26 



sodium sulphate, 1 pound; black antimony, 1 pound. The ingredients of the 

 tonic were pulverized and thoroughly mixed. The cost of- the mixture was 4 cents 

 per pound. 



Tour groups of pigs eleven weeks old were used in the test, and all groups were 

 fed a meal mixture coniposed of corn meal, wheat middlings, wheat bran, and 

 linseed meal. 



Lots 1 and 2 were given free access to soft coal and charcoal, respectively, lot 

 3 was fed one ounce of the tonic to every 10 pounds of meal, and lot 4 was fed 

 nothing but the meal ration. 



The average daily gain per pig in the four lots was as follows : Soft Coal, .695 

 pound; charcoal, .738 pound; tonic mixture, .958 pound; no corrective, .614 pound. 



The cost of producing 100 pounds gain in weight was as follows : 



It will be noticed that the lot receiving the tonic mixture made the most rapid 

 and most economical gains, the lot receiving the charcoal coming second. The 

 hogs which were allowed access to soft coal made greater gains than those fed meal 

 alone, but the gains were more expensive. It is stated that the hogs fed correctives 

 had a decidedly better appetite than those which received none. 



The experiment indicates that correctives or tonics may be used to advantage 

 at times, but that it is easily possible to pay too much for them. 



Pasture and Soiling Crops. 



Alfalfa. — Bulletin 155 of the Kansas Experiment Station gives a summary 

 of results from feeding alfalfa to hogs at that institution. The following is quoted 

 directly from the bulletin : 



" At this station some years ago, a gain of 800 pounds of pork was made from 

 a ton of alfalfa hay, and a little less than that amount of gain was made from an 

 acre of alfalfa pasture. In another test here, an acre of alfalfa produced $20.20 

 worth of pork, while an acre of rape fed to a similar lot of hogs returned $10.05 

 worth of pork. 



"In a later experiment we found that 100 pounds of alfalfa "hay saved 96 

 pounds of corn. Figuring on the basis of 5 pounds of corn producing one pound 

 of pork, the 96 pounds of alfalfa would produce 19 pounds of pork. Estimating 

 the average of alfalfa to be four tons per acre, on this basis it would mean a pro- 

 duction of 1,600 pounds of pork per acre with alfalfa fed in the form of hay in con- 

 nection with corn. This experiment was conducted during the winter season. • 



" In an experiment during the summer, we found that 170 pounds of green 

 alfalfa, cut and fed to hogs fresh in a dry yard, was equal to 100 pounds of corn, 

 and in this experiment it took 6 pounds of corn to produce a pound of pork. 

 Therefore, assuming 170 pounds of green alfalfa woulrl produce 16 2-3 pounds of 

 pork, a fraction over ten pounds of green alfalfa woud produce one pound of pork. 

 Estimating that an acre of alfalfa will yield during the season ^20,000 pounds of 



