M U L 
tion not to-be like briers, and fprings, to catch every thing 
they lay hold of; but like fen-marks, to avoid the (hip- 
wreck of ignorant paffengers. Overburu's Char act. 1627. 
MUL'D A, a town of Saxony, in the circle of Erzge¬ 
birge eight miles fouth-fouth-eaft of Freyberg. 
MUL'DA, or Frey'berg Mulda, a river which rifes 
near Moldau, in Bohemia ; pafles by Freyberg, Nollen, 
Rolzwein, Dobeln, See. and joins the Moldau two miles 
north of Coiditz. 
MUL'DA, or Wei's se Mulda, a river of Saxony, which 
pafles by Zwickau, Glaucau, Pcnig, Coiditz, Wartzen, 
Eulenburg, &c. and runs into the Elbe near Delfau. 
MULDAU'. See MolDau. 
MULDAU', or Moldau, a river which rifes near the 
mountains between Bohemia and Bavaria, to the fouth- 
weft of Prachatitz; paffes by Budweifs, Teyn, Prague, See. 
and joins the Elbe a little above Melnik. 
MUL'DENHAMMER, a tow-A of Sax-ony, in the circle 
of Erzgebirg : fix miles weft of Schwarzenberg. 
MUL'DONIGK, or Dee'r I'sland, one of the fmall 
weftern Blands of Scotland. Lat. 56. 53. N. Ion. 7. 25. W. 
MUL'DORF, a town of the.archbishopric of Salzburg, 
on the Inn, ceded to Bavaria in 1802 : thirty-fix miles 
north-well of Salzbufg, and forty ealt of Munich. Lat. 
4.8. 12. N. Ion. 12. 27. E. 
MULD'SCHEN, a town of Pruflian Lithuania : fixteen 
miles fouth-well of Infterburg. 
MU'LE, f. [mul. Sax. mule, mulct, Fr. nutlet, Lat.] An 
animal generated between a he-afs and a mare, or fome- 
times between a horfe and a (lie-ids..—Thofe effluvia in 
the male feed have the greateft llroke in generation, as is 
demonftrable in a male, which doth more refemble the 
parent, that is, the als, than the female. 
You have among you many a purchas’d (lave, 
Which, like your affes, and your dogs, and mules, 
You ufe in abjedt and in (laviffl part. ShakeJ'peare. 
Five hundred affes yearly took the horfe, 
Producing niu/es-ot greater (peed and force. Sandijs. 
Buffon recommends to retain the name of mule to the 
animal produced by the jack-afs and mare; and to that 
procreated between the horfe and (lie-afs, he gives the de¬ 
nomination of bardeau. 
The former, or mule commonly fo called, is much va¬ 
lued for the fuddle and for drawing carriages in Spain, 
Portugal, Italy, and the Eaft, and in the warmer parts of 
America. In thefe countries, where great attention is 
paid to the breed, it is as tall as the horfe, exceedingly 
well limbed, but not (0 handfome, e(pecially about the 
head and tail. The animal called the burdeau is much 
fmaller, and lefs ufeful, as well as lefs common, than the 
mule, and of a more reddifli colour : its ears and tail have 
afimilar refemblance to thofe of the horfe, but the mane 
is (hort like that of the mule : it is, however, little known, 
■being feldom cultivated defignedly, becaule it is lefs hardy 
and lefs fitted for the various purpoles of life, than the 
horfe, the afs, or the mule. 
BufFon, with a view of diftinguiftiing the relative influ¬ 
ence of males and females in the produft of generation, 
has clofely inveftigated the differences which fubfift be¬ 
tween the two animals above briefly charaefterifed. The 
bardeau, he fays, is much fmaller than the mule, and feems 
to preferve the dimenfions of its mother, the (he-afs; and 
the mule retains the dimenfions of the mare. Hence, he 
concludes, that, in the mixed fpecies, the fize of the 
body appears to depend more upon the mother than the 
father. Thefe two animals al(o differ in figure. The 
neck of the bardeau is thinner, the back (harper, and the 
crupper more pointed ; while the forehead of the mule is 
better (haped, the neck more beautiful, the fides rounder, 
and the crupper more plump. Hence both thefe animals 
retain more of the mother than of the father, not only in 
•magnitude, but in figure of body. But this remark does 
not apply to the head, limbs, and tail. The head of the 
bardeau is longer, and not lo thick in proportion as that 
M U L 171 
of the afs; and the head of the mule is fhorterand thicker 
than that of the horle: fo that, in the figure and dimen- 
(ions of the head, they have a greater relembiance to the 
father than to the mother. The tail of the bardeau is 
garnilhed with hair nearly in the fame manner as that of 
the horfe; and the tail of the mule is almofi naked, like 
that of the afs. In this extreme part of the body, there¬ 
fore, the fimilarity to the. father predominates. The ears 
of the mule are larger than thofe of the horfe; and the 
ears of the bardeau are fhorter than thofe of the afs. 
The limbs of the mule are hard and limber, like thofe of 
the horfe ; and the limbs of the bardeau are more fiefhy. 
Hence it appears, that thefe two animals, in the form of 
the head, limbs, and other extremities of the body, have 
a greater refemblance to the father than to the mother. 
From various experiments on the he-goat and ewe, the 
dog and (he-wolf, and the goldfinch and canary-bird, our 
author infers, as a certain fait, that the number of males., 
which is always greater than that of females in pure fpe¬ 
cies, is (till greater in mixed fpecies : and hence he con¬ 
cludes, that the male, in general, has a greater influence 
in the produce of generation than the female, becaufe he 
tranfmits his fex to the greateft number, and becaufe the 
number of males is augmented in proportion to the re- 
motenefs of the fpecies which intermix. He alfo obferves, 
that, in eroding the remoteft of different races, we (hall 
procure not only the molt beautiful produdtions, but the 
greateft number of males ; and he adds, that crofting the 
breed, both in man and in other animals, is the only mode 
of ennobling and preferving the perfedtion of the fpecies. 
Mules have been much employed both in ancient and 
modern times. The Roman ladies had equipages drawn 
by mules, as appears from the medals of Julia and Agrip¬ 
pina. And at this day, in Spain, the coaches of the no¬ 
bility, and even of princes, are ufually drawn by no other 
than mules. We are allured, that M.deThou, firft prefi- 
dent of the parliament, had the fourth coach in France, 
in 1585, till which time every body rode to court, parlia¬ 
ment, Sec. on mules. 
Thefe animals are very hardy. Savoy produces very- 
large ones ; but the fineft are bred in Spain. Mules are 
chiefly ufed in countries where there are rocky and (tony 
ways, as about the Alps and Pyrenees, &c. Great num¬ 
bers of them are kept in thefe places: they are ufually 
black, and are ftrong, well-liin’oed, and large, being moft- 
ly bred out of fine Spanilh mares. Thefe mules are fome- 
times fifteen or fixteen hands high, and the beft of them 
are worth forty or fifty pounds apiece. No creatures are 
fo proper for large burdens, and none fo fure-footed. 
They are ltronger for draught than our horfes, and are 
often as thick-fet as our dray-horfes, and will travel feve- 
ral months together, with fix or eight hundred weight 
upon their backs. It is a wonder that thefe creatures are 
not more propagated in England, as they are fo much 
hardier and ltronger than horfes, and are lefs lubjedl to 
dileafes, and will live and work to twice the age of a horfe. 
Thofe that are bred in cold countries are more hardy 
and fit for labour than thofe bred in hot ; and thofe 
which are light made are fitter for riding than horfes, as 
to the walk and trot; but they are apt to gallop rough, 
though thefe do it much lefs than the (hort-made ones. 
They take fo much after the mare from which they are 
bred, that they may be procured of any kind, light or 
ftrong, as the owner pleales. The general complaint we 
make againft them is, that they kick, and are Jtubborn ; 
but this is only owing to our negleft in the breeding of 
them, for they are as gentle as our horfes in countries 
where they are bred with more care. 
Mules generated between the horfe and a (he-afs are the 
lead valuable. They are commonly dull, and take after 
the afs, and are not large ; the other breed between an 
■afs and a mare is, therefore, what is propagated chiefly in 
all countries where mules are uled. The he-afs mult be 
felebted for this breed; and in Spain, where mules, are 
greatly eiteemed, they will give fifty or fixty pounds for 
a fin* 
