Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1912 — ANIMALS FOUND EFFICIENT FOR ALL-ROUND FARM WORK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ANIMALS FOUND EFFICIENT FOR ALL-ROUND FARM WORK

Some Farmers Prefer Mule on Account of Fastidiousness in Appetite and Its Value tn Gardea Work-Man of Moderate Means Should Keep the Horse.

The following letters have been received from fanners located in various sections of the country on the merits and demerits of the mule and the horse.

“I have had thirty years’ experience in working horses and mules on a tobacco, wheat and corn farm, and I prefer the mules. Their feet are smaller and they injure very little of the tobacco and corn; they are less liable to disease, less fastidious in appetite, will endure greater hardships, are longer-lived, and worry the plowman less, as they are more steady. Not one horse is used for farm work to ten mules, in this section of the country.”-—W. E. E., Kentucky. “On large farms where there is steady work and lots of it, I have found the mules the most profitable. They can do a certain amount of work at a less expense for feed, are tougher, and, in proportion to weight, stronger than horses. While they stand neglect and ill-treatment better than horses, they appreciate kindness just as well. Mules are ready for work six days of the week and fifty-two weeks in the year, and are all the better for it. There is a prejudice against mules

here which I consider unjust. Their use on large farms in Ohio would be found profitable, I am sure.” —W. E 0., Ohio. “In this climate a mule stands the heat better, works with less feed, and stands the treatment he is‘'sure to get from the negro hands, better than a horse. A mule lives longer, too. I have seen mules doing service at 25 years of age. As a farm animal he is unexcelled in the south.”—W. H. G., Georgia. “The mule has a number of important advantages over the horse in farm work. A good mule is a treasure

on the farm. He is tougher, stands the heat and hard work better; he is not so susceptible to disease as a horse. I know mules which, in plowing in a garden will step over hills of potatoes or other vegetables with as much care as the gardener would ask. I never saw a horse that would try to avoid stepping on a hill, and in some instances they seem to make a point of trampling down everything in reach of their big feet.”—L. W. (1, Tennessee.

“Our experience with mules leads us to believe they are hardier than horses; they are seldom sick, their shoulders hardly ever become sore and they are more easily taught what is expected of them. We have never yet known of a mule being injured in any respect from over-feeding. They know when to quit eating. For steady work and hard knocks we prefer the mule every time. The farmers of the west are beginning to appreciate them at their true value, as the number of mule teams now in use, compared to what there was a few years ago, fully attests.”—H. C. S., Kansas.

“Forty years’ experience with mules has satisfied me that they will not compare, in a financial way, with horses, not being adapted to saddle or carriage, nor will they bring any increase, as a horse does. They are mischievous, breachy and will often kill young stock if turned in with them on pasture. A farmer of moderate means should keep horses every time.”—H. M., Illinois.

“Where farming operations are carried on, on a large scale, and animals are kept solely for farm work, and not for alternate work and driving to buggy, I prefer the mule to horses. Mules endure a warm climate better than horses, largely because they do not over-feed or over-exert themselves In hot weather. No animal can take the place of the mule in the south. The mule is very valuable in garden work, from his close-stepping habits, which make it easy to work small plants in narrow rows without damage. As to feeding, while a mule will keep at work on coarser food than a horse, I have never found that a hardworked mule team would keep in fine condition on less than a similar team of horses. Never buy a long-legged mule. A big, “gangling,” long-legged mule is the meanest “critter” on earth. Whether heavy or light, see to it that he is compactly built.”—W. F. M.» North Carolina.

Team of Prize Winning Mules.

Typical Belgian Horse.