DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



313 



The Indian ponies and mustangs are the descendants of small 

 horses brought to this country by the early settlers from Spain and 

 France. They are animals of great endurance, but as a rule they 

 are not very gentle or tractable. 



Mules. The mule is a hybrid resulting from crossing a jack on a 

 mare, and is not a true breed. It has been known and valued as a 

 beast of burden since the days of the early Romans and Greeks. 

 Mule raising in the United States dates back to 1787, when George 

 Washington was presented with a fine jack by the king of Spain. 

 Mules are valued chiefly as draft animals, but in some parts of the 

 United States they are used for saddle purposes. Missouri, Ken- 

 tucky, Tennessee, and Texas furnish the most of the mules in use 

 at the present time. For draft purposes they usually command 

 higher prices than horses because of their greater endurance and 

 strength, their resistance to disease, and their great longevity. 

 Cases are on record where mules have lived to seventy years of 

 age and were still able to do effective work at the ago of thirty 



years. 



CATTLE 



Most of the cattle in this country have been developed from 

 English breeds. The use of cattle dates back to the earliest known 

 times, and in some 

 of the early nations 

 cattle and cattle 

 hides were used as 

 money in the ab- 

 sence of circulat- 

 ing medium. 



In the central 

 and western parts 

 of the United 

 States there were 

 formerly great 

 herds of bison, or 

 American buffalo, 

 as they are sometimes called and some of these have been crossed 

 on some varieties of European cattle to good advantage. 



In the Philippine Islands a kind of buffalo is found that serves 



Ox cart, India. 



