140 MULES AND MULE BREEDING. 



years^ and many foreign jacks have been imported for the 

 purpose ; but, with the exception of the late Mr. Kavanagh 

 and the late Lord Clancarty, no attempt to breed jacks for 

 exportation to the colonies has been made in Ireland. 

 Some three years ago the Congested Districts Board 

 imported several grey Andalusian jacks for breeding pur- 

 poses. In the opinion of the writer, it would have been 

 more expedient to import the *^'' black jack, with mealy 

 points/' from, say, Catalonia. The improved Irish jack 

 stock would in course of time have been available for 

 exportation at good prices to the colonies for mule 

 breeding purposes. 



It will be argued, and with some degree of truth, that 

 grey jacks of the right shape and make will get just as 

 good mules as black. So they will ; but these grey jacks 

 will not bring the same price when offered for sale in the 

 market as mule getters ; and surely it is best to breed the 

 kind of stock that will bring about this desirable result. 

 A few years ago Dr. P., of Nashville, Tennessee, after 

 trying in vain to buy some jacks in Poitou (the prices were 

 too high) went on to the south of Spain. He was not an 

 expert, and in his eyes a jack was a jack. He bought a 

 number of grey ^^ off coloured '^ animals, which he took 

 over to the States for sale. Arrived in Tennessee with his 

 cargo, he found that it was impossible to dispose of them 

 at a remunerative price, and a heavy loss resulted. 



In buying a jack for mule breeding it is requisite to 

 decide whether the mules are required for pack or draught 

 work, and, if the latter, whether for heavy draught or 

 trotting work. If pack mules are wanted, a smaller and 

 less expensive jack is required. Other things being equal, 

 the value of a jack increases with his height. There can 

 be no greater mistake than to employ tall mules for pack 



