No. 7 is a spotted, or, as the.  Mexicans call them, a calico mule.  He and his mate were sent to the Army of the Potomac about the time General Grant took command of it.  They were worked as wheel mules in the team until 1866, when this one, like nearly all spotted animals, showed his weak parts by letting up in his fore-feet, which became contracted to such an extent that the surgeon had to cut them nearly off.  We were compelled to let him go barefoot until they grew out.  This is one of the spotted mules I have referred to before.  You never can rely on them.

No. 8 is the mate of No. 7.  His bead, ears, and front shoulder indicate him to be of Canadian stock.  His neck and front shoulder, as you will see, are faultless.  But on looking closely at his eyes you will find them to be sore, and running water continually.  I have noticed that nearly all animals in the army that are marked in this way have weak and inflamed eyes.  A farmer should never purchase them.

No. 9 is a swing mule that has undergone a great deal of hardship.  She is tolerably well formed but inclined to kick.  She is also hard to keep in good condition, and unless great care is taken with her she would give out in the hind feet, where she now shows considerable fullness.  When a mule’s neck lacks the ordinary thickness there must be some direct cause for it, and you should set about finding out what it is.  Lack of food is sometimes the cause.  But in my opinion creased neck very frequently so affects the passages to and from the head, that the organs that should work in depositing flesh, fat, or muscle become deranged, and the neck becomes weak and in a disordered state.  Purchasers would do well to discard these creased-neck mules.

No. 10 is an animal of an entirely different character from No. 9.  She is remarkably gentle and tractable, of good form, and great endurance, and will work in any way.  She is fifteen hands and one inch high, weighs ten hundred and fifty pounds, and is seven years old.  This celebrated animal went through all of General Sherman’s campaigns, and is as sound and active to-day as a four-year old.

No. 11 is one of those peculiar animals I have described elsewhere.  He is all bones and belly.  His legs are long, and of little use as legs.  He is five years old, sixteen and a half hands high, and weighs thirteen hundred and ninety pounds.  One of his hind legs shows a thorough pin.  His hocks are all out of shape, and his legs are stuck into his hoofs on nearly the same principle that you stick a post into the ground.  The reason why his pastern-joints show so straight is, that the heels on the hind feet have been badly trimmed when shaving.  They too have been permitted to grow too long, and thus he is thrown into the position you now see him.  This mule belongs to a class that is raised to a considerable extent, and prized very highly in Pennsylvania.  In the army they were of very little use except to devour forage.