178 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



quality. They range in height from 13-2 to 15-2 hands and weigh from 

 750 to 1,100 pounds. 



Sugar mules are those shipped south to use on the sugar farms of 

 Georgia, Louisiana, and other Southern States. They are taller, larger, 

 and more breedy looking than cotton nuiles and have heavier bone. 

 They stand from 10 to 17 hands and weigh from 1,150 to 1,300 pounds. 



Farm mules are those purchiused to be used on the farms of the 

 Central States. They are somewhat lacking in uniformity of type and 

 many of them are young and somewhat thin in flesh. An average height 

 is from 15-2 to 16 hands and weigh from 900 to 1,250 pounds. 



Draft mules arc large heavy boned, heavy set mules that possess quality 

 and niggedness. They are used in cities for heavy teaming and by con- 

 tractors for all kinds of heavy work, such as railroad grading, etc. They 

 range in height from 16 to 17-2 hands and weigh from 1,200 to 1,600 

 pounds and upward. 



The grades distinguish the good from the poor aninuds within the 

 classes and subclasses. The grades are choice, good, medium, common, 

 and inferior. 



An animal to grade as "choice" must be sound and iip[)roa.ch the ideal 

 type, possess quality and finish, have good style and action, and be in 

 good condition. A ''good" animal should possess the essential qualities 

 of his class but need not have the quality, condition, and finish neces- 

 sary to grade as choice. A horse or nuile of "medium" grade is likely to 

 bo ))l;iiii in bis makc-ui) willi a tendency toward coarseness, and some- 

 what of a lack of symmetry and condition. A lack of style, action, or 

 soundness may also cause him to grade as medium. The lowest grade 

 found in many of the classes is "connnon." Such individuals are Avant- 

 ing in most of the essential qualities that go to make them desiral)le. 

 An "inferior" animal is of the lowest possible grade. 



Owing to the fact that the point where two classes or grades meet and 

 merge into each other is not always distinct, it is sometimes difficult to 

 say just where certain animals that are not clearly typical should be 

 classified. Again, if the demand exceeds the supply it is sometimes neces- 

 sary to temporarily draw from a similar class of animals, or the price 

 may advance and in this way equalize the demand. If. on account of a 

 meager demand or an excess supply the price should drop, it is some- 

 times necessary to place some animals of one class in another, i. e., they 

 will be purchased by a different class of trade. 



The breed to which a horse belongs has but little influence upon hi? 

 market value and the classes are not determined by the breeds, but by the 

 individuality and conformation of the horse; however, a judicious use of 

 choice pure-bred sires is best suited for the production of marketable 

 horses. 



