LIVE STOCK BREEDERS, 153 



inch long and when there is any great quantity of that fungus on rye 

 it is easy to see it at harvest time and it is dangerous to feed it to 

 any pregnant animal, but when that fungus is not present rye is un- 

 doubtedly as safe to feed as any other grain, in my judgment. 



Just one other thing which does not bear upon this question. We 

 know in the Eastern markets the buyers discriminate against rye-fed 

 hogs, hogs fattened on rye, and they will pay more for corn-fed hogs. 

 Tt does not have anything to do with this question under discussion, 

 but it is rather an important point after all. 



Mr. Gabbert : I am not a hog raiser, but I would give rye the 

 go-by. You can raise more wheat to the acre and twice as much corn, 

 and I don't see why men want to fool with a feed that is dangerous. 

 I am not a hog raiser, but I would not feed rye if I were afraid of it. 



Prof. Mumford : Under the conditions of my farm I can raise 

 more rye than wheat, and I raise rye rather than depend on corn be- 

 cause rye is a better balanced ration for feeding animals. It is har- 

 vested before corn is ready, for we usually have the corn fed up before 

 the next corn crop comes along, and another reason for growing it is 

 that it gives a variety of feed. I do not pasture it with hogs, when 

 I cut it for grain, and when I use it for pasture I do not cut it for grain. 



Mr. Anderson : Take it one year with another, it is a more cer- 

 tain crop than wheat. 



Prof. Mumford : Undoubtedly. 



Mr. Gentry : I have always understood, as Prof. Mumford says, 

 that it was the ergot in the rye that was dangerous. When you buy 

 the fresh grain you can tell whether it has ergot in it. 



Prof. Mumford : Yes, you can see the grains of fungus. It is 

 a lump. It is not like smut, it retains its shape, and you can readily 

 distinguish it. It is a hard grain, usually considerably larger than a 

 grain of rye, and much of it is screened out and it does not develop 

 in any ordinary season to a dangerous extent, but it does in very wet 

 seasons. 



Mr. Gentry : Like Mr. Gabbert, I have not had much experience 

 in feeding rye. I was always afraid of it and as long as there is any- 

 thing else, I do not feed it. 



In the fall of 1873 I purchased in St. Louis the champion Berk- 

 shire sow for all breeds, winning the Pork Packers' prize and as best 

 sow of any age or breed. She was well along in farrow when I took 

 her home and I was feeding her rye and the man by accident let her 

 get through the gate and get a big dose of rye slop and she aborted. 

 I never knew whether or not it was the rye. It may have been, I 

 do not know. 



