1 30 Quadrupeds. 
THE MULE. 
This useful and hardy animal is the offspring of the 
■horse and the ass, and partakes of the good qualities of 
"both. The common Mule is very healthy, and will live 
above thirty years. The size and strength of our breed 
have been much improved by the importation of Spanish 
male asses ; and it is much to be wished that the useful 
qualities of this animal were more attended to ; for, by 
proper care in its breaking, its natural obstinacy would 
in a great measure be corrected ; and it might be formed 
with success for the saddle, the draught, or the burden. 
People of the first quality are drawn by Mules in Spain, 
where fifty and sixty guineas is no uncommon price for 
them ; nor is it surprising, when we consider how far 
they excel the horse in travelling in a mountainous 
country, the Mule being able to tread securely w r here 
the former can hardly stand. It is much less dainty in 
its food than the horse, and not so liable to disease ; 
and has been known to go a distance of eighty or a 
hundred miles in one day, with a heavy weight on its 
back, without much fatigue. 
