ANIMAL PR()I)U('TION. 1171 



"Why boss do hotter in the field and make piins more economieally is ditli- 

 cult to explain. The mineral matter and worms ohtained from the soil and 

 treedom to exercise and eat at will prohahly have a sjood effect upon dij^estiou. 

 Then, too, the ears of corn when husked hecome dry and hard, while those in 

 the husk remain moist. Mastication in the case of the moist corn is easier; 

 the hogs eat more and therefore gain more rapidly and economically. . . . 



" During the two years' work no more corn was wasted in the field than in 

 the yards where ear and snapped corn were fed. When young pigs are first 

 turned into a cornfield they do not know how to find the corn, but soon learn 

 that when a stalk is pulled down there is corn to be had. . . . 



'• Pigs that have plenty to eat and a big range do not root holes in the soil 

 as is generally believed. In no case was the soil left so uneven as to make 

 extra work necessary in preparing the land for future crops. To get the land 

 fitted for cropping two diskings and one harrowing with the smoothing harrow 

 is all the preparation given." 



To secure data for estimating the am.ounts of corn fed the different lots some 

 figures are recorded regarding shrinkage of ears husked at diffei-ent times. It 

 was found that corn husked September 20 shrank 21..'j per cent in 101 days; 

 that busked October 10 shrank 11 per cent in 81 days, and that husked October 

 27 shrank 4 per cent in 04 days, and that in the early part of the season the 

 husks i-epresented 11 per cent of the total ear and 100 days later 6 per cent. 



The authors summarize data obtained from Minnesota farmers regarding 

 the practice of allowing hogs to gather corn and discuss various questions con- 

 nected with the field management of swine, particularly the cost of fencing and 

 related topics, and the value of corn, grain, and clover in rotation for hog 

 pasturage. 



A niimber of illustrations are given showing bow farms may be conveniently 

 divided for such pasture rotation. 



" x^U that is necessary to carry out such a rotation is 3 fields of nearly uni- 

 form size, located near the farmstead. The annual cost of fencing the 3 fields 

 would have to be charged against 2 fields (the corn and clover fields) since the 

 fence would be of no value to the grain field. In considering the amount of 

 liog pasture needed, and the amount of corn that can profitably be fed off, it is 

 found that at least twice as many acres of corn can be used as of pasture. 

 Thus, in a 3-year rotation, if the field were about the right size to furnish the 

 pasture needed, not enough corn would bo furnished. A 4-year rotation, 

 with 1 field in grain, 1 in pasture, and 2 in corn, would furnish about the 

 right amount of both. Four fields permanently fenced near the farmstead 

 would make a more desirable rotation than would 3 fields, and the cost of 

 fencing will be less since the fence would be in use 3 years out of 4 rather than 

 2 years out of 3. . . . 



"One acre of average clover pasture will furnish ample feed for 2 sows and 

 their litters (the avei'age litter being about 7 pigs). Some seasons the clover 

 will get ahead of the pigs, but clover pasture is so clieap a feed that no hog 

 I'aiser can afford to run the risk of sliort pastures. Surplus clover in a hog 

 pasture can be utilized for hay or other stock. A shortage of pasture necessi- 

 tates supplying the deficiency by other feeds costing 2 to 4 times as much." 



Investigations with, swine, G. E. Day (Ann. Rpt. Ontario Agr. Col. and 

 Expt. Farm, 33 {1901), pp. J 55-1 57). —On the basis of data obtained with 207 

 hogs, part of them fed at the station and part by farmers who cooperated in the 

 investigation, the author calculates that mixed grain returned fi-om $20.4.^) to 

 ^34.13 i>er ton. milk 20 cts. per hundredweight, and roots 10 cts. per bushel, 

 50810— .\o, 32— OS 1; 



