PASTURES FOR HOGS. 



(F. G. King, former Live Stock Assistant, Missouri State Bdard of Agriculture.) 



SUMMARY. 



Bluegrass is very generally used for a hog pasture in this State, 

 and especially in the northern and central sections. Its popularity 

 is due to its hardiness and the fact that a pasture of this grass is 

 very seldom killed by pasturing. It comes early in spring and lasts 

 until late in the fall, and will, if not heavily pastured in fall, furnish 

 very good winter pasture. It, however, has to be supplemented with 

 some other pasture during the hot weather of summer. White 

 clover also grows well with bluegrass, thus adding to its value as 

 a pasture grass for hogs. 



Timothy is not as generally used as bluegrass for a hog pas- 

 ture. It does not come as early in spring nor does it stay as late 

 in the fall. White clover does not spring up in timothy pasture 

 like in bluegrass. If cut early, timothy does not have as long a rest- 

 ing period in summer as bluegrass, bat if cut early enough to keep 

 from getting too woody for good pasture is comparatively short- 

 lived. 



When on a bluegrass or timothy pasture young hogs do not re- 

 ceive the proper food nutrients to properly balance a ration of corn 

 alone. For hogs under six months of age, to give the best returns 

 on a pasture of this kind, they should receive in addition to their 

 corn a limited amount of some kind of nitrogenous feed, such as 

 shorts, linseed oilmeal, tankage, meatmeal, etc. Hogs more than 

 six months old make less rapid gains when fed corn alone than when 

 fed corn and a supplement, in connection with bluegrass or timothy, 

 but the gains made from the former ration are usually as cheap as 

 from the latter. 



Clover is the most generally used hog pasture in the State. It 

 furnishes the food nutrients lacking in corn, and fits well into a 

 rotation where corn is the principal crop. It is killed by too heavy 

 pasturing, and is also often winter-killed. It makes the best pas- 



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