176 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



thiit open-yard feeding give9 a better appetite for the straw and enables the steer to 

 make more profitable use of it. 



•' With the average Utah Bteer and our mild, dry winters, the best results, both in 

 rai.- of gain and economic use of funds, are obtained by giving the animal the free- 

 dom of the corral and a good open shed that he may occupy at will. 



"Timothy hay made the lowest and most unprofitable gain. Its relatively higher 

 market price than alfalfa debars it from profitable use in cattle feeding. 



" The average yield of the corn-culture experiments and the favorable results from 

 the feeding of shredded corn fodder indicate that corn may be safely reckoned as 

 one of the feeder's resources in Utah. 



" In rate of gain when fed without grain, alfalfa stood the highest and timothy the 

 lowest of the lots fed indoors. 



"The quantity of dry matter required for a pound of gain was highest for alfalfa 

 and lowest for corn fodder, with timothy ranking second highest. 



"Comparing the proportion of digestible dry matter in the different foods, they 

 stand as follows: Barley, 100; pea meal, 89; bran, 70; corn fodder, 68; alfalfa, 64; 

 timothy, 63; straw, 51. 



"In cost per pound of digestible dry matter, at the market prices quoted, pea 

 meal was the highest and wheat straw the lowest." 



Corn fodder is discussed at some length and the yields of corn 

 per acre for several years at the station are quoted. In the dry atmos- 

 phere of Utah ''corn fodder may be so thoroughly field cured that there 

 is no danger of heating when shredded and stored where it is pro- 

 tected from the weather." 



Wheat and corn as food for pigs, C. S. Plumb and W. B. Ander- 

 son (Indiana Sta. Bui. 67, pp. 61-70). — Tests of the value of wheat and 

 corn alone and in combination were made with 16 Chester White pigs, 

 divided into four equal lots. Each lot consisted of 3 barrows and 

 1 sow. Lot 1 was fed corn; lot 2 dry wheat; lot 3 corn and wheat 1 :1, 

 and lot 4 wheat soaked in cold water. In addition all the lots were fed 

 daily 10 to 12 lbs. of separator skim milk. After a preliminary period 

 of 8 days, the test began January 9 and extended over 105 days. Each 

 lot was confined in a separate iuclosure of about 350 sq. ft., with a small 

 pen attached. 



To learn something of the time at which pigs may be most economic- 

 ally fattened, during two-thirds of the trial they were not fed all the 

 grain they could have assimilated. During the latter part of the trial 

 they were fed to their full capacity. The corn used was a yellow dent 

 variety grown on the station farm. The greater portion of the wheat 

 was an inferior grade which was purchased. Before feeding it was run 

 through a tanning-mill. Chemical analysis did not show that it differed 

 in composition from the wheat grown at the station. The financial 

 statement is based on corn at 40 cts., wheat at $1.25, and skim milk at 

 8 cts. per hundred. 



In general the pigs remained in good health throughout the test. 

 One pig in lot 1 was sick for a day, and one in lot 4 was affected with 

 scours. It was noticed that the pigs fed soaked wheat were some- 

 what inclined to looseness of the bowels though not seriously so. The 

 pigs were weighed each week, and the data of the experiments are 

 recorded in full in tabular form. 



