PART II. 

 MULES AND MULE BREEDING. 



CHAPTER XI. 

 THE UTILIZATION OF MULES. 



It is a remarkable circumstance that the utility of mules 



is a fact that requires to be demonstrated in England at 



the present time, although it is freely acknowledged and 



extensively acted upon in almost all othei* civilized 



countries employing horse labour to any great extent. In 



France the agricultural interest of a large portion of 



the west central districts mainly depends upon mule 



breeding, as many as 50,000 mares being annually 



maintained for the purpose of breeding the magnificent 



Poitou heavy draught mules, which command a much 



higher price than horses of similar standard. In Spain 



and Italy the employment of mules is proverbial. In 



America a hundred years ago mules were viewed with the 



same amount of prejudice that they are in England at the 



present time. Now, perhaps, the greater portion of the 



agricultural labour in that country is performed by mules, 



ot* whose advantages the acute Americans are firmly 



convinced by the most potent of all reasoning, that of 



experience, and large consignments of the best European 



donkeys are constantly being made to the States for the 



purpose of mule breeding. Our military operations Avhen 



on active service caunot be carried on in foreign countries 



without the aid of mules, inasmuch as horses are utterly 



