76 FARM ANIMALS 



In order to breed mules successfully it is desirable 

 to know something of the different breeds of jacks 

 which have been used for this purpose. 



Poitou Jack. We may start with this breed 

 which originated in France and has been used in 

 the production of mules for many years. At pres- 

 ent more than 50,000 mares are used exclusively 

 in France for mule breeding and this breed of jack 

 is almost the only one concerned. The Poitou jack 

 was the last breed of jack to be imported into the 

 United States. His head is very large with com- 

 paratively small mouth and large ears. The chest 

 is unusually broad and the abdomen large. The 

 bones of the legs and feet are large and this point 

 is of importance in mule breeding since the most 

 important parts in so far as the jack is concerned is 

 to gain as much size and strength as possible in the 

 mule. The Poitou is perhaps the most powerful 

 of all breeds of jacks and on account of the recent 

 demand for them in mule breeding the price has 

 been driven to extremely high figures, the ordinary 

 figures being about $1200 and occasionally reach- 

 ing as high as $3500. The prevailing color of the 

 Poitou jack is a black or dark brown, and this is 

 the color chiefly desired in mules. 



The Andalusian was the first breed to be im- 

 ported into the United States. It comes from the 

 southern part of Spain, is gray with an occasional 

 black or brown. On account of its color it is not 

 so popular as the dark breeds of jacks for mule 

 raising. The height is about fourteen and one- 

 half hands and the legs are of fair size and strength. 



The Maltese jack comes from the island of 

 Malta and was the second breed to reach the 

 United States. They are the smallest of the 

 Spanish breeds, rarely standing higher than four- 



