50 BREEDING AND REARING OF 



REMINISCENCES OF JACKS AND 

 JACK BREEDERS. 



At a called meeting of the American Breeders' As- 

 sociation of Jacks and Jennets, held at Nashville, 

 Tenn., June 25, 1890, the executive committee ap- 

 pointed me to write an essay or history of our old 

 original jack stock and pioneer breeders of the United 

 States. In undertaking this somewhat difficult task 

 we have to be governed in a great measure by memory, 

 as we have but little literature on the subject of jacks. 

 History informs us that soon after the close of the 

 Revolutionary War the king of Spain presented to 

 General George Washington a Spanish jack and jen- 

 net. General Lafayette, after his return to France, 

 also presented him with a fine jack, which was bred 

 to the Spanish jennet, and produced the famous jack. 

 Compound, which sired some mules that were sold 

 after the General's death for upwards of two hundred 

 dollars each. This gave rise to considerable interest 

 in the breeding of mules, not only in Virginia, but 

 Kentucky, Tennessee and other states soon fell into 

 the same line. 



Perhaps the credit is due the Hon. Henry Clay, of 

 Kentucky, for introducing the fine Spanish jacks into 

 that state. If our memory serves us correctly, he 

 introduced the noted imported jacks, Don Carlos, 

 Ulysses, Black Hawk, etc. These fine imported jacks 

 soon made the blue grass region famous for their 



