164 MUI,ES, AND THEIR ADAPTABILITY 



of inferior weight, perhaps, which would 

 tell most against them with our farmers. 

 "Weight," they say, "is essential; however 

 light our land, we have constantly heavy 

 machinery to move, and for this we must 

 have weight. We want one team at least 

 of horses which would turn the scale at a 

 ton apiece." Now the Poitou mule, bred 

 from the Spanish Jack and the big cart 

 mare of that province, is very large, often 

 sixteen, and sometimes even seventeen hands 

 high, and bulky ; and no doubt still bigger 

 mules could be bred from our Clydesdale or 

 Shire-bred mares, — but none would approach 

 this weight. Still, with one such team of 

 heavy draught horses for this special kind 

 of labour, it is probable that the rest of 

 the work on a large arable farm, or the 

 whole of it on a smaller holding, could 

 be more expeditiously, and certainly more 

 economically, performed by mules than by 

 horses. 



