270 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



to the acre. The corn had a catch crop growing in it. Fifteen 

 bushels of corn at 50 cents a bushel would have made us a return 

 of $7.50 per acre. This crop was so utilized that the return 

 amounted to as much as though we had raised between 50 and 

 60 bushels of corn. In other words, what was lacking in pro- 

 duction was more than made up, and certainly more easily made 

 up, by the proper utilization of the crop that was grown. This 

 was accomplished in this way: At corn-planting time the corn 

 had cowpeas planted in it. We used the black variety, putting 

 about three peas to two grains of corn, or about ten pounds to 

 the acre. The peas were put in at the same time as corn, with a 

 cowpea attachment to the planter. The two crops came on 

 together, and during September the hogs were turned into this 

 field. Before being turned in, however, they were shut up in a 

 small pen and fed cowpeas that had been freshly cut in the field. 

 This was done in order to teach them to eat the green peas. 

 When they were turned into the field they grazed down the peas, 

 corn and all, thus balancing their ration very satisfactorily and 

 making the gain so economically that our final figures made it 

 possible for us to make the statement made at the beginning. 

 In other words, an acre of corn and cowpeas returned as great 

 an income when hogged down as though we had raised 50 

 bushels of market corn. This shows how it is possible to make 

 a small production yield a large return by the best of utilization. 



On another demonstration farm the crop under considera- 

 tion was rye and rape. Fall rye was sown with the rape in the 

 spring, the two crops coming on together. The rye making the 

 quickest growth, furnished pasture two to three weeks before 

 the rape was ready. At that time hot and dry weather set the 

 spring-sown rye back a little, and the rape came on vigorously. 

 This combination made excellent hog feed, and it was on this 

 field of forage crops that the fall litters were finished off during 

 the months of April, May and June. Old corn was purchased at 

 60 cents a bushel and fed to the hogs on this field. After the 

 hogs had been weighed out and sold and the returns figured up 

 the following results were found: 



The feeding period of these hogs is divided into three 

 divisions, which we will call periods 1, 2 and 3. During the first 

 period the corn and forage made a return in pork of $1.33 per 

 bushel with the corn fed. During the second period, when the 

 forage crop was still better, the return for a bushel of corn fed 

 was $1.44, and during the third period, after the dry weather cut 



