mules, monopoly on the means of producing

 mules, monopoly on the means of producing 
jackasses, mules, donkeys

mules <= horses + donkeys


Richard C. Francis., Epigenetics : the ultimate mystery of inheritance, 2011
Francis, Richard C., 1953─
Epigenetics : the ultimate mystery of inheritance / Richard C. Francis. ── 1st ed. 
1. genetic regulation. 
2. epigenesis.
3. adaptation (biology) 

QH450.F73  2011
572.8'65──dc22

2011

p.105
There were no jackasses in the United States when it was founded, yet soon they were everywhere.  Where did they all come from?

p.105
At some point he heard about the amazing exploits of creatures called mules and sought to bring some over from Europe for his own scrutiny. 

p.105
At the time, Spain had a near monopoly on mules, a legacy of the Moors.  Actually, there was no monopoly on mules as such; Spain was willing to share mules with the world. The monopoly was on the means of producing mules, a tricky procedure, since mules are not created by conventional means, that is, by other mules.  Mules are, rather, the spawn of the unnatural couplings of horses and donkeys.  

p.106
So what Washington wanted wasn't a shipload of mules but one of those libidinous male donkeys, so he could make mules of his own. 

p.106
For reasons obscured by the veil of time, male asses are called jacks and female asses are called jennies, while all other members of the horse family, including zebras, are called stallions and mares respectively.  Hence the term jackass, its pejorative connotations deriving from the fact that donkeys of both sexes are less pliable──though by most accounts more intelligent──than horses. 

p.106
  Spain treated their donkeys like the Chinese did silkworms:  their export was outlawed.  

p.106
Mules were particularly valued for hauling and plowing, activities for which they were favored over horses because of their superior strength and sure-footedness.  Despite these virtues, mules are memorialized in this country primarily for their stubbornness and ornery disposition. 

p.107
Elsewhere, however, mules have been known for their physical feats──not their behavioral drawbacks──dating back to the time they were first created over three thousand years ago in the Middle East, where there was a plentiful supply of both asses and horses. 

p.107
  The early mule breeders also sometimes mated horse stallions with jennies, the  progeny of which are called hinnies. 

p.107 
Hinnies, on the other hand, are much more horselike in appearance and more tractable. (Hinnies, not mules, are deployed at Disneyland to pull carriages, for example.) 

  (Epigenetics : the ultimate mystery of inheritance / Richard C. Francis. ── 1st ed., 1. genetic regulation., 2. epigenesis., 3. adaptation (biology), QH450.F73  2011, 572.8'65──dc22, 2011, )
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule

The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare).[1][2] The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two possible first-generation hybrids between them, the mule is easier to obtain and more common than the hinny, which is the offspring of a male horse (a stallion) and a female donkey (a jenny).
 

George Washington bred mules at his Mount Vernon home. At the time, they were not common in the United States, but Washington understood their value, as they were "more docile than donkeys and cheap to maintain."[11] In the nineteenth century, they were used in various capacities as draught animals – on farms, especially where clay made the soil slippery and sticky; pulling canal boats; and famously for pulling, often in teams of 20 or more animals, wagonloads of borax out of Death Valley, California from 1883 to 1889. The wagons were among the largest ever pulled by draught animals, designed to carry 10 short tons (9 metric tons) of borax ore at a time.[12]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule
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https://enviroliteracy.org/why-are-horses-and-donkeys-considered-different-species-even-though-they-can-interbreed/

Why Horses and Donkeys Are Different Species Despite Interbreeding

The question of why horses and donkeys are classified as different species despite their ability to interbreed is a fascinating one, rooted in the very definition of what a species is. The short answer is this: they can interbreed, but their offspring, the mule (or hinny), is almost always infertile. This lack of reproductive capability is the key factor that sets them apart as distinct species. While they share a common ancestry and can produce hybrid offspring, this hybrid is not capable of producing further generations, thus maintaining the reproductive isolation that defines species boundaries.

The Biological Species Concept

The foundation for this classification rests on the biological species concept, a cornerstone of modern biology. This concept defines a species as a group of organisms that can naturally interbreed and produce fertile offspring. In simpler terms, if two organisms can mate and their children can also have children, then they belong to the same species.

Horses and donkeys, although closely related members of the Equus genus, fail this critical test. While they can produce offspring like the mule or the hinny, these hybrids are usually sterile. This is due to the chromosome differences between horses (64 chromosomes) and donkeys (62 chromosomes). The resulting offspring inherits an odd number of chromosomes (63), which disrupts the process of meiosis – the cell division necessary for producing viable eggs or sperm. This disruption leads to sterility, preventing mules from creating their own progeny.

Reproductive isolation is a crucial aspect of species differentiation. It ensures that gene flow is restricted within a specific group of organisms, allowing each species to evolve along its unique path. While horses and donkeys can overcome physical barriers to mating, their biological inability to produce fertile offspring maintains their distinct evolutionary trajectories, solidifying their status as separate species.
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    A donkey is its own unique species while a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey, specifically a male donkey and a female horse (a mare).
    Mules are sterile and cannot reproduce.
    Mules are larger and taller than donkeys.
    The hooves of a mule are harder than those of a horse.
    Donkeys have long ears, a short thick head, a short mane, thin limbs and narrow hooves. Mules share these characteristics with donkeys but they also have the body shape, coat uniformity, and teeth of a horse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey

The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, Equus africanus, and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, Equus africanus asinus, or as a separate species, Equus asinus.[1]: 1  It was domesticated in Africa some 5000–7000 years ago,[1]: 2 [2]: 3715 [3] and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time.

There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. While working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence, small numbers of donkeys or asses are kept for breeding, as pets, and for livestock protection in developed countries.

An adult male donkey is a jack or jackass, an adult female is a jenny or jennet,[4][5][6] and an immature donkey of either sex is a foal.[6] Jacks are often mated with female horses (mares) to produce mules; the less common hybrid of a male horse (stallion) and jenny is a hinny.

The ancestors of the modern donkey are the Nubian and Somalian subspecies of African wild ass.[21][22][23] Remains of domestic donkeys dating to the fourth millennium BC have been found in Ma'adi in Lower Egypt, and it is believed that the domestication of the donkey was accomplished long after the domestication of cattle, sheep and goats in the seventh and eighth millennia BC. Donkeys were probably first domesticated by pastoral people in Nubia, and they supplanted the ox as the chief pack animal of that culture. The domestication of donkeys served to increase the mobility of pastoral cultures, having the advantage over ruminants of not needing time to chew their cud, and were vital in the development of long-distance trade across Egypt. In the Dynasty IV era of Egypt, between 2675 and 2565 BC, wealthy members of society were known to own over 1,000 donkeys, employed in agriculture, as dairy and meat animals and as pack animals.[24] In 2003, the tomb of either King Narmer or King Hor-Aha (two of the first Egyptian pharaohs) was excavated and the skeletons of ten donkeys were found buried in a manner usually used with high ranking humans. These burials show the importance of donkeys to the early Egyptian state and its ruler.[25]

By the end of the fourth millennium BC, the donkey had spread to Southwest Asia, and the main breeding centre had shifted to Mesopotamia by 1800 BC. The breeding of large, white riding asses made Damascus famous,[citation needed] while Syrian breeders developed at least three other breeds, including one preferred by women for its easy gait. The Muscat or Yemen ass was developed in Arabia. By the second millennium BC, the donkey was brought to Europe, possibly at the same time as viticulture was introduced, as the donkey is associated with the Syrian god of wine, Dionysus. Greeks spread both of these to many of their colonies, including those in what are now Italy, France and Spain; Romans dispersed them throughout their empire.[24]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey
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Donkeys breed by mating a donkey jenny (female donkey) with a donkey jack (male donkey)1. Unlike mules and hinnies, which are hybrids resulting from horse and donkey crosses, donkeys are not hybrids1.
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https://horses.extension.org/is-there-a-chance-that-a-mule-may-reproduce-if-bred/


Is there a chance that a mule may reproduce if bred?

Jul 31, 2019 | Horses

It is not uncommon for female mules to come into estrus and for male mules to display signs of teasing other female equine when in estrus. Most mule owners will castrate male mules, and some will even spay female mules (remove the ovaries) in hopes of changing behavior associated with estrus or aggression. A mule is a cross between a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). A hinny is the reciprocal cross, a female donkey (jenny/jennet) and a male horse (stallion). Mules have 63 chromosomes, horses have 64 chromosomes, and donkeys have 62 chromosomes. Due to the odd number of chromosomes and the fact that only 19 pairs can actually share information. Mules are believed to be sterile for a number of reasons such as the failure to produce viable oocytes and sperm cells, thus effectively blocking normal estrous cycles, sperm cell development, and fertilization.
However, there are likely more cases of mules/hinnies reproducing than we know especially in developing countries. Most recent cases of mules producing foals have been documented in Morrocco (late 1990s), China (hinny that produced a foal named Dragon in the 1980s), and most recently, a mule bred to a jack in a pasture in Colorado in 2008.
Most documented cases of mules/hinnies being fertile have been in the female mule (molly/mare mule). A majority of male mules/hinnies are castrated, but one case of a fertile hinny producing live, mature spermatozoa was documented at Texas A&M in the 1950s.
Also, mare mules have been used successfully as recipients. Colorado State University several years ago was successful in doing so. Also, keep in mind it’s likely that more mules may be fertile, but we commonly do not attempt to breed mules. Mules and hinnies that have foaled in the past were bred to jacks (male donkeys).

·‘’•─“”
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πόλλ' οἶδ' ἀλώπηξ,ἀλλ' ἐχῖνος ἓν μέγα πόλλ' οἶδ' ἀλώπηξ,ἀλλ' ἐχῖνος ἓν μέγα
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