REMARKS ON THE USE OF MULES. 151 



days old^ of an animal wliicli is labelled as tlie produce of 

 a mare by a male mule ; but the writer was assured by 

 M. Milne-Edwards tbat too much dependence must not be 

 placed on the statement, as no really authentic information 

 is forthcoming on the subject. 



The gelding mule is more generally employed than the 

 stallion, and, as may be readily imagined, is much more 

 manageable and tractable, but does not bring the same 

 price in the market as the female. 



The following hint to mule breeders may not be con- 

 sidered out of place. The presence of mules of any age in 

 a paddock or on a prairie where foaling mares are kept 

 should not be tolerated for an instant, supposing that such 

 mares are permitted to foal down in the open. On the 

 birth of the foals, be they mules or horses, they would 

 most certainly be at once killed by the mules out of pure 

 mischief. This often happens in the United States to 

 inexperienced breeders. 



In the desultory remarks contained in this chapter, the 

 writer has endeavoured to place fairly before his readers 

 the advantages and disadvantages attaching to the use of 

 mules, derived from practical experience of these animals 

 for many years. 



