124 AGRICULTURE. 



Under the pack or saddle, 300 pounds is the or- 

 dinary load for a horse ; but, according to M. Thi- 

 roux, a dragoon horse carries 340 pounds. This 

 includes the weight of the rider and of his arms, 

 accoutrements, and baggage. The well-known ex- 

 periment of Marshal Saxe shows the maximum of 

 horse power in this respect. He directed that a 

 strong and vigorous horse, while in motion, should 

 be loaded until he fell. The effect was not produ- 

 ced until the load amounted to 1200 weight.* 



II. Of the Mule. 



This is the well-known product of a jack and a 

 mare, or of a horse and a jenny, the name given to 

 a female ass. Their advantages over the horse 

 are, that they are more patient of hunger and heat ; 

 less nice or delicate with regard to their food ; sus- 

 tain better, and for a longer time, fatigues of all 

 kinds ; carry heavier burdens ; are more sure foot- 

 ed ; less liable to sickness, and live to a much 

 greater age. In Italy and Spain they are much 

 employed in harness, and in the mountainous parts 

 of those countries for the saddle. Their value and 

 qualities, however, depend principally on the size 

 of the jack : if he be large, active, and strong, his 

 progeny will be proportionably valuable. Nothing, 

 therefore, can be more ill-judged than employing 

 small jacks. f 



IIL Of the Cow and the Ox. 



It was long supposed that this animal was a na- 

 tive of Europe, and that the Auroch, found wild in 

 the forests of Poland, was the type of the species. 

 The researches into comparative anatomy of Cu- 

 vier have overthrown this theory, and men of sci- 

 ence now substitute for it another, viz., that the 

 cow is a native of Asia, and has thence been trans- 



* See Fourcroy (of the corps of engineers) on the powers of 

 the horse, quoted by the Nouveau Cours d'Agriculture. 



t The asses of Arabia, Egypt, and the Barbary Coast are the 

 best In Sicily is a race of inferior size, but of great power* 

 See Sonnmi's Supplement to Buffon on this animal. 



