28 



An acre of rape was required for ten pigs, but half an acre of alfalfa was 

 sufficient for the same number. 



An acre of rape pasture produced 302 pounds of pork, and an acre of alfalfa 

 pasture produced 408 pounds of pork. 



" This experiment emphasizes the superior value of alfalfa, and likewise 

 emphasizes the value of dwarf Essex rape, which can be seeded in the feed lots that 

 would otherwise go to waste or grow up to weeds, and be made to pay a handsome 

 profit on the investment." 



Rape for Pasture. — At the Wisconsin Experiment Station, Craig con- 

 ducted two experiments with hogs on rape. In the first experiment, 10 hogs, about 

 eight months old, were pastured on one-third of an acre of rape for 76 days, and 

 fed corn and shorts in addition. Aaother lot was fed in a pen on corn and shorts 

 only. In the second experiment, 19 hogs were pastured seven weeks on six-tenths 

 of an acre of rape, as compared with a similar lot'in pens on grain only. 



In the first trial one-third of an acre of rape was equivalent to 1,063 pounds 

 of grain, and in the second trial, six-tenths of an acre of rape was equivalent to 

 1,330.8 pounds of grain. Therefore, in one case an acre of rape was equivalent to 

 3,186 pounds of grain, and in the other to 3,317 pounds of grain. 



I^ter, Carlyle, of the same institution, repeated the work and states: "With 

 pigs from four to teii months old, representing the various breeds of. swine, an 

 acre of rape, when properly grown, has a feeding value when combined with a 

 ration of corn and short= equivalent to 2,346 pounds of a mixture of these grain 

 feeds." 



The Central Experimental Farm, Canada, reports feeding six pigs on three- 

 sixteenths of an acre of rape pasture from August 14th until snow covered the 

 ground. It is estimated that the rape saved 156 pounds of meal, or an acre of rape 

 would save 833 pounds of meal. This is far short of the Wisconsin returns, but 

 the pigs were young at the commencement of the trial, and it is the writer's ex- 

 perience that young pigs do not make as good use of pasture as older ones. 



Rape vs. Clover. — The Wisconsin Experiment Station reports two trials 

 with pigs on rape and clover. In the first trial there were twenty pigs in each 

 group, and in the second trial twenty-one in each group. The pigs were from five 

 to six months old at the commencement. The following table shows gains and feed 

 consumed : 



It will be seen that the rape gave somewhat better gains witli a smaller meal 

 requirement per 100 pounds gain than the clover, though ihe difference was not 

 great in the second trial. 



Rape vs. Soy Beans. — The Ontario Agricultural College fed soy beans 

 and rape to pigs in pens, the green fodder being cut and carried to the pigs. The 

 pigs were fed meal and skim-milk in addition. 



