FORAGE CROPS FOR SWINE. 289 



pasture very early in the season. It can be used for a month 

 or two. It is especially palatable and very much relished by 

 the animals while it is young and tender. After it has ob- 

 tained some height the straw becomes rank and unpalatable. 

 It should either then be allowed to ripen, or be plowed under 

 and replaced by some other crop which will furnish green 

 feed later in the season. After that blue grass pas- 

 ture, red clover or alfalfa will furnish the next crop 

 for the spring months. Blue grass pasture does 

 very nicely at any season of the year providing 

 there is enough of it. Most men make a mistake 

 by pasturing hogs on the blue grass pasture lot by having 

 too many hogs for the amount of pasture. It is rich in pro- 

 tein and mineral matter, thus makes an excellent feed to 

 add to the corn ration. Red clover, where it can be had, 

 makes one of the most acceptable forage crops that can be 

 grown in this country. It is very rich in protein and ash 

 matter, thus an ideal food to feed in conjunction with corn 

 or barley for the proper development of the young animal. 

 In the spring of the year it does very nicely, but it cannot be 

 pastured continuously, as during the months of July and 

 August it becomes very coarse and fibrous, thus unpalatable 

 to the animals. If after it has been pastured a month or so 

 the hogs are taken off the same, and then stubble is cut 

 fairly close to the ground, a second crop will grow up and 

 make a fairly good pasture later on in the season. In this 

 way some swine men are able to get a couple and in some 

 instances three crops of red clover in one year. 



In most sections of the country where alfalfa can be 

 grown it proves to be an excellent feed. It will probably fur- 

 nish more feed to the acre than any other crop which can be 

 grown. It is very rich in protein. In this respect it is 

 richer than bran or shorts. It is also rich in ash matter, 

 thus makes an excellent adjunct to feed in connection with 

 the corn ration. When treated in the same way as the red 

 clover, that is, cut at intervals of four or five weeks, several 

 crops per season may be obtained from the land. 



Peas have been used to a considerable extent for swine 

 feeding purposes. They are used especially in Canada and 

 to -some extent in the United States. They furnish a con- 

 siderable amount of feed and are very similar in composition 

 to red clover and alfalfa. The English vetch is also used 



