56 THE MULE. 



are nearly all alike in shape. They indeed vary as 

 little in neck as they do in feet ; and what I say on the 

 collar will apply to them all. The teamster has always 

 the means in his own hands of remedying a bad fitting 

 collar. If the animal does not work easy in it, if it 

 pinch him somewhere, let it remain in water over 

 night, put it on the animal wet the next morning, and 

 in a few minutes it will take the exact formation of the 

 animal's neck. See that it is properly fitted above and 

 below to the hames, then the impression which the 

 collar takes in a natural form will be superior to the 

 best mechanical skill of the best harness-maker. 



There is another thing about collars, which, in my 

 opinion, is very important. When you are pursuing a 

 journey with teams of mules, where hay and grain 

 are scarce, the animals will naturally become poor, 

 and their necks get thin and small. If once the 

 collar becomes too large, and you have no way of 

 exchanging it for a smaller one, of course you must do 

 the next best thing you can. Kow, first take the collar 

 off the animal, lay it on a level, and cut about one inch 

 out of the centre. When you have done this, try it on 

 the animal again; and if it still continues too large 

 take a little more from each side of the centre until 

 you get it right. In this way you can efifect the 

 remedy you need. 



In performing a long journey, the animals will, if 

 driven hard, soon show you where the collar ought to 

 be cut. They generally get sore on the outer part of 

 the shoulder, and this on account of the muscle wasting 

 away. Teamsters on the plains and in the Western 



