MULES AND JACKS 185 



surefootedness and steadiness ; if bold courage is required, 

 by the great demands made, it is the mule that is drafted 

 into service, because it is well known that he will be found 

 equal to the occasion. He is found in the cotton-fields 

 of the Black-belt, in the sugar-fields of the South, on the 

 stiff prairie lands of the West, and on the difficult moun- 

 tain trails. The mule has been born and bred to this 

 environment^ In it he serves better than any other 

 beast of burden, for he asks less and does more ; because 

 he enjoys immunity to disease in a large measure ; his 

 span of life is many years ; and his demands on his master 

 are few, simple and reasonable. 



The mule also has place as a saddle and carriage ani- 

 mal, notably in parts of the South and central West. 



218. Feeding. There is a prevailing opinion that 

 mules may be fed on less food than horses of the same size 

 and weight ; but this is an error. While it may be true 

 that the mule will utilize inferior feeding-stuffs to a better 

 advantage than his more aristocratic contemporaries, 

 still, to do the work that he is called on to do, he requires 

 a quantity of food equally as great as that of his horse 

 relatives. The mule has marked preference for certain 

 foods, or a marked dislike for other foods, a discrimina- 

 tion even more sensitive than that of the horse. 



219. Distribution. An English writer describes the 

 distribution of mules as follows : " The mule line extends 

 north from the equator, including Africa and Europe, 

 up to 45 of latitude, and in Asia and North America 

 as far as 35. On the south side of the equator 

 we can include most of Africa, the northern part of 

 Australia and South America, as far south as 35. Within 

 this vast radius hundreds of thousands of mules are bred 

 each year. Many of the mules are big, heavy animals, 



