238 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



labor, largely em])loyed by a numerous class, and meriting more 

 attention than they have yet received. Great numbers of she- 

 asses are kept about London and the larger towns for their 

 milk, which is a mild, salutary, and nutritious beverage." 



Li Persia and Arabia very lively and good-looking asses are 

 bred which are highly esteemed for the saddle, and which are 

 but slightly removed from the wild asses found in these coun- 

 tries. 



The male asses are called jacks, and females jennies, and the 

 best animals for mule breeding, which is their most important 

 use, are brought from the island of Malta. 



The first Maltese jack imported into this country was sent by 

 La Fayette as a present to Washington, by whom he was highly 

 prized, in the 'year 1787. He was called the "Knight of 

 Malta," and is described as " of moderate size, great activity, 

 clean-limbed, having the fire and ferocity of a tiger, and of a 

 dark brown color, with white belly and muzzle." 



Formerly many jacks were imported into Xew Haven from 

 the Cape Verde Islands, and distributed through Connecticut 

 and the other New England States. They were, however, of 

 inferior quality, and the mules got by them of little value. 

 More recently many fine jacks have been imported from Malta 

 and Spain, and employed chiefly in the States of New Jersey, 

 Ohio, and Kentucky, where the finest mules in the world are 

 now bred. 



THE MULE. 



The mule is the offspring of the jack and the mare, and like 

 most hybrid animals is incapable of reproduction. These most 

 serviceable creatures have been used for riding and carrying 

 burdens, and occasionally for draught, from the earliest times, 

 being mentioned in the book of Genesis even before horses. 

 They combine the size and activity of the horse with the form 

 and hardihood of the ass, while they surpass them both in sure- 

 footedness and longevity. They are less easily fatigued than 

 horses, and recover much more rapidly and certainly when 

 worn down, or injured by excessive work. They are quite as 

 spirited as horses, walk as fast and pull more steadily. They 

 are better kept at two-thirds the cost and much less liable to 

 disease, rarely becoming lame and never foundered nor broken- 



