£825.] 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



67 



Andprson, who, in his " Rpcreatinns in Agriciil-I to him on the subject; this grntlnm:!n with his our sonthern country ; Ihey live longer, eat les', 

 fure," has made a few judicious rennarlis on the j characteristic urbiinitv, very prom[)tly fnrMiihed and above all, are hetter suited to onr slave?, 

 gulijpct. ' leplip?, with lihcrly to m:iko ^iicli use oC them as than any other animal could possibly be ; their 



In Sir Georcre Stauntnu's account of fiOrd Mi- ' I [deaaed, and 1 cannot do belicr lli.m to transcribe | strensjlli, patient endurance of privation and 

 cartnev's embassy to China, we are told that them from a If tier rpceived about three years haril'hips, ^lender paslurawe, exposure — and in 

 mules are valued in that ecnnomical empire, at jsmce. Mr. Cus|i« observes ; j short, all those ills to which animals are subject 



a much higher price th,m horses. In our own "Rovai. Gift and Kmi.ht of Malta, were sent i where slaves are their masters, give to mules a 

 country prior to (be war of the revolution, a tew : to General Washington about the year 1787 ; — • decided preference in all the agricultnral stales 

 Jacks of an ordinary kind were imported — a ihe G'!/!, with a .Irnnht, a present from the King ! of the south. 



small number of mules bred; and all exported oJ'Spam; and saiil to have been selected (rnni I '' I tlo not know of any being trained to the 

 to Ih" West Indies. I have reference to New ; the royal slud. The Kniiihl 1 believe was from i purposes of pleasure carriages. Tbey are olt- 

 Enffland as I am not aware that anv attention the Marquis de la I'ayelte, and shipped frnns Mar- ' en ridden, and go pleasanllv, with great suretv 

 was paid to the svsiem in the Middle, or South- : seilles. The Gift was a huge and ill sbapen .lack, i of loot. I have no doubt but that in time they 

 ern slates. Ibough it is not imiuobable that some near sixteen hands high, verv large head, clum- : will generally be used for carriages, and would 

 •valuable mules may have been raised by the sy limb«. and to all appearance little calcnlatp<! particularly suit mail coaches; they are very 



system of breeding mules commenced, the best 

 calculated to deteriorate any race of animals that 

 has been or could be devised since their creation. 

 The purchaser of a .Tack, when about to com- 

 mence mule-dealer, made little inquiry concern- 

 ing him but of his cajiacity to propa^a'.e a miile 



vices were found so valuable, and the economy 

 of using those animals so evident, that 1 was 



and several careoes of the small race of .lacks ' moderate size, clean limbed, great activity, the | in the frisrate Cnnstilution, on her return I think 

 were imi'orled Irom the Cape de Verd islands, tire and ferocitv o! a tiger, a dark brown, ne.irly ■ from her first cruise in the Mediterranean ; andf 

 and St. Vlicliael's, one of the Azores. It should hlack colour, white belly and mnz/.le; could only ; I have understood, was sold in the District of 

 be observed that the exportation of Jacks from i be managed by one groom, ami that always at j Columbia, or one of the adjoining slates. Sincd 

 Spain, or any of her cobmies, was strictly pro- I considerable personal risk. He lived to a great that time a number have been introduced by 

 hibited, and continued to be till alter the Penin- j ;)gp, iind was so infirm towards the la«t as In re- ; oilicers of the nnvij from .Malla, — and the larg« 

 sular war. There might have been, however, , qnjre /j'/'/w;''. He died on my estate in New ; .S'/JO)n"s.^ trcpi/ fioni jl/jmirro and .'l/o/orca. From 

 a few smuggled from Ihe Spanish part of His-| Kent, in the slate of Virginia, about 1802 or 3. ' the Mount Vernon and those slocks, some fine 

 iianiola into Cape Francois, and from thence in.! His mules were all active, spirited, and service-! mules have been bred in the middle states, and 

 troduced, but tliev were vastly inferior to the j able; and tVom s(()»( marps attained considerable [ probably farlher sonlh. A few valuable .VaJ/e.ta 

 Spanish Jacks. From this miserable stock a size. jjacks have been imported in mercliant ships. 



'■ ' ' '^~ ' ' '-General Washington bred a favourite Jack j The impressions received, when on a visit to 



called CoMPOi'Nn, from the cross of Spanish and the West Indies in my youth, by observing, on 

 Maltese. The /i'mV/(i upon liie imported i-'p in- : Ihe sugar plantations, ibe severe labour per- 

 ish Jennet. Tliis Jack was ,t very superior ani- | formed by mules in cave mills, induced me « hen 

 mal ; very long bodied, well set with all the ! I commenced larminar. to purchase the first well 

 qualities of Ihe Knight, and the weight of the i broke mule I could light on; and notwilbsland- 

 He [ilaced him in a district where ihere was the ' Spanish. He was sire of some of the finest mules ! ing he was so small as to require a vehicle ami 

 crreatest number of mares of qualities so inferior ] at Mount Vernon, and died Irom accident. The harness conslrncted purposely for him, his ser- 

 that their colts would not cnmpeosalp their own- General bred mules from his best coach mares, 

 ers for the expense of taking them to a /!f<rse. ! and found Ihe value of Ihe mule to bear a jn«l , 



pro|ioilion to the value of the dam. Four moles ! stimulated to great exertions for procuring seve- 



sold at the sale ol' his effects, for iifiwards of ^flOO< ' ral others of larger size ; in this 1 succeeded, 



and two more pairs at ufiwards of ^ 100 each | after great difTiciilly, to such an extent, as to 



pair: one pair of these mules were nearly six- j have bad more labour performed by them on 



teen hands high. The only Jacks I know of at j /or/H and root/, for thirty years past, than any 



present, of the genuine Mount Vernon slock, person I presume, in New England ; and every 



are, one sold bv me to Judge .lobnson, of Soulh ■ day's experience has served to fortify my convic- 



Carolina, for five hundied didlars, at two vears ! lion of Ihe superior utility of the mule over the 



old; one given by me to William Filzhugh, Esq, ' Iiorse, for all the purposes for which 1 have 



of Knvensworth, and one which I believe is pos- propo.^ed him as a candidate. And it should be 



sessed by my uncle, George Calvert, V.'O. of : considered, that those I have used were of an 



Riversdale. j ordinary breed, vastly inferior to such as may 



"The Jack purchased by Judge Johnson, 1 ; be easily produced in our country, by attention 



have understood, has a very high reputation in ! to the introduction of a suitable race of Jucks, 



the south. .^ j anil a proper system of breeding and manage- 



" Upon losing my groom (Peter) who was the ment. The question occurs, how is this to be 



first and last groom to the Mount Vernon Jacks, I effected ? I will premise, that there exists h 



I parted with my slock. i strong analogy between three varieties of the 



" There are many Jacks thai have come inio horse, ami those of the domestic ass, considered 



the country of late vears, but of their value and ! Ihe most valuable. We have the Arabian, the 



properties 1 am unable to speak : though I tMU-\ hunter, and Ihe stout carl-horse. There is the 



er presume that they are generally small, and j heavy .S/)«nis/i ./^nct, with long slouching ears, 



only hlted to get mules for the cotton ciilliva- 1 which Mr Custis has described, that answers to 



lion in the light lands of the south. Some very! the cnrt-horse ; another Spanish breed Called 



tine mules are raised about Hagaistown, Marv-'the Andahisian, wilh ears shorter and erect, ot" 



laud, from Jacks of the old breed ; they are bred tolerable size, plenty of bone, active, more spir- 



ffom stout vvagon mares. ited, and answering to the hunter. Then comes 



" As to my opinion of the value of mules, 1 the Arabian Jack, wilh ears always erect, of n 



shall always appear extravagant. I have scarce delicate form, fine limbs, and full of fire and 



a horse on my estates for agriculliiral purposes, spirit. Judicious crosses from these varieties, 



nor would I accept of one as a gift, (except for 



road wagons) of which 1 have no need, as my 



and cnntrncted to purchase tbeii' mules at (our 

 nionlbs old. Those ;:re kept in heids, with pre- 

 carious shelter in winter, havin'j- ample oppor- 

 tunities afforded Iheni to mature and iran-fer that 

 propensity ior kicking, which seems at first 

 merely pla} ful, into an habiiu il means of defence, 

 to be exercised when the hiped or anv other race 

 of animals approach ihem. In l\\\^ kicking sem- 

 inary tbey remain two years, ;ind are then driv- 

 en to market. At subsequent periods a few 

 ■ Jacks of hig'ier grades were procured, from 

 which a small number of gooil sized mules were 

 bred and a few of them broke. The breed of 

 Jacks have somewhat improved, and m\de ihnlers 

 are now located in most of the New Eoii^land 

 states and some parts of New York. But the 

 system as above detailed, with few exceptions, 

 has continued ; and li is from such a race of .lacks 

 and such a system of breeding and management, 

 that Ihe mules have been produced wilh v hich 

 the farmers and planters of Maryland. Vira;iuia, 

 Rnd the Southern slates have been supplied from 

 New England ; anil such have furnished a crite- 

 rion for a great portion of our countrymen to 

 form an eslimale of the value and properties of 

 this degraded animal. It affords great pleasure 

 ■ to he eoableil, for a short lime at least, to pur- 

 Sue our investigations in a higher sphere. 



Several of my friends who had viewed the 

 Jacks and mules, at Mount Vernon, in the life 

 time of General Washington, gave such glowing 

 descriptioDS of Ihem, and umlersiandiiig that part 

 of that stock was inherited by Gforge W. P. Cus- 

 iis, Esq. I was induced to address a few queries 



will be requisite to produce such kiod of mules 

 as may be wanted for general purposes. From 



propeitv lies upon navigable water. Nothing l Ihe small Jack of .'2/ri'cnn origin, with a /;'.!« down 

 ever was so good as mules for the uses of this, 'bis bacli and shoulders, are bred a small race of 



