Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-06-21
SLUMP IN HORSE VALUES
Decrease Of $500, ,OOO, 900 in Fix Years,
Muies Now Being Worth More.

ODCHG000
Mules Now Being Worth More.
Jan. 1, 1893, there were. according to
oflicial fgures, 16,2OO. 900 horses in the
United States, representing total val
ue Of q little more than $1,000, 900. 900.
Or q, ,OO7, SOS, ,6S6, to be exact. At the
same time the number of mules In the
United States was 2,315.OOO, represent
Ing q total value Of $175. 5.OOO. 600. Since
then conditions have operated to dimin-
lsh the commercial value Of horses, the
total number Of which in the country
on Jan. / last was 100000 and the
estimated value Of which was less than
$500. .OOO. 900, q decrease OF more than
one-half In six years.
The horse has had to encounter the
ruinous competition of the bicycle, the
electric car, the cable car. the auto
motor and much new and improved
farming machinery; but these forms OF
competition. which have reduced SO
largely the number and value Of horses
In the United States have been Of small
effect upon the number Of mules,
though In reducing the demand for
ished the value. At the present time,
taking the whole country, the average
value of a horse is $35. and taking the
whole country, except the New Eng
land States, where mules are very few
In number, the value Of q mule Is $42.
Mules are worth more than horses-a
pecuniary degradation for the ''prince
oP nj nA
for the patient. humble. long-suffering.
unmusical American mule, the butt Of
the paragrapher, the accepted type Of
stOlidity and the time-wasting Quadru-
ped of many parts of the country.
The decline in the value of the horse
compared to the mule is due to a varic-
ty Of causes, the first and most import
ant OF which Is that the demand for
higher-prlced horses has visibly dimin-
ished, while the horse Of all work Of
the farm and Of the highway remains
In great demand. Again, horses have
always been In largest demand In level
parts Of the country. 1t is in these
that the use Of mechanical contriv-
ances has become more general, while
mules, In greatest demand in hilly re-
gions, remain In demand in these. A
final reason Tor the greater average
value Of mules compared with horses
Is to be found in the question Of forage.
A horse Is very much more expensive
to maintain than a mule and, moreover,
horses are more numerous, relatively,
In those parts Of the country In which
the climate 10 rigorous and severe than
In the milder regions Of the country, in
which mules are cheaply housed and
:heaply fed. In the State Of Mime
sofa. for instance, there were at the
time Of the last count 100000 horses
and only $500 mules, and Minnesota is
one Of the States In which
winters are very severe. In South Caro-
lima, on the other hand. there were on
ian. 1 $4,000 horses and 100 600 mules.
and in Georgia there were 10000
horses and 18S, COO mules.
First among the States of the coun. /
try In the number Of mules is Texas;
next comes Missouri, and then Georgia
and Tennessee. California has a con-
siderable number and Kansas and
Arkansas large number too. The |
leading STATES for horses In respect to |
their total number and the hay and oat |
'rops to maintain them are Illinois and |
Iowa. Two States which have, rela-
lively. no mules to speak Of when COM
pared with the number of horses. are
New York and Michigan. PENNSYLVANIA.
because OF its coal and iron mining in |
iustries. has nearly ten times as many
mules as New York.
The American mule, as has often
been truly said. 10 worthy of much bet
er and higher recognition than popular
estimate awards 1t. The American
mule Is an animal Of endurance and an
important factor In the wealth of the
agricultural States. more particularly
n the great cotton belt, where "ten
lcres and q mule" 10 the measure Of the
lmbition Of many Of the negro tenant
York Sun.