MULES FOB MILITARY SERVICE. 137 



jacks are found too delicate to stand the winter of the 

 Punjab. The Persian are superior to the Arab, and as 

 mule sires are better. Yet. -Major G. J. R. Rayment, the 

 assistant superintendent of the Horse Breeding Depart- 

 ment, North-Western Provinces, agrees fully with Colonel 

 Hallen that the best class of donkey sires for his district 

 is undoubtedly the Italian ^' Razza,^^ of which a typical 

 example is represented in the frontispiece. 



During the present year a report has been received from 

 Lieut. F. A. Thatcher on mule breeding across the Chinese 

 frontier, bordering on the Bhamo district. He states that the 

 extent to which the business of mule breeding is pursued 

 in that country is almost incredible ; that the produce of 

 the mines is carried by meaus of mules and ponies, which 

 are numbered by tens of thousands. Nearly one-half of 

 the pony mares are employed to breed mules, but no 

 hinnies are allowed to be produced. The young mules 

 are taken in hand for training when about two years old. 

 They do an enormous amount of work on a very small 

 quantity of food. 



The rearing of mule stock for army service in India and 

 elsewhere is so important a matter that it has been 

 thought desirable to add the practical directions on mule 

 breeding, written for the use of the horse and mule 

 breeding department in India by Mr. C. L. Sutherland, 

 which will be found in the Appendix. 



