The Brood Sow and Her Litter. 



379 



feed and at the same time making the sow take a larger amount of ex- 

 ercise in gathering the feed, both of which tend to keep her in better 

 health and to give stronger, better pigs. It is impractical, however, to 

 hope to provide sufficient gre^n feed in winter to balance a pure corn ra- 

 tion, so a form of protein and ash must be provided. 



One of the cheapest and most convenient methods of getting these 

 forms of nutrients is by use of some of the leguminous hays— clover, 

 alfalfa and eowpeas. This method was not mentioned in any of the re- 

 plies, but has been found so useful by the experiment stations and hog 

 raisers that it should be discussed. The ability of hogs to use this kind 

 of food is shown by the following trial from the Oklahoma Experiment 

 Station, where a test lasting 55 days with five hogs per lot, weighing 190 

 pounds each, was made and reported in Bulletin 80. One lot received 

 corn meal alone, another corn meal and all the alfalfa hay they would 

 eat, while the third lot received cowpea hay instead of alfalfa. The re- 

 sults for the 55 days feed is as follows: 



Ration. 



Gain per 

 pig. 



I Feed per 

 Daily gain. ' U)0 lbs. 

 gain. 



Corn meal 



Corn meal and alfalfa hay . 

 Corn meal and cowpea hay 



.34.6 



57 



51.6 



.629 



1.036 



.938 



801 

 614 

 724 



It is here seen that even fattening hogs will eat enough hay to ma- 

 terially decrease the cost of gains as compared with corn alone. 



A trial at the Nebraska Experiment Station and reported in Press 

 -Bulletin No. 20, gives data along the same line. In this trial seven pigs 

 weighing from 81 to 86 pounds each, w-ere placed in each lot and fed for 

 84 davs, with the following results : 



Ration. 



Gain per 

 pig. lbs. 



Daily gain, 

 lbs. 



Feed per 



100 lbs. 



gain, lbs. 



Corn'meal 



Corn meal, |; shorts, J 



Corn meal, |; ground alfalfa, i 

 Corn meal, J; cut alfalfa, J. . . . 



■Corn'meal, 1; bran, i 



Corn meal, i: shorts, i 



Corn meal, i: cut alfalfa, i. . . . 

 Corn meal, i\ ground alfalfa, i 



It w^ill be noted that even for young fattening hogs, the ration con- 

 taining the hay, either cut or ground, made a very fair comparison with 

 feeds of a more fattening and less bulky nature. The author of the above 



