FARM ANIMALS 213 



alfalfa pasture, one on rape pasture and one with- 

 out pasture. It was shown in this experiment that on 

 alfalfa pasture three hundred pounds of grain were 

 required for one hundred pounds of pork, on rape 

 pasture three hundred and one pounds and without 

 pasture three hundred and seventy-one pounds. 

 The daily gain of the hogs was fastest on alfalfa 

 pasture and least in the lot without pasture. The 

 pork-producing value of alfalfa in this test appeared 

 to be about $25 per acre. Green peas also consti- 

 tute a valuable pasture crop for pigs when supple- 

 mented with a small ration of shorts and sldm 

 milk. The black-eyed marrowfat is a valuable 

 variety for this purpose. When pastured in this 

 manner one-fourth acre of peas is sufficient to 

 carry nine mature hogs for two months or more. 

 The pork-producing capacity of peas is about $60 

 per acre when grazed under proper conditions. 



In general pigs like other animals waste a con- 

 siderable portion of pasture, if allowed to graze 

 freely on it. It is customary, therefore, to graze 

 them in hurdles, using a system of movable fences 

 so as to confine them at will. This system 

 however has the objection that the crop may be 

 injured by too close grazing and tramping if the 

 hogs are not moved at sufficiently frequent in- 

 tervals. When grazed in the hurdle system it 

 has been found that an acre of peas will main- 

 tain about four thousand pounds of live hogs for 

 a period of two weeks and produce about 170 

 pounds of pork during this time. Peas are 

 usually sown mixed with oats as a hog pasture and 

 this combination is a very successful one, since 

 the oats serve as a sort of nurse crop and assist 

 in holding the peas off the ground. 



Rape is generally recognized as an excellent 



