222 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT 
Feeding.—It requires good judgment to keep a boar in the 
best possible condition. (Fig. 49.) Extremes are to be avoided. 
The over-fat boar does not make a satisfactory sire, as a rule, 
and a half-starved boar cannot transmit vigor and constitution 
to his progeny to the same degree that he would if properly 
managed. To get the best results, the boar should be in fair 
flesh. A reasonable amount of fat on his bones will do him 
no harm if he gets sufficient exercise. 
An exelusive meal ration will not give good results, 
especially if the ration is made up of corn. It is true that 
corn can be fed to a boar without injuring him, but it must be 
fed in the right way. Corn is fattening, but its exclusive use 
is debilitating, and the feeder must combine something with 
it to get good results. Equal parts ground corn, ground oats, 
and wheat middlings make a good meal ration. Equal parts 
ground oats and middlings make a first-class meal ration when 
corn is not used. It gives sufficient bulk, and is nutritious 
without being heating or too fattening. Ground oats, middlings. 
or bran may be used singly to dilute corn; in fact, a very 
great variety of grains may be fed, so long as the feeder uses 
judgment. 
Supplemental Feeds.—But a boar needs something besides 
grain and meal to be in his best condition. Skim-milk and 
buttermilk are excellent, and will give good results with corn, 
even if nothing else is used. In winter, roots of any kind are 
much relished. They have a cooling, laxative effect, preventing 
constipation and keeping the animal thrifty and vigorous. 
If roots are not available, alfalfa hay of fine quality or 
even fine red clover hay may be used to give bulk to the 
ration. Some feed the alfalfa hay dry in racks, and 
others prefer to cut it and soak it with the meal ration, or 
