152 MULES, AND THEIR ADAPTABILITY 



the front wheels stuck in a grip. Then 

 thrice or four times did that glorious don- 

 key pull till he went on his knees, and 

 such was his staunchness that, though he 

 had never been asked to draiv a weight 

 before, he stuck to it till at last with a 

 mighty efPort he dragged the waggon out. 



Now, it is this quality and others that 

 distinguish the ass, which it is claimed 

 are foixnd in his offspring the mule, united 

 with the superior size, spirit, and speed 

 of the horse; and the union of these attributes 

 it is which makes him such an extremely 

 useful animal. Interesting information is 

 sometimes supplied to the painstaking in- 

 quirer. Thus a lady, Avhom I questioned 

 concerning the employment of mules in 

 South Africa, from which country she had 

 lately returned, told me that there were 

 mules, but that people did not ride or drive 

 them much, they were kept mostly for 

 breeding! The value of this information 



