The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-04-17
The South and Mules.

Some one has said that forty years
ago the South was good place to be
FROM" but now it is good place to
''be in The Southeast is essentially
an agricultural country. Widespread
education along agricultural lines has
already brought about wonderful
change for the better in sections
where but few years ago the crudest
and most Intellectual methods Of farm
ing prevailed. One of the greatest
drawbacks to the more rapid develop
ment of the crop possibilities of the
Southeast has been the utter lack of
efficient power.
The 9O0-pound cotton mule is be-
ing replaced by 1200-pound mules,
and a considerable number of draft
mares are finding favor among the
more progressive men of that Sec
ton.
1t remained, however, for the live
stock agents of the farm demonstra-
tion work which the late Doctor
Knapp organized to demonstrate to
the farmers of the Southeast that
heavy draft mares would thrive in
that section. These agents were in
strumental in inducing a number Of
counties to buy carloads Of heavy
grade draft mares and fillies, ship
ping them in during the fall and Win
ter so that no time was lost in get
ting them acclimated. These mares
are capable of doing a light season S
work the following spring and sum-
mer, besides raising a good colt. >Prac-
tically all of the mules now used in
the South are bred in Missouri and
Kentucky, with considerable num-
Der from certain portions of Tennes-
see.
It is difficult to secure exact data
as to what percentage of the mules
in use in the Southeastern states are
raised there The commissioner Of
agriculture of South Carolina writes
as follows: There are in South Caro-
lima about 10000 mules, worth s27-
100000. Not more than three per
cent of these mules were raised with
in the state of South Carolina. The
rest were bought from the Western
markets. We have no means of get
ting accurate statistics as to the
enormous quantities of Western hay,
corn and oats that are annually ship
ped into the state. The doctrine Of
living at home is now preached from
every housetop and from every fence
corner, and the people are already
taking active steps to raise their live
stock at home and to raise the mate
rial upon which to feed that live
stock. In a few years we hope to
be able to shut off completely this
enormous strain upon our farm fnan-
ces.
A letter from the Georgia state vet
erinarian contains this astonishing
statement: From the most reliable
sources at our command we have
found that between eleven and twelve
million dollars worth of horses and
mules were shipped into the state
during 1910. The value of all feeds
shipped into the state amounted to
between S72,O0O,000 and 100000
that is, hay and grain of all kinds. y
This writer adds: In a few years we
expect to change these figures con-
siderably and, instead of being i'm
porters of horses and mules and feed
stuffs, we hope to be in the exporters
column"
The above quotations from state Of
ficials are fairly representative of re-
ports received from most of the cot
ton-growing states. These states are
by far the heaviest users of mules.
The climatic and labor conditions
have conclusively proved that the
mule is better adapted to these con-
ditions than the horse, but there is a
constantly widening demand for large
mares suitable for raising mules. In
past years certain sections of the
South have produced a considerable
number of mules, but they have al
most invariably been of the smaller
and less valuable sorts. There is a
double reason for this: the native
horses of that region are mostly small
and of a nondescript sort which the
natives are pleased to call saddle"
horses; the jacks that are in general
use are small and Of low quality, so
that the product is a very sorry-look
ing animal, as a rule, and one that is
wholly unfit for operating efficient
machinery.
The general conditions in the South