BREEDING, STOCK-RAISINa, ETC. 459 



who use them. On the score of economy, also, they deserve 

 all the favor that has been awarded them in those sections, 

 and vastly more than they commonly receive at the North. 

 , The mule does not eat more than from one-half to three- 

 fifths as much as the horse, which, when feed is high, is an 

 item of importance. 



Though not wholly exempt from disease, the mule is in- 

 comparably a healthier animal than the horse, particularly 

 on the Southern plantations, where most of the latter race 

 were originally brought from other latitudes. As to his ca- 

 pabilities for service, not only is he the equivalent of horse- 

 power, but he will last more than double the number of 

 years that his more pretentious congener will. The aver- 

 age period of service of the horse is about ten years, begin- 

 ning at the age of three, and, although some -horses last 

 considerably longer than this, there are quite as many that 

 fail before completing their thirteenth year. The average 

 period of service of th6 mule is nearly, or quite, twenty-five 

 years. He sometimes begins to fail at twenty years old, and 

 in other cases remains as good as ever until nearly thirty. 

 Few of his race are worth much after that age. One mule, 

 then, in his lifetime, will ordinarily do the work of more 

 than two horses, at an expense each year of from thirty-five 

 to fifty per cent, less in keeping. 



Another important consideration is, that the mule thrives 

 best on dry feed and grain unground. How far otherwise 

 it is with the horse our reiterations have already acquainted 

 the reader in the preceding chapters. The horse's feed should 

 be all chopped or ground ; his diet should be light and moist ; 

 and corn is unquestionably injurious to him, especially when 

 he has to bite it from the cob. Just the reverse of all this 

 suits the mule best. Corn, which is his favorite food, never 

 appears to have any ill-eflects upon his system, and nothing 

 is better adapted to his needs than dry hay, if it be good 

 and sweet. This is an item of some consequence when the 

 saving of the miller's toll — never less than one-eighth — and 

 the time and labor of going to mill are all reckoned up. It 



