ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 7\^ 



and skim milk, etc., are fed, since these contain a greater ])er('entat,'e of nitrogenous or 

 tiesh-forming material than corn. There are also a number of authorities who insist 

 that the percentage of lean meat is niore dependent upon tlu' breed and type of hogs 

 fed than upon character of the feed given them." 



In view of the growing demand for lean pork, esjjecially for export jiurposes, a test 

 was l)egun with 2 lots of 8 pigs each, to study the causes which intluence the char- 

 acter of the gains made. Each lot contained Berkshires, Poland Chinas, and York- 

 shires. During the 18 weeks of the test, lot 1 was fed corn meal and skim milk, 1:1; 

 lot 2, wheat middlings and ground peas, 1:1, mixed with an equal amount of skim 

 milk. The nutritive ratio of the rations fed the two lots was 1 : 7.7 and 1 : .'5.6, respect- 

 ively. The average amount of grain eaten per pig per day in the 2 lots was 3.92 

 and 3.94 lbs., and the average daily gain per pig, 1.26 and 1.17 lbs., respectively, the 

 amount of food consumed per ])ound of gain l)eing 6.32 and 6.81 lbs. As regards 

 breeds, the Berkshires gained on an average of 1.34 lbs.; Poland Chinas, 1.21 lbs., 

 and Yorkshires, 1.08 lbs. The pigs were slaughtered and a block test was made. 

 Among the conclusions drawn were the following: 



"The pigs in the corn-fed lot averaged slightly longer in body than did those fed 

 peas, but this must be attributed to the individual peculiarity of the pigs comprising 

 the different lots. In comparing the average length of the small intestines with the 

 average length of the bodies of the pigs in the different lots, we notice that in the lot 

 fed corn the average length of the small intestines is 18.4 times the average length of 

 the body, and in the pea-fed lot they are 18.6 times longer than the average length 

 of their bodies. . . . 



"In the corn-fed lot we find the average percentage of intestinal fat to dressed 

 weight to be 2.2 per cent and in the pea-fed lot it is just 2 per cent. This difference 

 is not so pronounced as in the average percentage of kidney fat found in the two 

 lots. . . . 



"The fat from the two pigs fed peas and middlings contained a much larger per- 

 centage of water than did those fed on corn meal. What effect this may have on 

 the curing and edible properties of the fat meat we are not prepared to say, but it 

 would certainly add to the value of the kidney fat of the pigs from the corn-fed lot 

 over the other for lard-rendering purposes. . . . 



"In the amount of blood, weight of intestines and stomach, weight of livers and 

 weight of kidneys the pea-fed lot has a greater average weight in everj- case than 

 the corn-fed lot." 



Experiments in pig feeding {Que.endand Dept. Agr. Rpt. 1899-1900, pp. 19-24)- — 

 In a comparison of boiled mangolds and swill vs. boiled mangolds and ground barley, 

 made with 2 lots of 4 pigs each, the average daily gain per pig in 4 weeks was 0.6 lb. 

 on the former ration as compared with 1.65 lbs. on the latter. Cooked, i. e. boiled 

 Ijarley and raw ground barley were compared with 2 lots of 4 pigs each. The aver- 

 age daily gain in 4 weeks was 1.93 lbs. on cooked and 1.74 lbs. on ground barley; the 

 food consumed per pound of gain was 5.43 and 5.94 lbs., respectively. Under similar 

 experimental conditions the value of ground Ijarley with and without cane molasses 

 wa.s tested. On ground barley the average daily gain per pig was 1.93 lbs. and on 

 ground barley and cane molasses (5.7:1) it was 1.96 lbs. The food consumed per 

 pound of gain wa.s 5.5 and 5.08 lbs., respectively. 



Whole corn compared with corn meal for fattening swine, W. A. Henky 

 (Wisconsin Sta. Rpt. 1900, pp. 7-11). — In continuationof earlier work (E. S. K., 10, p. 

 776), whole corn and corn meal were compared for 14 weeks with 2 lots of 14 pigs 

 each. Wheat middlings were fed with the corn and constituted one-third of the 

 ration. A few of the pigs were Poland Cliina Berkshire crosses; the others were pure- 

 bred Poland Chinas. The total whole corn and wheat middlings consmned by lot 1 

 was 5,852 and 2,926 lbs., respectively, the total gain l)eing 1,571 lbs. Lot 2 con- 

 sumed 6,183 lbs. corn meal and 3,092 lbs. wheat middlings, the total gain being 1,938 



