l^OTE. 



I HAVE, in another part of this work, spoken of the mule as being free 

 from splint. Perhaps I should have said that I had never seen one that 

 had it, notwithstanding the number I have had to do with. There are, 

 I know, persons who assert that they have seen mules that had it. I 

 ought to mention here, also, by way of correction, that there ia another 

 ailment the mule does not have in common with the horse, and that ia 

 quarter-crack. The same cause that keeps them from having quarter- 

 crack preserves them from splint — the want of front action. 

 * A great many persons insist that a mule has no marrow in the bones 

 of his legs. This is a very singular error. The bone of the mule's leg 

 has a cavity, and is as weU filled with marrow as the horse's. It also 

 varies in just the same proportion as in the horse's leg. The feet of 

 some mules, however, will crack and spht, but in most cases it is the 

 result of bad shoeing. It at times occurs from a lack of moisture to 

 the foot ; and is seen among mules used in cities, where there are no 

 facilities for driving them into running water every day, to soften tlie 

 feet and keep them moist. 



