Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/24

Rh 14 MULE In breeding mules the choice in the male parent is limited so far as shape is concerned, as the best-formed asses have, relatively to their height, the head too large, short neck, sides too flat, low shoulders, narrow croup, thin arms and thighs, and very narrow hoofs. To obtain well-shaped mules, therefore, the selection of the mare is of the greatest importance in remedying the defects of the sire. Mares with a small head, round body, short back, wide chest and muscular croup, large thighs and arms, a long neck well set -on, and wide round hoofs are the best. Height is not of so much moment, but a mare measuring from 14 to 15 hands high is preferable. A good height for the male ass is between 13 and 14 hands. Mules inherit to an extraordinary degree the shape and peculiarities of the sire ; from the mare they derive size, but rarely her bad shape or unsoundnesses. This is for tunate, for, though it is always desirable to breed from sound well-formed stock, yet mares so unsound or defective in shape as to be disqualified for horse-breeding may be uti lized for mule-breeding. The mule foal is not so strong on its limbs as the horse foal, and it does not grow so quickly. It is longer in reaching maturity, for it is of little use under four years of age ; but it is useful for a longer period than the horse, often working until it is twenty, thirty, and even forty years of age. When full grown the mule is from 13 to 15, and sometimes 16 hands high; but those from 14 to 15 hands are generally preferred. The mule is endowed with the chief characteristics of its parents. In its short thick head, long ears, thin limbs, small narrow hoofs, short mane, absence of chestnuts (horny growths) inside the hocks, and tail destitute of hair at the root it is asinine ; while in height and body, shape of neck and croup, uniformity of coat, and in teeth it is equine. It has the voice neither of the ass nor of the horse, however, but emits a feeble hoarse noise. The most common colour of the mule is a brown or bay-brown, bay, or bright bay, or piebald being rare ; a chestnut tint is sometimes noticed. It possesses the sobriety, patience, endurance, and sure-footedness of the ass, and the vigour, strength, and courage of the horse. As a beast of burden it is preferable to the horse, being less impatient under the pressure of heavy weights, while the skin being harder and less sensitive renders it more capable of resisting sun and rain. It is very frugal, easily fed, and equally good for carrying as for drawing loads ; it walks well and steadily, easily traverses the worst roads or paths, will climb or descend a steep mountain, or pick its steps by the side of a precipice, with the surety and safety of a goat. For hot and dry countries, especially those which are mountainous, it is well adapted, though cold and wet regions are not suitable for it. The mule, like the ass, enjoys an extraordinary immunity from disease. After the campaign in Egypt in 1882 the English horses suffered most extensively and severely from a kind of malarious fever, but the mules were entirely exempt. A similar exemption has been noticed during the prevalence of epizootic maladies at other times. Neverthe less those diseases which attack the mule (and the asinine species) run their course with great rapidity ; for example, glanders, which often appears in a chronic form in the horse, is most acute in the mule and ass. These are also very liable to tetanus from trifling injuries. The mule has been in use from very early times ; the inhabitants of Mysia and Paphlagonia are said to have been the first breeders. With the Greeks and Romans, the latter especially, the mule was much valued for its good qualities, being employed to draw carriages and carry loads. At the present day it is extensively used in nearly every part of the world, in some countries almost supplanting the horse, while for military purposes it is undoubtedly the best transport animal. The principal mule countries in Europe are the south of France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, where they are used for pack and draught. The French mules are most numerous on the borders of the Pyrenees, in Gascony, and in Poitou. In Spain mules are used in the Catalan provinces, in the mountainous districts of Andalusia, and in the pro vince of Alicante. Good draught-mules are bred in La Mancha and in the districts on the slopes of the Pyrenees, where they are employed to carry loads. But in Spain, Italy, and some other countries they are also extensively used in carriages ; in Spain particularly, where large, fine mules are bred for this purpose, a pair of these animals will often cost more than a pair of horses. The mules of Asia Minor, Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, and Algeria, as well as those of the district between the Tigris and the Persian frontier and in North China, are good. In the Punjab provinces of British India many excellent mules are bred, breeding being largely promoted by the Government. Good mules are reared in North and South America, the principal districts for breeding them in the United States being Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas. The Kentucky mules are well shaped and showy, being derived from nearly thoroughbred mares known as Kentucky trotters, while those reared in Missouri are hardy, and can endure much privation and hardship. The Mexican mule, bred by a male ass out of a mustang mare, is also a very hardy, strong, and useful animal. France is perhaps the most important mule -raising country in Europe, four centres being more particularly devoted to this kind of industry : Poitou, the mountainous districts of central France, the Pyrenees, and Dauphin6. The mules of these different parts chiefly differ in height ; those of Poitou are large, powerful, and long in the body, and are mainly exported to the departments of Languedoc and Provence, as well as to Spain, Italy, and America ; those of Dauphine are of medium height, with a short, thick body ; while those of the centre and the Pyrenees are lighter and smaller, but more active. Mule-breeding in Poitou is one of the most important branches of industry, and is supposed to date from the time of Philip V. of Spain, when the particular breeds of horses and asses were imported into that region and Gascony. But there is evidence to show that so early as the 10th century the mules of Poitou were of excellent quality. Though this industry has for a number of years been in a most flourishing condition, this has not always been the case ; more than a century ago it was the object of violent attacks, and, had it not been for the great advantages the breeders derived from it and the com paratively small expense incurred in carrying it on, it must have languished or ceased altogether. The Government could not understand why so many mares should be lost to horse production and kept to breed mules alone ; and in 1717 the intendant-general of the haras went so far as to prohibit male asses being put to mares measuring more than 12 hands from the withers to the top of the hoof under penalty of a fine and confiscation of the ass ; and the minister Bertin issued a decree to the effect that all the male asses in Poitou were to be castrated. It was only at a recent period that the haras administration ceased to oppose mule-breeding, when it found that it could not be successfully suppressed ; for, while in the one depart ment of Deux-Sevres 13,000 mares were employed in mule production in 1816, fifty years afterwards there were 23,000. Besides, it was discovered not only that this in dustry added largely to the national wealth but that mules were extremely useful in the army as pack animals, as well as for draught, especially for mountain artillery.