Pork Production ^Yith Forage Crops. 



259 



Ijeginning of the season up until the second or third week in August 

 quite satisfactory results were obtained. In fact, during the second 

 year the forage returned a net profit up to the third week of August 

 of $18.80 per acre. For the first fourteen weeks on bluegrass during the 

 season of 1909 there was required to produce a pound gain 3.64 pounds 

 of corn ; or, in other words, one bushel of corn on bluegrass up to 

 August 17 produced 15.4 pounds of pork. At 6 cents per pound one 

 bushel of corn then w^as worth ninety-two cents per bushel. A more 

 correct value for the corn would be obtained by deducting the rental 

 value and the taxes ($4.00), which would give us the value of eighty- 

 six cents for the corn fed. For the remaining portion of the season the 

 results were not so satisfactory. 



Throughout this feeding trial the hogs were made to produce three- 

 quarters poimd gain per hundred weight per day and were fed corn in 

 sufficient quantities to produce this gain. At the conclusion of the 

 experiment the results showed that the hogs were being fed to the 

 extent of 2.9 per cent, of the live weight of the hogs, which is equal toi 

 about three-quarters of a full ration when they were making the most 

 profitable gains. i , 



ALFALFA. ' ' '' '' 



Alfalfa is the king of forage plants and will give better results for 

 hog feeding purposes than any other forage known. It is a nitrogenous 

 forage and therefore furnishes the necessary protein and mineral mat- 

 ter for the highest development of muscle and bone. When fed in con- 

 junction with corn to the extent of three-quarters of a full ration the 

 best possible results were obtained. When corn was relatively low the 

 Nebraska Experiment Station found that the liberal use of corn on 

 alfalfa pasture was most economical; however, during the present high 

 price of corn the most economical results would be obtained through the 

 use of corn to the extent of three-quarters of a full ration. The results 

 obtained at Xebra.ska w^ere as follows : 



TABLE VI. 



Lot 4. 



Heavy 



grain 



ration. 



Average weigiit of pigs , August 27 



Average weight of pigs, October 27 



Average gain from August 27 to October 27 



Daily gain per pig 



Average amount of corn consumed by eacli pig per day. 

 Corn consumed per pound gain 



72.5 

 126.2 

 53.7 

 .85 

 3.46 

 4.23 



