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Show ' GENTLE BULL IS BIG FARM MENACE Vicious Animal Is Usually Watched Very Closely. "Bulls with bad reputations must ba watched closely, and it is the so-called ! gentle bull, not the vicious one, that I most certainly kills his victim," says ' Prof. H. A. Hopper of the New York Agricultural college at Ithaca. "In spite of the fact that men must know they are no match for a bull, they continue to take unnecessary chances." Very few bulls are kept long enough in service. They must be seven years old before their daughter's daugh-ter's records will be in sufficient numbers num-bers to indicate his true worth. At least half of the causes given for the hasty removal of bulls could be prevented by providing proper equipment for handling them. To get a normal increase in the size of herds, service must be dependable. When this Is not the case, much time is lost between lactations, and the breeding efficiency of the herd is low. Every herd sire should have an open yard, strongly fenced, and a sanitary stall, according to Professor Hopper. As it is both costly and dangerous to give mature bulls the necessary exercise exer-cise on the staff, many are trained to work In a tread power. The younger bulls, when turned out together, will furnish exercise for each other. Young bulls should be trained to behave on a staff and may be safely handled thus for a short, time. As they teach maturity, th,ey should be confined to a well-balanced pen and yard. The use of gates, narrow passages, and doors controlled by ropes or cables ca-bles allows the caretaker to do all the work about a bull without coming in contact with him. The use of a breeding breed-ing rack, when properly installed, contributes con-tributes to safety and good results. The keeping of bulls can easily be made less hazardous. With a safety bull pen, all dangers can be entirely eliminated, said Professor Hopper. |