BREEDS OF HORSES 75 



Avill at once know how to subsist on that which is fed to it. The best 

 way to wean is to take several colts and place them in a close barn, 

 with plenty of good, soft feed, such as bran and oats mixed, plenty 

 of sound, sweet hay, and in season, cut-grass, remembering at all 

 times that nothing can make up for w r ant of pure water in the sta- 

 ble. Many may be weaned together properly. After they have re- 

 mained in the stable for several days they may be turned on good, 

 rich pasture. Do not forget to feed, as this is a trying time. The 

 change from a lactic to a dry diet is severe on the colt. They may 

 all be huddled in a barn together, as they seldom hurt each other. 

 Good, rich clover pastures are fine for mules at this age, but if they 

 are to be extra fine, feed them a little grain all the while. 



There is little variety in the feed until the mules are 2 years old, 

 at which time they are very easily broken. If halter-broken as they 

 grow up, all there is to do in breaking one is to put on a harness 

 and place the young animal beside a broken mule, and go to work. 

 When it is thoroughly used to the harness the mule is already 

 broken. Light work in the spring when the mule is 2 years old will 

 do no hurt, but in the opinion of many breeders and dealers make it 

 better, provided it is carefully handled and fed. 



How to Fatten the Mute. This is one of the most important 

 parts of mule-raising, for when the mule is offered to a buyer he 

 will at once ask, "Is he fat?" and fat goes far in effecting a sale. A 

 rough, poor mule could hardly be sold, while if it is fat the buyer 

 will take it because it is fat. 



The sugar mule should be placed in the barn with plenty of 

 room, and not much light, about the 1st of November, before it is 2 

 years old, and -fed about 12 ears of corn per day and all the nice, 

 well-cured clover hay it will eat, and there kept until about the 1st 

 of April. Then in the climate of middle Tennessee the clover is 

 good, and the mule may be turned out on it, and the corn increased 

 to about 20 ears or more per day. They will then eat more grain, 

 without fear of "firing" ; that is, heating so as to cause scratches, as 

 the green clover removes all danger from this source. During the 

 time they run on the clover they eat less hay, but this should always 

 be kept by them. About the 1st of May, the clover blooms, and is 

 large enough to cut, in the latitude of Tennessee. The mules should 

 be placed, then, in the barn, with a nice, smooth lot attached, and 

 plenty of pure water. A manger should be built in the lot, 4 feet 

 wide by 4 feet high, and long enough to accommodate the number 

 of mules it is desired to feed. This snould be covered over 'by a shed 

 high enough for the mule to stand under, to prevent the clover from 

 wilting. The clover should be cut while the dew is on, as this pre- 

 serves the aroma, and they like it better. While this is going on in 

 the lot, the troughs and racks in the barn should be supplied with all 

 the shelled corn the mules will eat. "Why shell it?" some one will 

 ask. Because they eat more of it, and relish it. A valuable addition 

 at all times consists of either short-cut sheaf oats, or shelled oats, 

 and bran, if not too expensive. 



From the 1st to the 15th of June barley is harvested in this 

 latitude, and it should be ground coarsely. The mules should be fe4 



