170 DAIRY CATTLE AND MILK PRODUCTION 



drawn, leaving the cannula in the opening. One end of the 

 opened ring is then passed through the opening, as the can- 

 nula is withdrawn. In case neither of the above instruments 

 are on hand, an opening may be made with a sharp-pointed 

 knife or with a 32-caliber wad cutter, an implement used in 

 refilling gun cartridges. In using this a block of wood is 

 placed on one side of the cartilage to be cut, and the hole cut 

 by striking the cutter with a hammer. The ring should be 

 filed or sandpapered smooth after it is closed, as rough edges 

 often are formed by opening the ring or by tightening the 

 screw. 



The bull should not be allowed to run loose in the pasture 

 with the herd. In the first place, it is a dangerous custom, 

 as it gives abundant opportunity for the bull to attack a 

 person unawares or where escape is difficult. Further, a 

 record of the date of breeding of the cows cannot be kept, and 

 no dairy herd can be handled to the best advantage without 

 such records. Cows are often served younger or sooner after 

 calving than the owner intends. The bull running with the 

 herd exhausts himself until he becomes an uncertain breeder 

 sooner than should be the case. 



While nearly all successful breeders keep the bull confined, 

 there is great need of an improvement in the way the bull 

 is handled when confined. Too often he is confined in a 

 dark, dirty stall without exercise from the time he is a calf. 

 Such treatment is certain to result in weakening of the breed- 

 ing powers, and often the animal becomes entirely impotent 

 while scarcely more than mature. As a result of such treat- 

 ment, by the time the sire is old enough to have daughters in 

 milk so his value as a sire may be judged, he is too often value- 

 less for breeding purposes. The main points to be observed 



