74 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



This should not be understood as ignoring the other colors, for 

 some of the best mules ever seen were the produce of gray or light- 

 colored mares, as many dealers and breeders will attest. The mare 

 should be well bred ; that is, she would give better results by having 

 some good crosses. By all means let her have a cross of thorough- 

 bred, say one-quarter, supplemented with strong crosses of some of 

 the larger breeds, and the balance of the breeding may be made up 

 of the better class of the native stock. The mare should have good 

 length, large, well-rounded barrel, good head, long neck, good, broad, 

 flat bone, broad chest, wide between the hips, and good style. 



How to Breed the Mule. The dam should be bred about the 

 first of April in the latitude of Tennessee, and at other places as the 

 season opens, according to climate. Before being bred, to prevent 

 accidents, the mare should be hobbled or pitted. Having taken this 

 precaution, the jack may be brought out, and both will be ready for 

 service. Care should be taken not to overserve the jack, as he should 

 not be allowed to serve over two mares a day, and not nearer than 

 eight hours apart. 



The mare, after being served, may be put to light work, or put 

 upon some quiet pasture by herself for several days until she passes 

 out of season, when she may be turned out with other stock to run 

 until the eighteenth day, when she should be taken up to be teased 

 by a horse, to ascertain if she be in season, and if so, she should be 

 bred again. Some breeders think the ninth, some the twelfth, and 

 some the fifteenth day after service is the proper day to tease, but 

 observation has taught us that the best results come from the eigh- 

 teenth-day plan. After she becomes impregnated she should have 

 good treatment; light work will not hurt her, but care should be 

 taken not to overexert. She should have good, nutritious grass if 

 she runs out and is not worked, but if worked she should be well fed 

 on good feed. The foal will be due in about three hundred and thir- 

 ty-three days. As the time approaches for foaling the mare should 

 be put in a quiet place, away from other stock, until the foal is 

 dropped. She will not need any extra attention, as a rule, but 

 should be looked after to see that everything goes right. 



After the foal comes it will not hurt the mare or colt for the 

 dam to do light work, provided she is well fed on good, nutritious 

 food. Should she not be worked and is on good grass, and fed lightly 

 on grain, the colt will grow finely, if the mare gives plenty of milk ; 

 if she does not the foal should be taught to eat such feed as is most 

 suitable. 



Feeders, dealers, and buyers prefer the mare mule to the horse, 

 and they sell more readily. The females mature earlier, are plumper 

 and rounder of body, and fatten more readily than the male. When 

 carried to the Southern market, where the buffalo gnats exist, these 

 pests trouble the males more by biting their sheaths. The males are 

 also more leggy and angular of body, are slower in maturing, and, 

 as a rule, must be older to fatten readily. 



In weaning the colt, much is accomplished by proper treat- 

 ment, preparatory to this trying event in the mule's life. It should 

 be taught to eat while following its mother, so that when weaned it 



