1873-3 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
333 
The Poitou Mule. 
We are indebted to the London Field for the 
two engravings which appear upon this page. 
They are copies of photographs of a pair of 
■Poitou mules. Poitou is 
the name of one of the 
old provinces into which 
Fiance was at one time 
divided, and is a district 
consisting of the present 
departments of Vienne, 
Vendee, the Two Sevres, 
Charente, and Lower 
Charente, and occupies 
the west coast between 
the mouths of the rivers 
Loire and Gironde. The 
town of Niort is the chief 
center of this district, 
which is wholly given up 
to mule breeding; at least 
30,000 mares being there 
kept for this purpose. 
These mares are fine 
large animals, and are 
specially chosen for the 
purpose of producing 
large and heavy mules. 
The jack or ass used is 
also one peculiar to this 
district, and is known as 
the Poitou ass, not only throughout France, 
but also in Spain, where for certain purposes 
his progeny is eagerly sought. English and 
American buyers also frequent this district as 
purchasers, and at the fairs which are held peri¬ 
odically enter into eager competition with for¬ 
eign and other native buyers. At some of these 
fairs 1,000 head are frequently exhibited for 
sale, but very rarely or never is there anything 
sold but mules. The asses are never publicly 
sold, but may be occasionally picked up by 
those anxious to procure them from the breed¬ 
ers. These mules, as may be perceived from 
the engravings, are heavy 
limbed and large-footed, 
as well as heavy bodied. 
The head and ears are 
rather large and coarse, 
but this is maintained by 
the breeders to be a 
necessary adjunct of the 
heavy body and limbs. 
The neck and chest are 
broad, and the shoulders 
muscular and well 
formed. The hocks are 
large, and the legs alto¬ 
gether short and stout, 
as are the pasterns. The 
legs are flat and hard, 
and sometimes there is a 
good deal of hair upon 
them. The feet are larger 
and more expanded thau 
those of any other breed 
of mules. It will be ob¬ 
served that these are val¬ 
uable points in an animal 
used for draught pur¬ 
poses, and are calculated 
to meet the main objec¬ 
tions urged against mules for heavy work. The 
light body and especially the light limbs of the 
mule, as we know it, cause it when drawing in 
shafts to be thrown or swayed about by its load; 
and its feet and legs being too light to resist the 
wear, or exert the force necessary to steady 
itself, “give out,” and they become exhausted. 
A mule team under such circumstances will 
often become disheartened and lie down, and 
no means will suffice to restore them to a con¬ 
dition for exertion for that day. A heavier and 
GRAY POITOU MULE. 
stouter-legged and broader-footed mule is there¬ 
fore a valuable animal for work in wagon trains 
or heavy draught. The hardiness of the mule and 
its want of sensitiveness to affections of the leg- 
bones and sinews, such as spavins, ringbones, 
splints, wind-galls, and curbs, and others which 
incapacitate the more sensitive horse, render it 
very desirable under many circumstances. It is 
certain, too, that if we could procure mules 
free from the defects which render them less 
satisfactory than horses, they would be substi¬ 
tuted for them to a large extent in many places. 
The importation of the Poitou asses from which 
BROWN POITOU MULE. 
these mules are bred would seem to be a much 
more profitable business than that of importing 
the mules, which is done to a certain extent by 
Americans, for we read of many of them at¬ 
tending the fairs and shipping mules from the 
ports of Nantes and St. Nazaire. It is said 
that the reason why asses are not purchased is 
because they are not brought to the fairs; but 
this reason should hardly suffice when they 
might easily be sought out and procured. The 
profit of raising these mules would then belong 
to ourselves. The color 
of these animals is very 
varied. Brown, black, 
bay, gray, white, and 
piebald is common, but 
generally they take after 
the sire in color, and he 
is always black or dark 
brown. Their height is 
from 15 to 16 hands, 
rarely more; and this, 
with their heavy bodies 
causes them to appeal 
much more solid animals 
than the ordinary mule 
of greater height but 
less weight. Their value 
at the fairs is from $200 
to $300, which is one- 
tliird greater than the 
value of a horse of cor¬ 
responding merit. 
The brown mule figured 
in the engraving obtained 
a prize at the Grand Ex¬ 
hibition of Mules at Niort 
in 1865, when she was 
four years old, and stood 16 hands high. The 
gray mule shown above the brown one is said 
to be the best short-legged mule ever bred in 
this district. She is a dapple gray, five years 
old, and stands 15 hands and three inches. The 
strength of this animal is said to be enormous, 
and equal to that of any yoke of oxen. So far 
as agricultural labor is concerned, the qualifica¬ 
tions of such animals as these are very valuable. 
Especially in such work as thrashing by horse¬ 
power, drawing reapers and mowers, in which 
a dead plodding furrow without any elasticity 
of draught is to be done, they would be much at 
home. Horses become 
weary under such work, 
and few’ teams can stand 
two or three days of ten 
hours’ constant work 
each in a reaper. This 
sort of work, and draw¬ 
ing heavy loads upon the 
road, is exactly suitable 
for the animals described 
in this article. 
How Farmers are 
Swindled.—N o. 2 corn 
recently fell in price to 
twentj'-seven cents a 
bushel in the Chicago 
market, which was the 
lowest price touched for 
twelve j'cars. Had this 
been a legitimate occur¬ 
rence there would have 
been no cause for com¬ 
plaint, however much 
room there won hi have 
been for regret that 
the market should be 
so overstocked w i t h 
this kind of produce. But it was an unmiti¬ 
gated fraud upon the farmers, who are helpless 
in the hands of a crowd of speculators. A 
false report that a large quantity of corn in 
the elevators had heated and become spoiled 
was set afloat, and prices went down. 
