Pastures for Hogs. 169 



in excellent condition. There is nothing better for putting the animal 

 in good "tone" than pumpkins, but care should be taken that too 

 many seeds are not eaten and the system thereby deranged. 



The practice of planting pumpkins in corn or in stumpy ground 

 makes them a very cheap crop to grow. One man in central Missouri 

 plants as high as five acres of pumpkins to feed to his hogs. Pumpkins 

 of inferior quality should be fed first, thus leaving the soundest for 

 storing for later use. Experiments at many state experiment stations 

 have proven that it is better to feed pumpkins raw than cooked. The 

 character of the pumpkin makes it better to feed with grain than 

 with a more bulky ration, as is shown by a trial at the New Hampshire 

 Experiment Station, where two lots of shoats were fed on raw pump- 

 kins, one lot receiving in addition milk, and the other milk and corn 

 meal. The first lot made a daily gain per pig of 1.12 pounds, while the 

 latter made a gain of 2.26 pounds. The use of this crop should be- 

 come more general, especially for starting hogs on a heavy feeding 

 period. 



SOYBEANS. 



A crop that should be given more attention by the farmers is 

 soybeans. This plant is of the cowpea family, and differs from it 

 in only a few particulars. It has not, how^ever, become so widely 

 used in this State as cowpeas, probably because it has to be inoculated 

 before it will enrich the soil or grow to the best advantage. At the 

 Missouri Experiment Station, soybeans have given good results, and 

 the indications are that they can be grown in all localities of this 

 State. They furnish more seed than cowpeas, but not so much forage, 

 so for hogging down they are somewhat superior to cowpeas on ac- 

 count of the greater amount of seed produced. The general directions 

 for seeding, pasturing, etc., are the same as for cowpeas. This forage 

 has been found very profitable in southern Illinois, Indiana and Kansas, 

 where it is being grown extensively as a hog feed. Numerous trials 

 at different places in these states have proven that soybeans are one of 

 the best forages that they can grow. There should be more attention 

 paid to this plant in Missouri. 



ARTICHOKES. 



AVhile artichokes are not generally grown in this State, a few 

 men are using the crop for fall pasture. Artichokes should be planted 

 near the hog lot and be harvested by turning the ho^s in and allowing 

 them to eat the tubers out of the ground. If a crop of the same kind 



