144 MULES AND MULE BREEDING. 



Tennessee, has been previously quoted almost in its entirety. 

 Mr. Jones describes admirably the various breeds, of 

 imported jacks that are used in the States, and finishes up 

 by declaring that the " native jacks, with good imported 

 crosses behind them, will sire the best mules." This is 

 entirely in accord with the writer's views. There is no one 

 European breed that combines in itself all the desirable 

 qualities of size, bone, short legs, and courage, but by judicious 

 crossing of the various breeds a very superior animal can 

 be obtained. The Poitou and Majorca have size, bone, and 

 short legs, but are deficient in courage. The Catalonian 

 has size, fair bone, and good courage, but is apt to be 

 narrow chested, light barrelled, and high on the leg. The 

 Maltese has fair height, capital courage, but is light of 

 bone. The Italian has extraordinary courage, but is rather 

 deficient in height, weight, and bone. So far as getting 

 draught mules is concerned, he is much sought after by 

 French breeders and taken to Savoy, where he becomes the 

 sire of most excellent mules for (comparatively speaking) 

 light draught work. By judicious crossing, the writer 

 succeeded, in some four or five generations, in producing 

 jacks with the whole of the desirable qualities above 

 referred to — viz., size, bone, short legs, courage, as well as 

 good general conformation. 



The Americans have always attached great importance 

 to height in a jack to the disregard of other qualities ; but 

 it is not the tallest jacks that get the best mules. In point 

 of fact, it is very much the contrary, and it is rare to 

 find a jack exceeding 15 hands which can be properly 

 classed as "short legged." Excessive height in a jack 

 necessarily implies height on the leg — a most undesirable 

 point in a breeder's eyes on this side of the water. Jacks 

 of 16 hands high are not uncommon in the States. The 



