The mule will rarely if ever injure himself by over-heating, over-eating or drinking when he is too hot. Under similar conditions horses are frequently injured and their usefulness greatly diminished.
This interesting hybrid, descended from the ancient wild ass of the deserts, has inherited a certain type of wisdom which protects him from the dangers incident to civilization. The mule avoids accidents. On the farms of Mis souri where mules attain their highest develop ment the risk from rearing young mules, so far as acquiring blemishes is concerned, is much smaller than the risks from similar accidents among young horses. This is an economic fac tor which is clearly recognized and one which constitutes an argument for the increased profit in the raising of mules. In the earlier use of mules in this country the small, active, hardy mule of good quality was universally favored. In more recent years with the larger use of heavy farm machinery, larger mules have been in demand. At the present time (1919) the large draft mule of good quality sells for the highest price on the market. The draft mules are not only used in the cities for heavy haul ing but farmers also now more often demand the heavy mule than in former years. The smaller mules, known on the market as "cot ton° mules, are more generally sold in the South. The draft mules are sold in the mining regions, for city drayage and on larger farms of the Middle West. The °sugar° mule is a larger mule than the °cotton° mule and is de manded in the cane-growing regions of the South. The demand for large draft mules has
caused the breeders of jacks and jennets to produce a large jack of good quality. This animal mated to the mares belonging to the principal draft breeds of the United States is the source of the draft mules of America. These draft mules may perhaps lack somewhat in quality as compared with the smaller, more active mules of earlier history but they do pos sess a power and efficiency in the hauling of heavy loads which is comparable to the similar power of great draft horses so long used on the city streets.
This brief article on the value of the mule as a work animal would not be complete with out recognizing the great value of the mule in war. During the great European War the Allies made large use of the mule in transport ing artillery and supplies, particularly in carry ing supplies to the front. The mule because of his courage and steady, reliable subservience was dependable under fire and could be used where horses could not he employed.
The rearing of mules has come to be as much an art based upon scientific principles of breed ing as has the production of any other class of domestic animals. While it is true that the mule is a hybrid and always sterile, the prin ciples of breeding which may be applied in his production are more complicated and involve the successful breeding of two distinct species, it is nevertheless true that the value of the mule for industrial purposes is to-day as largely dependent upon the skill of the breeder as is the breeding of cattle, horses, sheep or swine.