FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 469 



times as far when soiled. The time comes on when land will be so 

 high that it will not be economy to turn stock onto the crops to trample 

 them down and get only one fourth of their actual value. The pigs will 

 do quite well on soiled crops. But the best plan, probably, would be to 

 put the crops into the silo. Mr. E. N. Cobb of Monmouth, Illinois, feeds 

 his hogs for fattening a combined ration of silage and ear corn to great 

 advantage. He feeds his brood sows on a ration of ten pounds corn sil- 

 age and two pounds of oats daily. They do splendidly on it, and it 

 makes a cheap ration. Clover in season, sweet corn. rai:>€. etc.. may be 

 cut and fed to the pigs with profit. 



There are a number of other problems that come up for solution. 

 One would be the benefit of grinding. 1 discuss grinding feed more 

 fully later on. Soaking and wetting feed has a value sometimes. But 

 cooking feed has not shown good results. In fact with some twenty ex- 

 periment station tests it has turned out that cooked feed does not produce 

 as great gains as raw. It seems natural for a pig to eat his food raw. 

 It will take a long time to educate him up to such a degree of refine- 

 ment as for him to require cooked feed. A daily ration of slops, how- 

 ever, is of great value, but it should not be given as an exclusive diet. 



BALANCE THE CORX. 



As we are in the center of the great American corn belt and as corn 

 is much the cheapest feed we can raise, much the most convenient feed, 

 the endeavor should be to so use the corn as to get the greatest possible 

 value out of it. But corn will not do its best if fed alone, aua as a 

 single feed. It is exceedingly rich in oil and carbohydrates, the great 

 fat-producing properties. If it has a weak place it is in the muscle- 

 producing property — the protein. The thing to do is to strengthen the 

 weak element in the corn by combining some feed strong at the point 

 where corn is weak. This may be done by combining with it clover 

 cow peas, alfalfa, bran, oats or ship stuff. Bran, however, is an expen- 

 sive feed for hogs and is better suited for ruminants — -cattle— sheep. 

 There is so much crude fibre in bran ihst pigs do not get all the nutrient 

 out of it like cows do. 



It is scarcely necessary to call your attention to the necessity for an 

 abundance of ash or mineral matter in our feeds for pigs. Corn is weak 

 in mineral matter that goes to make up the bone. It is so easily sup- 

 plied, however, in the form of wood ashes that is no disparagement to 

 the corn. The prudent farmer will supply his hogs with plenty of wood 

 ashes and salt. 



As to condimental food, so-called "stock food." it is far better to 

 feed your pigs on diversified feeds, give them healthful environment so 

 that through healthy nutrition nature may produce thrift which is better 

 than to feed improi>erly and depend on condiments. Balancing the ration 

 will be of infinitely more value than dosing with medicine. 



