216 Missouri Agricultural Rcjoort. 



SWINE FEEDING. 



(O. A. Willson, Instructor in Animal Husbandry, Missouri Agricultural College.) 



That swine occupy such an important position in the livestock 

 industry in the State of Missouri is not to be wondered at when we 

 consider that it is ranked as one of the first states in the Union in 

 the production of corn, nearly one-tenth of the world's supply being 

 grown here. In 1906 Iowa ranked first, with 373,275,000 bushels ; 

 Illinois second, with 347,169,585 bushels; Nebraska third, with 

 249,782,500 bushels, and Missouri fourth, with 228,522,500 bushels ; 

 but as a feeding State, figuring upon the basis of the number of 

 bushels fed up to March 1, 1907, we find that for the winter 1906-7 

 Missouri leads all other states of the Union, having fed 100,549,900 

 bushels of the home-grown crop. At the same time Missouri mar- 

 keted 3,621,779 head of hogs that it is estimated consumed at least 

 18,108,895 bushels of corn. The question, tben, that concerns us 

 most is, "Was it fed most wisely, or might it have been fed in such 

 a way as to have saved a 1,000,000 bushels of it, making a saving 

 of $400,000? Or, in other words, has the highest possible price 

 been obtained for the feed fed? Have the most economical gains 

 been made?" 



The prices received for the feeds fed depend entirely upon the 

 methods of caring for and feeding the animals. As to the class 

 of animals there is no class of domestic animals that will make such 

 quick profits as will hogs. There is no other domestic animal that 

 can increase its own weight by 150 times in six to eight months. 

 No domestic animal that will dress such a high percentage of 

 dressed weight; no domestic animal that will manufacture more 

 meat for a given amount of food. Cattle and sheep will make one- 

 third less amount of meat from a given amount of grain. The hog, 

 then, is the farmer's friend, his mortgage lifter, his home builder, 

 his bank depositor; and the extent of his mission as such depends 

 upon the treatment given him. 



I know no formula for producing healthy hogs or for feeding 

 hogs, unless it be the following prescription, which may be desig- 

 nated as "Attention to Details" : 



Observation 40 pts. 



Origination 20 " 



Attention to Details. Sanitation 10 " 



Protection 10 " 



Nutrition Q. S. 100 " 



