The Arkansas banner., 1844-06-12
 HORSES AND MULES.

To He Editors ofHe 1emessee Stale ,4eficniteffst:
 Comparative cost and profit of breeding mules and COMMON horses, and their eompar- alive value, for a farm team, ii tie South west: l assume, the cost of the mares is the same for either purpose; but will state a fact that will bear fayorably on the side of the mule. have known mules bred from mares that had tue swiney, bighead, and that were blind, and never knew mule to inherit either of these defects from the marc. knew the same mares bred to horse, and one of them had four colts. all of which had tue bighead and swiney, before they matured-hence mares badly diseased and unfit for any thing else, may breed good mules. ] assume the season to the Jack and horse is the same REARINc--the mule will live on coarser food and less of 1t, than the horse colt, 1t will stand the weather, hot or cold, wet or dry, better; it is not liable to one disease in ten that the colt is, and in nothing so subject to accidents. think that one horse out of ten either dies or is so disabled before it natures, by some one of the maladies that horse flesh
 Is heir to, that 1t is worthless. At the age of 5 years the mule is fit for the team or market, and is as valuable as ever after Say the cost is Pl0 per year-S30. The horse must be kept till years old before he is fiji for work Say, he costs no more per year than the mule, Sl0 per .year-Sd0; add i more, for additional risk for l year and lia- biiity to disease, 4-10-l0 0-10-S30 They are now ready for market, and say that they sell for the same sum, $60 each--the facts are, however, the mule IS worth near double
 ,.aI { .l.,. 4. they arc worth but S60-how would the case stand with a State that breeds 5000 per yeal for market i-5,000 horses at Sl0 head proft, is S50,000 5000 mules, at eS30 profit per head, is s,l50,000 So the nett income to the mule breeders is $ Sl00,000 per year more than that of the horse breeders The animais are now in second hands, the drover, who carries them to the consumer ;--2 men buy 100 each, at S60 per head, S56,000. He that buys the horses, before he caw start
 must pay S per head, to shoe his drove s56, 100; now what he will loose from cripple
 founder, collie, and re-shoeing, o300-S6,- 400 The cost of driving and feeding each drove is admitted to be the same. They ar rive at market, with $400 ill favor of the mules, for they will go to market without a shoe, death, or any injury. Nowior selting- he that wants the mule will ask but one ques- ton, after he sees the enimal--thaps tho prce-if that suits, the trade is closed ;-he that wants horse will ask fifty questions examine every horse, ride half-a-dozen, and probably not buy one. The result will be thus. the mule trader will sell off in shor
 time at $50 per head, clear Sl2 or $ Il pei head, and return home-the other will sell . few, swap a few, let few die or get so in- jured they cannot travel, and after six mouths
 toll and thousand fibs to keep him along, will return will return with few travel worn horses, Chat he would sell at any price to get clear of, and few dollars profit for his labor. Henceitwouldappea that tho breeder of mules reaps three times the profit that the breeder of common horses does, and the drover twice the profits with much less labor.
 Now for their relative value after they are put to arork list. The mule will live and do good work ] to longer; 2d. He car live on less food of the same sort, and do the same work of the horse, 3d. He eau kill
 the horse in hot climate, at the same work
 Proof, in 1887, in this yalley-we had mucf rain in June, our crops got foul, when i
 ceased raining the weather was very hot; ", started our ploughs, for rush to save th, crop-in 3 days some IS or 20 horses died many in the field; not mnle killed to my knowledge, and a-of the plough-team of thi: vicinity was mules There was no difference i in the size of the pioughs or the quantity o