Il8 THE MANAGEi\rENT AND FJCEDING OF CATTLE 



method of management is practicable, but it is not neces- 

 sary on the arable farm. 



The question of exercise for bulls should never be 

 neglected. Insufficient exercise engenders impotency 

 in the male, partial or complete in proportion as it is 

 present. Even partial impotency, that is, lack of sure- 

 ness in begetting power, so impairs the value of a sire 

 that his presence may prove a source of serious loss be- 

 cause of the fitful and uncertain character of the breed- 

 ing. 



To avoid such a result the aim should be to fur- 

 nish the sire with a stall in which he is at liberty, and 

 a yard or paddock attached in which he may move about 

 without any restraint. If the paddock is large enough 

 to furnish pasture for summer grazing in partial or en- 

 tire sufficiency, the encouragement to take exercise is 

 so far increased. Bulls thus managed when properly 

 fed and not overtaxed with service seldom become im- 

 potent. If, at any season when grazing is accessible, 

 they are not wanted in service, if they can be given a 

 pasture alone or in company with other cattle, the in- 

 fluence is favorable to potency. 



Bulls may be tied in the stall and yet retain their 

 potency, but when this method is adopted they should 

 be given enforced exercise. In Great Britain the method 

 of having an attendant lead valuable bulls daily half a 

 mile or more was sometimes practiced. The American 

 plan of setting them to work, as on a treadmill, is far 

 more economical and quite as efficacious. The work 

 thus performed by a bull may go far to repay the entire 

 cost of his food. Of course, the labor thus required 

 should not be carried so far as to result in undue lean- 

 ness. 



The feet of all bulls, except those which have the 

 liberty of the range, should be trimmed occasionally. 

 The frequency of such trimming will depend on the 

 degree of confinement to which the bulls are subjected. 



