112 liEroRT OF Farmers' Institutes 



the lambs, and increased the profit ; but the use of silage alone as 

 roughage, or silage and oat straw, required great care to prevent 

 the lambs from going " off feed," and resulted in slower gains 

 and smaller profits. The addition of cottonseed meal to the corn, 

 clover hay and silage ration, at the rate of one pound meal to seven 

 pounds com, improved the appetites of the lambs, increased the 

 rate of gain, decreased the amount of feed for gain and increased 

 the profit. The ratio of one to four for cottonseed meal and corn 

 gave less advantageous results. Lambs fed in the open shed did 

 better than those fed in the barn. 



Alfalfa hay for hogs. (N. Mex. 96.) Previous tests at the 

 Station had shown green alfalfa an admirable mairwtenance food 

 for mature swine, such as breeding stock ; and the present tests 

 show that alfalfa hay has much value in fattening hogs. In three 

 of the four tests, where the animals were not too near maturity for 

 good results, 7 pounds of alfalfa hay were found equivalent to 

 6 pounds of the concentrates used. Of these concentrates fed with 

 alfalfa hay, ground corn alone gave better results than skim milk 

 with shorts of bran, or ground corn with skim milk. If skim 

 milk is used with alfalfa hay it must be supplemented with a 

 strongly carbohydrate feed like corn, barley or milo. 



Comparing breeds used in these tests, Tamworths made much 

 more rapid gains than Duroc- Jerseys, but required slightly more 

 feed for a pound of gain. Both breeds are prolific, averaging 

 about 9 pigs to the litter in 36 litters, with the advantage in 

 numbers slightly in favor of the Duroc-Jorseys. 



Distillers' grains and u-heat for swine. (Ky. 190.) Pigs on 

 pasture made better gains with a supplementary ration of corn 

 meal than with one of dried distillers' grains, though the cost 

 of the gain was practically the same. Swine evidently do not 

 relish the grains when fed alone. The best results, both in rapid- 

 ity of gain, amount of gain for food fed, and cost of gain, came 

 from hogs on pasture with a supplementary ration of corn meal 

 and dried distillers' grains, 5 to 1 ; while this combination fed in 

 the dry lot was the most expensive source of gain. 



The distillers' grains, however, fed alone to swine on pasture, 

 made the pasture profitable ; since without the grains the pigs 

 barely maintained their weight. 



