "this is not a case of a fertile Mule breeding, but of an ordinary mare whose female parent was influenced by a first alliance." Its mule-like appearance is singular, possessing, as it does, the short head and long ears of a Mule, as well as a mule-like tail. Some observations on this very animal have been already published in 'The Zoologist' (1888, p. 103), where Mr. Sutherland has remarked that its history is not forthcoming, and if this were unimpeachable, it would, in his opinion, be the sole authenticated case of the kind which he has heard of in an experience of thirty years on the Continent of Europe and in the United States. He adds that in Poitou (where some 50,000 mares are kept for Mule-breeding) all the experienced breeders disbelieved in this Parisian so-called fertile Mule, there being no record in Poitou of a female Mule having produced a foal.

By way of supplement to these remarks, we may direct attention to two other cases upon which Messrs. Tegetmeier and Sutherland offer no comment. In the 'Sporting Magazine' for 1818 (p. 176), will be found an account of a Mule in Suffolk which produced a foal, and another case of the kind is mentioned in 'The Field' of 15th July, 1873, where it is stated that a foal (the produce of a Mule and Donkey) was seen by Mr. E. L. Layard, and was presented for preservation to the Cape Town Museum.

Our pen has run away with us to such an extent on the subject of Mules (to which the second half of the volume before us is devoted), that we find little space left for comment on the remaining chapters, ten in number. These relate to the Horse, including a notice with a figure of Prejevalsky's Horse from central Asia, the wild Asses of Africa (Somaliland) and Asia, the different species of Zebra, and Hybrid Equide, on which some remarks by the late Mr. Jenner Weir will be found in 'The Zoologist' for 1888, p. 102.

The chapter on the Horse, which extends to less than half-adozen pages, is the least satisfactory in the volume, and is disappointing in view of the enormous amount of material which exists for review and utilization. The succeeding chapters on Asses and Zebras contain more information; the illustrations by Mr. Frohawk deserve especial commendation.

Seventeen Trips through Somaliland: a Record of Exploration

and Big Game Shooting, 1885 to 1893. With descriptive Notes on the Wild Fauna of the Country. By Capt. H. G. C. SWAYNE, R.E. Cr. 4to, pp. i-xx, 1-386. With numerous illustrations and maps. London: Rowland Ward & Co. 1895.

6

SOMALILAND is the home of most of the African large game, and at the present time affords one of the best and most accessible of hunting grounds. Not many months ago we had occasion to notice Lord Wolverton's Five Months' Sport in Somaliland' (Zool. 1894, p. 275), which we were compelled to characterise as "a mere record of shooting which adds nothing to what was previously known concerning the natural history of the country traversed." The same cannot be said of Captain Swayne's book, which stands upon a very different footing. In the first place the result of no less than seventeen different journeys, undertaken between 1884 and 1893, has placed the author in possession of a far better knowledge of the country than was acquired by his predecessor; and in the next place his qualifications as an experienced field naturalist enabled him to profit largely by his opportunities.

There is naturally a considerable sameness in the narratives of African sport and adventure which are published from time to time; the authors pursue and kill the same species of wild animals-Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, Antelopes, and Zebras ; and we imagine that by this time every conceivable condition under which they may be found, and every possible mode in which they may be killed, has been described with more or less variation. On this part of the subject little can remain to be said. But in regard to the haunts and habits of some of the little-known Antelopes, and the precise limits of their range in Africa, we have still something to learn, and it is in this respect

perhaps more than any other that Capt. Swayne's book will be found valuable. In addition we get the benefit of his advice as to routes, and many a useful hint (pp. 331-360) as to equipment, stores, and weapons, invaluable to future explorers.

Capt. Swayne has enjoyed unusual advantages for indulging his love of sport and natural history. At the outset of his travels his age was five-and-twenty. He enjoyed absolute freedom of movement, and at this period had full control of a small escort of Indian cavalry. The sense of responsibility and the prospect of exploring new country filled him with delight and awakened his faculties. When he first entered the interior of Somaliland, in 1885, it was practically an untraversed country, and hitherto though, as he says, unjustly-it had always borne the reputation of being the desert home of bigoted and ferocious savages. His object in writing this book, he tells us, is to present phases of nomadic life in North-east Africa, and to supply detailed information that may prove useful to future travellers and sportsmen in that country. In this, it seems to us, he has admirably succeeded, and although in his preface he modestly characterises what he has written as a mere collection of facts, the careful notes which he has made of all that came within his observation will be found to possess the highest interest for naturalists. Most of the illustrations are reproductions of his own drawings, and although they cannot be said to possess much artistic merit, they convey with sufficient effect the appearance and characteristic attitudes of the wild animals met with as they would strike an observer viewing them for the first time. Some of these sketches look a little grotesque, as, for example, the figure of Clarke's Gazelle on page 312, where a buck of this species is represented as trotting away with his head and neck carried perpendicularly, and a remarkably long tail carried straight up over the back. But this, it seems, is a peculiarity by which it may be distinguished from the allied Waller's Gazelle. An excellent comparison of the two, with a description of their appearance and habits (which, as their long necks would indicate, are very Giraffe-like), is given (pp. 311-313), with figures of the heads and horns.

For a knowledge of one of the largest and one of the smallest Antelopes, namely, the Somali Hartebeest (Bubalis swaynei), "about as large as a Donkey," and the Dik-dik (Madoqua swaynei),

which weighs less than an English Hare, we are chiefly indebted to the author of the book before us. His account of these two species, as indeed of other animals met with by him, is most interesting.

With all his love of sport and adventure, we are glad to note that he counsels moderation in the slaying of big-game, and we feel sure that his remarks (p. 295) on the disappearance of Elephants from certain parts of Somaliland owing to the inconsiderate destruction of the females will commend themselves to every reader of his book.

"In the first enthusiasm of Elephant-shooting," he says, "it is conceivable that a sportsman may shoot two or three cows as well as bulls, as I have done; but there is no reason, except the temptation afforded by very exciting sport, why large numbers of Elephants of both sexes should be destroyed in Somaliland. They do no harm to the few plots of cultivation scattered at wide intervals, and very few Somalis will eat their flesh. Though the