228 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT 
purposes, and who wishes to have his pigs with the sow as 
long as possible, as well as get his sows into high condition 
between litters, will find it necessary to breed his sows only 
once a year; but the general practice of farmers is to require 
their sows to do more than this. There is no good reason why 
a sow should not produce two litters a year when properly 
handled, provided that the sow is not to be fitted for the show 
ring. 
Exercise.— Though cxercise is important in the ease of the 
boar, it is doubly important with sows during the period of 
gestation. Without considerable exercise during this time, 
sows cannot be made to give satisfactory results. In summer, 
pasture should be provided in which there is plenty of shade. 
A good pasture affords ideal conditions for sows, the green 
feed and the exercise keeping the sows in the best possible 
condition. 
Winter Exercise and Quarters.—The greatest difficulty will 
be encountered in giving the sows sufficient exercise during 
the winter. Where only a few sows are kept, it is often possible 
to give them the run of a barn-yard, where they will take exer- 
cise rooting in the manure, or working in scattered straw or 
chaff to find what little grain it may contain. If a dry, well- 
bedded sleeping place is provided, which is free from draughts, 
the conditions are about as good as can be obtained. 
When it is impossible to use the barnyard, a roomy shed 
with earth floor, and a sleeping place arranged in one corner, 
can be made to answer the purpose very well. By littering the 
shed with cut straw or chaff and sprinkling a very little whole 
grain in the chaff every day, the attendant can induce the 
sows to take considerable exercise. Another method is to use 
portable pens set in outside lots. The pens should be placed 
facing the south, and fifty yards or more from the feeding 
