THE MULE.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 41, 29 May 1917, Page 7

THE MULE.

By Student Forrest H. Berg, of the San Francisco Veterinary College.

Even if the ancestral tree of the mule is somewhat fragmentary and broken, yet its roots may be traced to some of the earliest records of primitive man. The story goes back nearly four thousand years. IVe read in the book of Genesis of the mule being found in the wilderness, and elsewhere in the Bible' the mule. i> spoken of about twenty times.

Remember tho,t the book of Genesis is one of the most ancient document!, in the world, and the mule is therein mentioned incidently as though it were just an ordinary occurrence, hence no recent invention, for logic-al-ly we must look upon the mule as an invention rather than a creation, howbeit we know not who Invented him nor why, but we must take him as we find him, whether as a happy invention or a lucky accident. In poetry the story of the mule is associated with the name of 1 the first and greatest of ancient poets, Homer, who wrote about 1000 8.C., saying that the mule originally, came from Tlenetia in Pontiac, Asia Minor, which was inhabited by a paphlagonian people. Again ho says they were brought to Priam from Mysia. The Mysians were neighbours to the Paphlagonians.

The mule, be he the result of accident or design, whether of forethought or of after thought, seems to have 1 been at any rate a happy thought, as you may know by tracing his industrial history. The mule has no mean place in the history cf war. He has not risen to any offlci-1 position, not even high private in the rear ranks, yet he has his place m the pomp of serious war. You havt all road of the patient industry of the army mule. He has pulled th< provision waggon to Jeed the soldier, and the trail wajrsroa to feed th' miners, nrd hi* aiwp’o back has carried the r-r.ofielove »U»ng the narrow trail to the miner’s cabin In the tree hidden gulch, and then retraced M *teps laden with refractory ore for th. smelter.

Now let uo look a* hla kinfol’s They may be briefly sat down as t:.c hor*' 5 , the aas, the zebra and tl.c quagga. All theso animals make nr. the great tribe of quadrupeds, -!

which the horse is king. This grou ; of animals is among the most important to man in his struggle for survival with his environment. Ti n group has furnished the human rae with an important factor in solving the ever important problem of tramportation. They also furnish to primitive man a large portion of his food, and even to this day, mare’s milk is quite an important part of the Tartar’s food. The flesh of horses helped to set his simple table. Indeed, it is difficult to see just how all the operations of commerce and of conquest of the wilderness could have been successfully pursued had none of the Aequinadea been there as man’s faithful servant.

What an important part has been given them in man’* ancient efforts to improve his environment and advance in civilisation. The usefulness of these, our humble sharers in our mundane home, has not yet ceased. Of course the ox has been from days unrecorded his humble rival, but the ox is too slow where celerity is needed. Some localities employ the camel but he is not so pleasant or tractiblc and is not climatically suitable. . To the . veterinary student no group ol animals is of more interest than the horse and his cousins. Then from a professional standpoint no apologj is due for studying one of this group, and among these creatures so near tc man’s industrial relations the mul; occupies an important place. Although strictly speaking the term mule is synonmyous with hybrid and may be properly applied to the product of any two creatures of differe.-t species, yet it is ordinarily employ- c to designate the offspring between the equine and asinine species. From thM parentage is obtained two kinds cl mule. The mule proper (equus asinusi which is the product of a male :us with a mare, and the hinny resulting from the mating of the stallion with the female ass. The mule. is the more valuable of the two, and to its production the attention of breeders la -entirely directed. In fact the production of the hinny is so rare that its existence is sometimes denied. However, we know it does exist, hut we shall not pause to consider it, as it is seldom seen, and has no commercial importance. Horses and asses will not associate together, and intercourse between the two species is. seldom voluntary, for although the male ass will mate with the mare, the latter seems to have,a strong aversion to him, as is alco true of the stallion regarding t’ e female ass. For this reason in mule breeding it is often necessary to blind • fold the mare before she will allow the ass to be brought near her. It is claimed that fecundation is not socertain between the ass and horse species as between the male and female of either species. Fecundation of the female mule by the stallion nmale ass is not very rare although she seldom reaches the natural term of pregnancy and rarely brings forth a living offspring. No instance has ever been recorded in which the male hybrid has been prolific, although physically he appears to be perfect, and often displays an intense passion for the female. a