31 



ranch eggs" without some misgiving. We would much rather 

 skim the cream from our own cow's milk and fill the family pork 

 barrel with our own home-grown article. Then, why not do it ; 

 in fact, why not make a business of it? 



Twenty-five years ago the farmers of the South were mainly 

 cotton farmers. They were having their "ups and downs", but 

 mostly ''downs". Someone began to preach animals to them, in 

 order to bring back their former prosperity. Some of them 

 listened and soon stocked their farms. Others followed, and 

 today the South has proved that animal industry is the backbone 

 of their newer agriculture. There are now thousands of excel- 

 lent farm homes there where herds of cattle and hogs, second to 

 none, are bringing w^ealth to their owners. 



Just consider some of the possibilities from animal production 

 here. The question of a milk supply has been serious for some 

 years past and seems no nearer a solution. We need milk now 

 and we are going to need more milk. There is no reason why, 

 when properly produced and handled and with proper trans- 

 portation, which we can get if we demand it, we should not pro- 

 duce milk enough here for everyone's needs. 



Look at the butter market, too. Notice what large importa- 

 tions of California and Australian butter are recjuired to meet 

 the demand. Those small quantities of Lsland butter that do 

 find their way to our markets are eagerly grabbed up at a 

 higher price than the imported article. Some inferior butter 

 made in the Islands several years ago gave the home-made 

 product a severe handicap, but lately its quality has improved. 

 With the proper methods of manufacture, packing and market- 

 ing, we should be able to put our own butter into every home in 

 the Islands. The market is here and is only waiting for some- 

 one who wnll supply it regularly with well-made fresh butter. 



Much has been said and written of late regarding the high 

 cost of pork and pork products of which we in Hawaii consume 

 large quantities. The cheapest meat a man can obtain is the 

 product of his own farm ; the most economical ham and bacon 

 obtainable is that produced by transforming truck garden waste, 

 dairy by-products, and garbage into pork. The writer earnestly 

 believes that the hog is the animal that will bring the greatest 

 return to the homesteader, and that unless some hogs are kept 

 on every homestead, the owner is not getting the greatest effi- 

 ciency from his holdings. 



I have recently finished several feeding experiments with hogs. 

 In one of them, one litter of seven hogs weighed 1403 pounds 

 at seven and three-quarters months old. Their feed cost was 

 17.8 cents per pound. These hogs were fed expensive imported 

 rolled barley at $85.00 a ton and high-grade tankage at $105.00 

 a ton. Feeding was done in self-feeders, and the labor required 

 was practically none, only to see that the self-feeders were kept 

 filled and that water was available. In another experiment. 



