Describes the adoption of the mule as the major agricultural resource in the American South and its later displacement by the mechanical tractor. This title captures the symbiosis that emerged between animal and man to illuminate why and how the mule became a standard feature in Southern folk culture.
The author describes the adoption of the mule as the major agricultural resource in the American South and its later displacement by the mechanical tractor. After describing the surprising slowness of southern farmers to realize the superiority of the mule over the horse for agricultural labor, Ellenberg strives to capture the symbiosis that emerged between animal and man to illuminate why and how the mule became a standard feature in Southern folk culture.
