74 MULES AND MULE BREEDING. 



the female will breed with horse or ass, or apparently any 

 species of Equus." 



It is difficult to conceive a statement respecting mules or 

 donkeys which could be so utterly baseless as the farrago of 

 nonsense just quoted. That the size of the Italian donkeys 

 should depend upon their being hybrids is, of course, utterly 

 unfounded, and that it is impossible to separate the mules 

 and donkeys in the United States owing to the various 

 proportions Of horse ancestry, is one of the most ludicrous 

 statements that ever was made. From such a tissue of 

 absurdities it is most satisfactory to turn to a work which 

 has been published by a gentleman long resident in India,, 

 and who is perfectly acquainted with the value of the mule 

 in that country. 



Mr. John L. Kipling, in his most delightful and instruc- 

 tive volume entitled " Beast and Man in India," informs us 

 that the mule is of European introduction, being really a 

 Grovernment institution, he adds : — 



" The mule, however, is bred in increasing numbers, for he is 

 an ideal pack animal, born and made to carry the burdens of 

 armies over difficult countries, and good at draught. Sure of 

 foot, hard of hide, strong iu constitution, frugal in diet, a first- 

 rate weight carrier, indifferent to heat and cold, he combines the 

 best, if the most homely, characteristics of both the noble houses 

 from which he is descended. He fails iu beauty, and his infertility 

 is a reproach, but even ugliness has its advantages. The heavy 

 head of the mule is a mercy to him, for both in practice and the 

 written orders of Government, it is ordained that he is not to- 

 be bothered with bearing-reins." 



Prom those who know the actual working of mules in 

 other parts of the world, it is perfectly easy to get any 

 amount of evidence as to their extraordinary value. In 

 rough countries they far surpass any other equine animaL 



