the condition I have referred to, if the bit be made in a proper manner.

The bit should be one inch and seven-eighths round, and five inches in
the draw, or between the rings. It should also have a sweep of one
quarter of an inch to the five inches long. I refer now to the bit for
the blind bridle. With a bit of this kind it is almost impossible to
injure the mule's mouth, unless he is very young, and it cannot be done
then if the animal is handled with proper care.

There is another matter in regard to harnessing the mule which I deem
worthy of notice here. Government teamsters, as a general thing, like to
see a mule's head reined tightly up. I confess that, with all my
experience, I have never seen the benefit there was to be derived from
this. I always found that the mule worked better when allowed to carry
his head and neck in a natural position. When not reined up at all, he
will do more work, out-pull, and wear out the one that is. At present,
nearly all the Government mule-teams are reined up, and worked with a
single rein. This is the old Virginia way of driving mules. It used to
be said that any negro knew enough to drive mules. I fear the Government
has too long acted on that idea.

I never heard but one reason given for reining the heads of a mule-team
up tight, and that was, that it made the animals look better.

The next thing requiring particular attention is the harnessing. During
the war it became customary to cut the drawing-chains, or, as some call
them, the trace-chains. The object of this was, to bring the mule close
up to his work. The theory was taken from the strings of horses used in
drawing railroad cars through cities. Horses that are used for hauling
cars in this manner are generally fed morning, noon, and night; and are