28 THE MULE. 



American mules that liad rested five Lours, and had 

 tlie same forage. The breed, of course, has something 

 to do with this. But th^ animal is smaller, more com- 

 pact than our mules, and, of course, it takes less to fill 

 him up. It stands to reason, that a mule with a body 

 half as large as a hogshead cannot satisfy his hunger 

 in the time it would take a small one. This is the 

 secret of small mules outlasting large ones on the 

 prairies. It takes the large one so long to find enough 

 to eat, when the grass is scanty, that he has not time 

 enough for rest and recuperation. 1 often found them 

 leaving camp, in the morning, quite as hungry and dis- 

 couraged as they were when we halted the previous 

 evening. "With the small mule it is difierent. He gets 

 enough to eat, quick, and has time to rest and refresh 

 himself. The Spanish or Mexican mule, however, is 

 better as a pack animal, than for a team. They are 

 vicious, hard to break, and two-thirds of them kick. 



In looking over a book, with the title of " Domestic 

 Animals," I notice that the author, Mr. E. L. Allen, 

 has copied from the official report of the Agricultural 

 Committee of South Carolina, and asserts that a mule 

 is fit for service sooner than a horse. This is not true ; 

 and to prove that it is not, I will give what I consider 

 to be ample proof. In the first place, a mule at three 

 years old is just as much and even more of a colt than 

 a horse is. And he is as much out of condition, on ac- 

 count of cutting teeth, distemper, and other colt ail- 

 ments, as it is possible to be. Get a three year old mule 

 tired and fatigued, and in nine cases out of ten he will 

 get so discouraged that it will be next to impossible to 



