I04 BREEDING AND REARING OF 



"The mane is long and fine, the skin smooth, the 

 hair fine and silky in texture. We give great pref- 

 erence to large feet, for which this breed is noted. 

 The skin is almost universally black or dark brown. 

 The gray jack, though seldom met, is rejected by 

 good mule breeders. The animals which have the 

 end of the nose black and whose bodies are wholly 

 of this color are said to be lacking in breeding. The 

 skin and coating of the jack is very important, and 

 it is thought that the mules from a jack superior in 

 this respect mature earlier." 



Such is Mr. Ayrault's description of them. I will 

 add that these jacks are physically the most power- 

 ful of any race in existence ; they have greater weight 

 and more bone and substance generally. They are 

 not exceedingly tall, their legs being extremely short, 

 but in a cross with a mare of fair size the mule will 

 be found to have all the height desired. The first 

 impression one gains of a Poitou is not a favorable 

 one. They are never trimmed or groomed in Poitou, 

 and we are not accustomed to their long hair and 

 bulky appearance. It gives them the appearance of 

 being too short in the neck and ear; but this is a 

 matter of education. 



The demand for these jacks is such that it cannot 

 be supplied, and even French breeders in certain parts 

 of the country are forced to use the Catalonian and 

 Majorca, though they acknowledge the superiority 

 of the Poitou. Their price is enough to stagger one. 

 Mr. Ayrault says that $i,ooo to $1,200 is ordinary, 

 while $2,000 for a single animal is not uncommon. 

 I am in receipt of a letter from a friend of mine in 

 France, who writes me that a three-year-old Poitou 



