THE ASS 



59 



4 -" • * 1 



these jacks are bred to a very large, drafty, powerful type of 

 mare, native to that region, from which are produced big mules 

 of the most valuable kind. As yet jacks of this breed have not 

 been brought to America to much of an extent, but they are 

 generally regarded with favor wherever introduced. 



The desirable height for a jack depends upon the use. If to 

 be mated to a mare, about 1 5 hands meets approval, while if for 

 jennet service, a larger type is sought, ranging nearer 16 hands. 

 In an examination of heights 

 of jacks in the American 

 jack studbook 100 individ- 

 uals averaged 15.2 hands 

 high, practically 15! hands. 

 Of the first 100 registered 

 whose height was given the 

 lowest was 14 and the high- 

 est i6J hands, but nine per 

 cent coming within the 16- 

 hands measure. Twenty- 

 five Catalonian jacks had an 

 average height of 15, and 

 seven Majorca 15.2 hands. 

 Fifty jennets showed an 

 average height of 14.48 or 

 14^ hands. Tegetmeier and Sutherland give the height of the 

 Poitou jack as 13^ to 15, and of the jennets as 13 to 14 hands. 

 In 1877 Richardson described the Poitou ass as standing from 

 13! to 14! hands, while Sessions says they rarely exceed 14^ 

 hands. The large jack of 16 hands or more is not desired, for 

 he frequently breeds a leggy mule that does not weigh as well as 

 those sired by a shorter-legged type of jack. The rules of the 

 American Breeders' Association of Jacks and Jennets on the sub- 

 ject of height are as follows : 



Fig. 61. Lisa and foal. The first-prize Poitou 

 jennet at Nantes, France, 1901. Notice the 

 long, rough coat of hair. Photograph from 

 James B. McLaughlin 



2. Up to January 1, 1892, all jacks 141 and all jennets 14 hands high, 

 standard measure, shall be eligible to registration, if black with light points. 



3. After January 1, 1892, jacks and jennets of unrecorded sire or dam 

 shall be eligible to registration only when black with light points, and of 

 the following height, standard measure : 



