MULES 193 



MULES. 



Uses and Adaptation. — The mule is a hybrid obtained from 

 crossing a jack on a mare, the hinney being the result of the 

 opposite cross, or a stallion on a jennet. The latter cross 

 is not recommended and is very infrequently made, as 

 the hinney is inferior to the mule in size and other draft 

 qualities. In this country the principal use of the mule is 

 on the farm, in lumber and railroad camps, in the mines, 

 and in army service. The mule is not adapted to city use, 

 principally because of insufficient weight and small feet, 

 which are not adapted to hauling on pavements. Through- 

 out the South the mule constitutes the work type of animal 

 almost to the exclusion of draft horses. Very few mules 

 are raised in this section, however, a large proportion of 

 them being shipped from the important mule-producing 

 States, which are Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. The 

 mule is especially adapted to Southern conditions, having 

 a greater resistance to heat and the unusually hard usage 

 to which they are subjected by colored teamsters. Their 

 hardiness is unusually apparent and because of this attribute 

 they are placed at rough work where the more nervous 

 temperament of horses would receive a severe test. Mules 

 are also used largely in the South for driving purposes, 

 select animals making very acceptable substitutes for the 

 horse. The lymphatic temperament of the mule and the 

 accompanying hardiness and resistance to rough treatment 

 makes them especially valuable in draft service of this 

 character. Because of the increase of this character of 

 work and the correspondingly increasing magnitude of the 

 mule industry, the mule and its ancestral relations are 

 deserving of more specific study in the class room and on the 

 farm. 



General Requirements. — The characteristics which mark a 

 perfect type of horse will in a general way coincide with the 

 attributes desired in the mule. From a purely market stand- 

 point the requirements for the mule are largely the same 

 as those of the horse. Market requirements prescribe that 

 they must be sound, possess quality, have a fine, sleek coat 

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