r262 Missouri Agricultural Beport. 



The Missouri Station during the past season hogged off two plots 

 ■of rye grain with quite satisfactory results. The grain was allowed to 

 ripen to such an extent that the heads had crinkled down. In this 

 condition the rye seems to have woven itself together, leaving the heads 

 drooping to within ahout one foot from the ground, and the hogs w^ere 

 able to walk among the grain when in this condition and pick off their 

 food at will. A gross profit of $20.00 to ^30.00 per acre may be ob- 

 tained from rye when fed off in this manner. 



SORGHUM. 



The principal value of sorghum lies in the fact that it furnishes a 

 great abundance of pasture during diy, hot w^eather, when other varie- 

 ties of crops make but little growth. If it is well started it will furnish 

 fairly good food for 14 to 20 head per acre for 10 weeks (July 1 to 

 September 14). The general conclusion of experiments carried on here- 

 tofore has been that the results have not been as satisfactory as with 

 other forages. However, the Missouri Station found during the season 

 of 1909, that on sorghum forage, 3.40 pounds of corn would produce a 

 poimd gain or in other words, a bushel of corn on sorghum forage 

 produced 16.45 pounds of pork. With pork at 6 cents per pound, and 

 the rental value of the land ($4.00) deducted, the corn fed to hogs on 

 sorghum forage would be worth $1.04 per bushel. The sorghum should 

 be turned onto when from IV^ to 2i,o feet high. 



COV^PEAS AND SOYBEANS. 



In every rotation there should be some leguminous crop. Cowpeas 

 and soybeans are becoming recognized as foods of great feeding and 

 fertilizing value. They do much toward restoring the fertility of the 

 soil, and many farmers are making use of the vines as a forage crop 

 for hogs. The plant will make a good growth on rather poor soil and 

 furnish feed in late summer and early fall when other green crops may 

 l3e short. They come at the time when they are valuable as a forage 

 'Crop to be fed in conjunction with corn that is being hogged off. Cow- 

 peas may be turned onto from two to three w^eeks previous to the time 

 when corn is mature, and are valuable as a food for hogs in the begin- 

 ning of the fattening period. Much added food value can also be ob- 

 tained where cowpeas are sown in the corn at the last cultivation. Cow- 

 peas may return a net profit of from $15.00 to $30.00 per acre when fed 

 off with hogs. 



CORN. 



When farm labor is high-priced and difficult to secure the hog may 

 relieve the situation by harvesting the corn for himself. The practice 



