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THE RURAL EFFICIENCY GUIDE STOCK 



a suitable room for hanging harnesses. This affords a saving in keeping 

 harnesses dry and away from the stable atmosphere which contains more or 

 less ammonia that tends to rot the leather. 



Where hay chutes are provided and lead from the hay mow to the 

 manger, precautions should be taken to have the opening at the manger large 

 enough to prevent horses getting their heads fast. Getting their heads fast 

 has resulted in their throwing themselves and breaking their necks. Where 

 hay chutes are used, judgment should also be exercised in the amount of hay 

 that is put in the chutes in order to prevent the horses overeating. Stalls 

 should be well bedded with straw, shredded corn stalks, shavings or sawdust. 

 While shavings and sawdust are suitable for bedding, they do not make as 

 good manure for the land as do straw and cornstalks. Horses that are in- 

 clined to eat their bedding may be kept in better condition if shavings and 

 sawdust are used for bedding purposes. 



MULE PRODUCTION. 



The breeding of mules in America dates back to 1878 when the king of 

 Spain presented George Washington with a jack which was used at Mount 

 Vernon and sired mules that sold at high prices. The mule is a hybrid result- 

 ing from the cross of the jack and the mare, and will not breed. Jacks from 

 Spain of the Catalonian breed have been the most popular of several breeds 

 used in America for the production of mules. This breed stands 14*^ to 16 

 hands high and possesses style, size, action and hardiness and early maturing 

 quality that combine to make the desirable qualities a jack should possess 

 to sire the best class of mules. 



Types of Mules. The mule is generally smaller than the horse, being 14 

 to 17 hands high and weighing from 600 to 1,600 pounds. The size of the 

 jack and of the mare determine the type and character of the mule. As a 

 rule, mares of good quality weighing from 1,300 to 1,400 pounds, bred to jacks 

 of good size and quality and action, having heavy bone and long, erect ears, 

 produce mules of the most desirable type. Better prices are usually paid for 

 mare mules than for horse mules. The most desirable color is black with a 

 tan nose and flank. Bay, brown, gray and dun colors are more or less common. 



Hughes, in "Successful Farming," makes the following classification of 

 mules bred in America and handled on the markets in mule breeding sections : 



CLASSIFICATION OF MULES 



