72 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



fortunate. The air was rent by the merry laugh of the boys, the shouts of 

 the man in command and the vigorous squealing of the unfortunate hogs. 

 It was all astir indoors and out, as the women had not only their share 

 of the work to do, but the preparation of dinner for the busy throng of 

 men. 



The next day, the dead porkers were loaded on the wagons or sleighs 

 and the farmer started light-hearted and happy for market. Pork sold for 

 from $10 to |15 and |16 per hundred. The process of making pork was 

 slow, but on the whole the profits were large. 



Things have changed and we find ourselves confronted by diiferent con- 

 ditions. Under improved methods of cultivating the soil for the produc- 

 tion of feeds and the improved methods of breeding and feeding, the 

 amount of pork produced has enormously increased. The prices for hogs 

 are lower, and profitable pork production under present circumstances, is 

 a difficult problem to solve. 



ONE METHOD. 



Large areas of land are planted to corn for the purpose of feeding cattle 

 for beef. One of the most economical ways of feeding the corn to the 

 cattle is in the shock. While at first thought it may seem like a slipshod 

 method, with hogs to follow the cattle and consume the undigested grain 

 that passes them, there is but little lost. Under this method the feed 

 consumed by the hogs would be well nigh valueless without them to con- 

 sume it, and we must admit that hogs reared and fattened in that way are 

 produced at a great profit. 



OTHER METHODS. 



All farmers are not cattle feeders on a large scale, but there are prod- 

 ucts on nearly every farm that would be valueless were it not for the hogs 

 consuming them and converting them into marketable pork. The skim- 

 milk, whey, dish-water and odds and ends of the fruit and vegetable 

 garden, all can be used in making up a cheap ration. The stubble-fields 

 and apple and peach orchards are places where the hogs can be utilized 

 with both benefit and profit. 



While the hog is not considered a distinctively herbivorous animal, he 

 relishes and thrives on a great variety of grasses that grow on the farm. 

 June clover and alfalfa have a feeding value for hogs equal to that of 

 wheat bran. To be fed in connection with a moderate ration of corn, we 

 believe that the clovers are among the best and most economical feeds for 

 the promotion of growth and maintaining the health of the animal. They 

 are a benefit aside from their nutritive value. They aid in separating the 

 particles of grain, thus enabling the gastric juices of the stomach to per- 

 meate the mass, and more effectively carry on the process of digestion. 

 Experiments have shown that a bushel of corn fed in moderate rations 

 while the hogs are on clover pasture will produce nearly, if not quite, 

 double the amount of pork than would be produced if fed alone. Clover 

 and alfalfa hay can be fed to great advantage in winter. 



GOOD SELECTIONS AND GOOD FEEDING METHODS ESSENTIAL. 



If we were asked the question, "How much pork will a bushel of corn 

 make?" we would feel obliged to say that it depended On the kind of pig 



