THE Ass. 97

rative expression, denoting that even the meanest things
were consecrated to the Lord; and with regard to the bells,
it seems that they are still used in western Asia, both on
the camels and horses employed in the caravans, the con-
stant jingling forming a charactenstic feature in an oriental
journey. This is the only purpose for which the orientals
use bells; they are about the size of our common house-
bells, and usually each animal has only one, though some-
times the leader is ornamented with several, which are hung
on the neck.

Asinus.—The Ass. (Plate V. Asinus Hemionus, the
Wild Ass.)

The generic distinctions between this well-known but
frequently ill-used animal, and the horse, are but trifling :
they consist in the greater length of the ears; the tuft at
the end of the tail, which has only very short hair the
greater part of its length; a distinct dorsal line; warts
confined to the fore legs ; and the narrowness of the hoof,
which is better adapted for walking on hard surfaces than
that of its more valued relative. The domestic ass is sup-
posed to be descended from the wild ass, Asinus Hemionue,
called Para in the Scriptures, and thus mentioned in Job
xxxix.: “Who hath sent out the wild ass free, or who hath

H