Mules are- a rarity
(Continued from Page 46)
mating a stallion and
v jennet produces a hinny.
The standard crossing is,
of course, with the jack and
mare. The hinny is not
deliberately bred in this
country.
The hinny partakes more
of the nature of the horse in
form and disposition than
the jennet. It has a neater
head, heavier head and
mane, and a larger foot than
the mule.
However, authorities seem
to agree that the hinny does
not have the strength or the
endurance of the mule. The
hinny has a whinny similar
to a horse’s; a mule brays
like a jack. Both the mule
and the hinny can be of
either sex.
It is commonly believed
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111
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that the mule, being a
hybrid, is sterile. However, a
number of cases of female
mules that produced
progeny are on record, well
authenticated.
In one instance, checked
by the Texas Experiment
Station, a female mule
produced to the cover of a
stallion, and later produced
to the cover of a jack. One of
the colts was therefore
three-fourths ass and one
fourth horse and the other
three-fourths horse and one
fourth ass.
A St. Martinsville,
Louisiana, mule mare by the
name of Lou dropped a colt
on November 13, 1947. This
was vertified by a ver
terinarian.
There is no evidence of
offspring sired by a male
mule.
Numerous tests have been
made in comparing horses
and mules in pulling con
tests. Under pressure with
ships, it seems likely that
mules will pull as much in
proportion to their weight as
horses; but where whips or
goads are not allowed,
horses pull more. In other
words, mules always work
with some mental reser
vation.
The truth of the expression
“A mule will do the work of
six horses” is borne out
when it comes to endurance
under adverse conditions,
especially in hot weather. No
draft animal, so far
developed, has the en
durance of the mule under
all kinds of working con
ditions.
Farmers believe that a
Beginning with the curliest American farms,
corn on the cob was seasoned and dried by allowing
air to flow around it; this kept away mold.
From simple, square cribs of alternately piled logs,
covered by a sloping roof, the corncrlb evolved
to the drive-ln crib. The sidewalls always slanted
outward at the eaves. On a great many mountain
farms this was the beginning of barn architecture,
for by adding doors in the driveway wall,
you have the simplest American barn.
Today, a much more efficient structure for the
storage of corn along with large farm implement
storage is provided by the imaginative use of
the Laminated Rafter. The exceptional strength of
this aesthetically pleasing arch may be readily
combined with simple construction, requiring a
minimum amount of materials and erection time.
It is a structure that permits great flexibility,
because all inside space is useable, offering so
many possibilities for a variety of fuming needs.
Rigidply Rafters, Inc.
Structural Imagination for Today’s Farming
team of mules can outwork
two teams of horses on a hot
day. It seems that a mule’s
hide is tougher, harder, and
less sensitive, making the
mule more capable of
resisting sun and rain.
A mule will not only eat a
coarser food but will thrive
under conditions which
would kill a horse. He will
find enough to eat where any
other animal, save a goat,
would starve to death.
Straw, pine boards, the bark
of trees, grain sacks, pieces
of old leather, and old felt
hats go down the hatch when
the mule is hungry.
Out of the Civil War comes
a story of a team of mules
that ate a government
wagon. On the other hand, a
mule can go for long in
tervals without food.
A mule will not injure
himself in a runaway or by
Evolution
of the
American
Comcrib
1977
Laminated
Uni arch design
makes all
inside space
useful even
close to walls,
and permits
economical
installation
of roofing and
siding materials
Urge Volume
Grain and Storage
Implement Building
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 6,1978
charging into a fence. A
horse will knock himself out,
but a mule never. He has too
much common sense for that
and doesn’t get excited.
Mule colts are easier to raise
than horse colts for that
reason.
Since mules do not
reproduce, farmers rarely
own all mules. If they prefer
mules, they keep a good
brood mare or two to supply
mule colts.
It is true that mules
sometimes balk under heavy
loads. Tradition says it is
because they are stubborn
and perverse; those who
know the mule say he’s too
smart to do more than he has
to. In fact, there is much
evidence to support the
claim that a mule is smarter
than a horse. Even his
detractors notice that he
rarely gets himself into a
jam, and always has a sharp
eye open for his best in
terests, not always true of a
horse.
Nebraska
(Continued from Page 48)
recommends for Winter
management of Nebraska
Unis.
Nebraska Units which
house pigs of different ages
are divided into -sections
which allow for the animals’
varying size. Both Kurtz and
Zimmerman, for example,
have varying pen sizes. The
first section of pens at the
Zimmerman farm measures
6% feet wide and 28 feet long.
All other pens down the line
are 28 feet long also, but
width increase by two feet
for each of the next three
section of pens. That
arrangement makes the
final pens about twice as
wide as the area in which the
feeder pigs get started.
The pigs move from one
section of pens to another as
the end pens are emptied
at marketing time. Groups
of pigs are never mixed. An
alley along the front of the
building allows for easy
movement of the pigs.
Narrow alleyways are
preferred. Kurtz’ alleyway
measures 20 inches in width,
while Zimmerman’s is two
feet across.
Eugene Eberly, New
Holland R 2, has an extra
alleyway in his unit. It’s at
the rear of the building and
for his own use so that he has
better access to feeders that
are located in that part of the
building. Feeders are
supplied from bins, with
each bin servicing only a
particular section of pens.
This allows for more
diversity in feediig
programs, as well as ad
dition of medicine for only
some groups, explains
Zimmerman. Another
modification Eberly has
with his Nebraska Unit is an
arrangement of fibreglass
panels, rather than curtains.
An improvemment on the
unit might be the addition of
a separate pen for sick
animals, say some Nebraska
users. Scours has been a
problem with at least one of
the operations contacted by
Lancaster Farming.
The best-liked feature of
the latest and hottest thing in
hog ho’ising is the fact that
the structure is efficient and
very conservative on energy
demand. The complete in
dependence of fans had
one enthusiastic farmer
exclaim “If the power goes
The mule also outlives the
horse. The average life of a
work horse is 15 years; of
mules, 18 years.
The mule costs less to shoe
and is more sure footed than
the horse. He will hold a shoe
longer than a horse because
his hoof is more deeply
cupped and is tougher. The
mule suffers less from
disease.
The horse has a number of
advantages over the mule.
He comes to maturity more
quickly and can be put to
hard labor sooner. Larger
and stronger horses can
probably pull heavier loads.
Rarely do you hear of a mule
weighing over 2,000 pounds;
many draft horses wiegh up
to 2,600 pounds. Horses are
eiaser to handle, less tem
peramental, less likely to
kick.
The mule is vanishing, but
he will not die, only fade
away.
there’s not much mechanics
involved.”
Zimmerman notes that the
only regular need for
electricity in his building is
for lighting and operation of
the feed augers. “The main
advantage is the fact that
there are no fans,” he ex
claimed.
Heat for the floor during
cold weather is provided by
an oil-fired water heater,
instead of a furnace. To
make it work, all Zim
merman had to do was add
an expansion tank and
circulators. Other equip
ment in his service room
includes a high-pressure
washer for the building (as
well as farm machinery)
and a device which meters
medication into the water
supply. As with the feeding
system, each group of pens
has its own water network to
make it possible to medicate
just certain pens, rather
than none or all.
Zimmerman prefers a
slatted floor and pit to other
alternatives and of the
choices in that regard - he
picked ready-made rein
forced concrete slats. They
come in 10 by 4 foot sections
which are simply layed into
position above the pit. “I
really prefer these concrete
slats,” the Ephrata area
swine producer commented,
that the rounded
comers prevent feet in
juries. Each individual slat
is six inches wide and the
spacing in between is an inch
in width.
Manure from Zim
merman’s hog operation will
be pumped out every three to
four months.
With a capacity to feed
1000 head at a time, Zim
merman can send 3000 pigs
to market annually. Kurtz’s
operation is slightly larger
with 325 hogs going to
market per month (3900 per
year).
Speaking of his ex
periences with his Nebraska
Unit, which was put into use
last September, Kurtz says:
“I feel it is the answer to the
average farmer around
here.” But he also realizes
each farmer will have to
decide for himself what his
preferences are. All he can
say is that it works for him -
“it works real well,” he
concluded.
49