ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 173 



the rape was next in palatability. A 2-acre plat seeded with rye in November 

 and pastured during the winter, seeded to corn and soy beans in June and in 

 August broadcasted witli rape and rye, and pastured during tlie summer, pro- 

 duced 776 lbs. of pork. A 3-acre tract seeded with rye and vetch in November, 

 with corn and soy beans in Slay, rape and soy beans in August, and pastured 

 during the spring and fall produced a total of 1,461 lbs. of pork. A mixture of 

 rajie and sweet clover proved especially attractive to pigs, it being preferred to 

 alfalfa. 



The number of sows and their litters that can be pastured on alfalfa with 

 safety throughout the year was found to be five per acre, provided they are 

 given a liberal grain ration dur'ng the time when they are nursing the pigs. 

 The most rapid and economical gains resulted in the case of two Duroc sows 

 that were fed ear corn with 10 per cent of tankage while grazing on alfalfa 

 forage. The pigs responded to this ration and made more than 1 lb. of gain per 

 day throughout the season. On a basis of net gain i>er acre, i. e., after deduct- 

 ing the cost of feed consumed and calculating pork at 10 cts. per pound live 

 weight, the alfalfa fields, now six years old, produced a net profit of .$41 per 

 acre in 1914. It is concluded that swine are able to market alfalfa in the form 

 of pork at a profit unequaled by any other method of handling this crop. 



Of a number of pigs sold to a hog cholera serum laboratory, certain pigs 

 proved noticeably resistant to the disease when injected with the virus. It was 

 found that the hardiest and most resistant pigs were farrowed from sows that 

 had been housed in the open, with only the protection afforded by the colony 

 houses. Other pigs which had been pen raised and had not been given free 

 range nor fed on a forage crop reacted shortly after an injection of the virus. 



Pigs given a mineral mixture of charcoal, salt, bone meal, air-slaked lime, 

 gentian, sulphur, and ferrous sulphate did not root, whereas pigs not receiving 

 this mixture did root. 



Trials with the colony-house system of wintering brood sows proved very 

 satisfactory. The sows were hardy and the litters large and healthy. It was 

 found that the best pigs could be traced to the brood sows giving the most 

 milk, and that sows farrowing in good flesh were the heaviest milkers. To this 

 end the grain ration was increased after the sow or gilt was safely settled, 

 say 45 days after mating. At farrowing time the sows were all in good flesh 

 and bloom. The corn and alfalfa ration was supplemented vv'ith some bran and 

 tankage during the five weeks preceding farrowing. The corn was taken away, 

 entirely two weeks before parturition and the amount of feed increased in bulk 

 by the use of pulped roots and alfalfa leaves. The sows were again placed on 

 full feed (all they would eat and clean iip with relish) when the pigs were four 

 weeks old. An attempt was made to combine the feeding of alfalfa hay after 

 farrowing, but it proved too bulky and the sows lost flesh and failed to give a 

 satisfactory flow of milk. Green rye gave much better results than the alfalfa 

 hay, apparently because of its succulent properties. 



Trials previously noted (E. S. R., 32, p. 569) were continued to determine a 

 method whereby the refuse product known as garbage tankage or " stick " 

 could be safely fed to pigs. It was found that two methods of neutralizing the 

 acidity were practical, one being the use of lime water, and the other material 

 used being ground limestone. The product varied materially in its composition 

 both chemically and mechanically, and for this reason it is not deemed possible 

 to give a definite formula governing the amount of these materials required for 

 neutralization. A mixture made up of corn meal, stick, and blackstrap mo- 

 lasses 4:8:3, together with a small amount of red dog flour, was fed to pigs for 

 96 days, producing an average daily gain of 1.656 lbs. per pig. This mixture 



