194 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



large bone, foot, body, and substance, and pos- 

 sess great strength, but they are wanting in that 

 high style, finish, and fine hair that characterize the 

 produce of some of the states further south, and 

 are longer in maturing. Mule-breeding in these 

 states is one of the most important branches of in- 

 dustry, and is supposed to date back prior to 1787. 



" There is no kind of labor to which a horse can 

 be put for which a mule may not be made to an- 

 swer, while there are many for which mules are 

 more peculiarly adapted than horses ; and among 

 the rest, that of mining, where the mule is used, 

 and many of them need no drivers. They can en- 

 dure more hardships than the horse, can live on 

 less, and do more work on the same feed than 

 any other beast of burden we use in America. 



"A cotton-planter in the South would feel un- 

 willing to raise his crop with horses for motive 

 power. The horse and the labor of the cotton belt 

 could not harmonize, while the negro is at home 

 with the mule. 



"A mule may be worked until completely 

 fagged, when a good feed and a night's rest will 

 enable it to go; but it is not so with a horse. 



