The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-02-04
MULES vs.. HORSES.

be published soon.
MULES vs.. HORSES.
| While horse-breeders are sounding
the praises Of theroughbreds, trotters,
Percherons, Nydesdales, and all the
hosts of strains and breeds, claiming
untold good qualities from the one
and the other, we seldom or never
hear single note in favor Of that
useful animal, the mule. On the
road, amid the hum Of cities, in the
very bowels of the earth, these pa
tient, persevering, long-lived 'hewers
Of wood and drawers of water" are
ploddingthrough their daily druid gerry
unhonored and unsung. We once
overheard farmer say, with quaint
expression: "The best horse for a
| farm is a mule;'' and We subscribe
ourself a champion Of bis faith. Do
you want an animal that will serve
you faithfully without growl or balk
one that will keep fat on short
commons, never need the veterinary,
always be ready for work? IF you
do, get mule: He will require less
care, cost less money, will do more
work, eat less corn, will live longer,
and pay you better than any horse
we know of-on the farm. Who ev-
er saw a spawned mule, or curbed
mule, or dead mule that had not
been killed by accident?
We sing our p@an to the mule only
as regards his usefulness on the farm.
We do not claim that he is trotter,
| though We remember to have seen
some very lively steppers-nor that
he would be success on the running
turf. He certainly is not an object
of beauty, and would make but poor
show in a gilded coach or a lady's
phaeton. He is intended for use and
not for ornament. His place is where
the laborer tolls through the long
day, planting and cultivating and
gathering and garnering the produce
| Of the fields. He eats no corn he
does not earn he is an animal Of
"business," and goes right along,
| slowly but surely, looking neither to
| the one side nor the other. We con-
fess to a liking for the mule. There's
something honest about him; he sails
under no false colors he puts on no
airs, and he is just little better at
ten or fifteen years of age than he is
at five or six. His principal growth
from year to year is in dignity, wis
dom, and ears. He never forgets
| anything he learns. If every horse
on the farm has the epizootic, you
| will find that the mule-if you have
ne-is as calmly prepared for every
emergency as ever. Yes, when it
comes to business, we like a mule
Illustrated Journal Of agriculture.
THE WAY TO JUDGE WOOL ON LIVE
! SHEEP.
The finest and softest wool is al
ways found on the shoulders of
sheep. But not one person in 10000
Is aware of this fact. Let us watch
an expert when he is about to pass
judgment on sheep concerning the
value of the animal for producing
wool, and it will be seen that he al
ways looks at the wool on the shoul-
| ders first. A writer of extensive ex-
perience in rearing fne-wooled sheep
and in handling wool communicates
the following suggestions for selecting
a good wooled sheep:
"AIways assuming that the wool to
be inspected is really fine wool, we
first examine the shoulder at the part
where the finest and best wool is al
ways to be found. This we take as a
standard, and compare it with the
wool from the ribs, the thigh, the
rump and the shoulder parts, and the
nearer the wool from these various
portions Of the animal approaches the
standard the better. First we scru-
tinize the fneness, and if the result
be satisfactory we pronounce. the
fleece in respect of fneness very
"even." Next we inquire into the
length of the staple, and if We find
that the wool on the ribs, thigh and
back approximates reasonably in
length to that of our standard we
again declare the sheep, as regards
length of staple, true and even. We
next desire to satisfy ourselves Of the
density of the fleece; and if we do
this by closing the hand upon a por-
ton of the rump and of the loin wool,
the fleece at these points being usual
ly the thinest and faulty, and if this
again gives satisfaction we signify the
fact by designating the wool 'even"
as respects density. Now to summar-
ize these separate examinations: If
you find the fleece of nearly equal
fneness from the shoulder to the
thigh; of nearly equal length on the
shoulder, rib, thigh, and back, and of
density on shoulder and across the
loins you may conclude that you have
q nearly perfect sheep for producing