1917] 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



69 



acre of horse beans planted too late for high yields, five pigs grazed for 20 

 days and gained at the rate of 394 lbs. per acre. 



[Feeding- experiments with pigs] {Washington Sta. Bui. 136 {1917), pp. 8, 

 9). — lu an experiment with newly weaned pigs, 73 head were divided into tlu'ee 

 lots and placed in a dry lot, pea and oat pasture, and alfalfa pasture, respec- 

 tively. In addition each group received a ration of 95 per cent of rolled barley 

 and 5 per cent of commercial pig meal for 24 days, and thereafter a ration 

 of 92 per cent of rolled barley and S per cent of tankage. On changing the 

 dry lot to tankage the gains were practically doubled and the amount of con- 

 centrates required per pound of gain reduced from 5.5 to 3.93 lbs. The change 

 to tankage increased the gains of the pea and oat pasture group from 0.35 

 to 0.69 lb. per head daily, and decreased the concentrates from 4.09 to 3.26 

 lbs. per pound of gain. The alfalfa pasture group gained 0.31 lb. per head daily 

 on the pig meal and 0.836 lb. on tankage. The amount of concentrates required 

 per pound of gain by this lot was 5.24 lbs. on the pig meal and 3.73 lbs. on 

 tankage. 



A group of pigs that had been wintered around straw stacks and in stubble 

 fields with no grain and a group that had been fed a growing ration through 

 the winter were subsequently finished on rolled barley and shorts (3: 1). The 

 poor wintering had not destroyed the ability of the pigs to grow and fatten, 

 but had limited their capacity for food consumption and delayed their finishing. 



In a comparison of wheat v. barley, for fattening barrows, it required 4.47 

 lbs. of wheat, or 5.52 lbs. of barley, to produce a pound of gain. 



Twelve pigs on alfalfa pasture with a supplemental ration of 90 per cent of 

 rolled barley and 10 per cent of tankage in a self-feeder, and 100 lbs. of skim 

 milk daily for 74 days, produced gains at 5.5 cts. per pound, not considering 

 the value of the pasture. 



Self-feeders for fattening swine, L. A. Weaver {Missouri Sta. Bui. I44 

 {1917), pp. 3-17, figs. 2). — Some of the re.sults of experiments at the station 

 on the value and limitations of self-feeders for swine are given in the follow- 

 ing table: 



Self-feeding v. hand-feeding of pigs. 



Lot 



No. 



Ration. 



Number 

 of pigs. 



AveraM 

 initial 

 weight. 



Duration 

 of test. 



Average 

 daily gain 

 per head 



Feed per pound of 

 gain. 



Amount. Cost. 



Corn and tankage fl2:l) — (self-fed). 



Corn and tankage (12:1) — (hand- 

 fed) 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (self-fed). 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (8:2:1) — 

 ( hand-fed ) 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (self-fed). 



Corn and tankage (self-fed) 



Corn and tankage(I2:l) — (hand-fed) 



Corn and tankage (self-fed) 



Corn and tankage (12:1)— (hand- 

 fed) 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (self-fed). 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (8:2:1) — 

 (hand-fed ) 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (self-fed). 



Corn, shorts, and tankage (9:3:1) — 

 (hand-fed) 



Lhs. 

 112.0 



112.0 

 77.4 



77.4 

 137.7 

 136. 4 

 150. 2 

 122.2 



119.8 

 121.0 



122.7 

 39.98 



Day 



56 

 60 



60 

 42 

 42 

 42 

 60 



60 

 60 



60 

 112 



112 



Lbs. 

 1.97 



1.98 

 1.69 



1.51 

 2.00 

 L77 

 1.76 

 1.62 



1. .54 



1.80 



1.68 

 1.05 



.95 



Lbs. 

 4.00 



4. IS 

 4.19 



4.r4 

 8.63 

 3.50 

 4.07 

 4.61 



4.62 

 4.55 



4.38 

 3.8^! 



Cents. 

 6.40 



6.68 

 5.75 



5.66 

 5.07 

 6.05 

 5. 73 

 6.43 



6.56 

 &31 



6.35 



In addition to the above rations the animals had access to a mixture of cop- 

 peras, Glaubers salts, common salt, sal soda, and sulphur. The pigs of lots 12 

 and 13 were grazed on rape pasture, which furnished abundant forage through- 



