FORAGE CROPS FOR HOGS IN KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA. 37 



Where this is possible two litters a year of 200-ponn(l hoo^s can be 

 raised with i)rofit and pork produced very cheaply. 



Wheat will not carry as many hogs to the acre as alfalfa. The 

 usual number is about six head per acre, though some farmers claim 

 that the maximum is about ten. One man claims that hogs are 

 one of the best animals for pasturing on wheat, not trampling it out 

 as cattle or horses do. Another farmer of large experience thinks it 

 is dangerous to pasture pigs at about weaning time on wheat. He 

 has lost twice, he thinks, from that cause. The last time he saved 

 only 15 out of 45 head. He claims that wheat is too fibrous and 

 collects in balls in a pig's stomach and intestines, causing inllamma- 

 tion, from which the pig dies. It is claimed by some farmers that 

 wheat is injurious to hogs just as it begins to shoot in spring. More 

 information is needed on this point. The usual practice is to remove 

 the hogs from wheat in early spring and put them on alfalfa or other 

 summer pasture, so that experience with wheat pasture later in the 

 season is limited. 



The value of wheat as pasture lies chiefly in the fact that it fur- 

 nishes green feed for the hogs at a season of the year when it is very 

 much needed, especially by young and growing hogs. By having 

 jiasture at this season there is a great saving of grain, very little being 

 needed. It also enables fall pigs farrowed in September to be carried 

 through the winter in good condition, thrifty and well grown, so that 

 by giving corn in the spring they can be sent to market by June 

 nearly as cheaply as the March pig can be shipped by December. 

 Quite frequently, where hogs have been grown on alfalfa or w^heat 

 pasture, they will, when put on a heavy feed of corn, make a gain of 

 12 to 15 pounds for every bushel fed. 



OATS. 



In the same region where wheat is used for pasture, oats are also 

 used for spring pasture and are highly spoken of by all who have 

 used them. Some claim that hogs will do better on oats than on 

 wdieat. The hogs like them better and wdll eat them as long as they 

 grow^, while they do not like wheat when it begins to head. In this 

 locality many sow oats in March to furnish spring pasture for the 

 hogs when they come off the wheat and before the alfalfa is ready to 

 pasture. Sometimes oats are sown with rape at this time for the 

 same purpose and to give variety to the pasture. Oats will furnish 

 pasture at about the same rate as wheat. 



The great value of oats is due to the fact that they furnish suc- 

 culent feed at a season when it is much needed, giving variety to the 

 pasture. They are also greatly relished by hogs. Oats are particu- 



111— IV 



