476 TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



throughout the fall and winter months, then gradually decreases 

 until after the cotton crop is planted, or about April. From 

 this time until the following fall, the demand is light. Cotton 

 mules are used by cotton growers to plant, cultivate, and harvest 

 the cotton crop, but a great many such mules are also taken to 

 cities for use on delivery wagons and other purposes. 



Sugar mules. These are mules especially adapted for use 

 on the sugar farms of Georgia, Louisiana, and other southern 

 states. Sugar mules are taller, larger, more breedy looking, 

 better finished, and have heavier bone than cotton mules. The 

 feet should be large in proportion to the bone. They stand 



Fig. 161. Sugar Mule. 



from 16 to 17 hands high, and weigh from 1150 to 1300 pounds. 

 Mare mules from 3 to 6 years old are most desired for this trade. 

 As sugar mules are larger and possess more quality and finish 

 than cotton mules, they sell for a little more money. The trade 

 begins in August, and usually ends in February. They are in 

 greatest demand in September, October, and November. 



Farm mules. Mules purchased for use on farms in the 

 central states are known on the market as farm mules. They 

 are less uniform in type than the other classes, as farmers like 

 to buy animals that show promise of further development. 

 Farm mules are usually from 15-2 to 16 hands high, and from 

 3 to 6 years old, four-year-olds being preferred. They are often 



