A CORN-BELT FARMING SYSTEM. 



FIG. 4. A splendid growth of rye, with the hogging-down process just beginning. 



immediately put back on the field and is better distributed than would 

 be possiblb oy any other system of feeding and distributing the 

 manure. It is possible, even on poor land, to produce immense 

 growths of rye straw with fair yields of grain. This straw furnishes 

 great quantities of the vegetable matter and humus-forming material 

 that is so essential to all soils. The crop of rye shown in figure 4 was 

 grown on only medium soil with the aid of 200 pounds of acid phos- 

 phate per acre. Turning back such quantities of straw soon makes a 

 decided change, even on very poor soil. 



An item of no little importance is the ease with which the hogs take 

 care of themselves while hogging off the rye crop and eating the young 

 clover that has grown up therein. During the hot season of July and 

 August the hogs lie in the shade during midday, but about sundown 

 start out in the rye field and work there generally all night, coming in 

 late the following morning. If plenty of pure water is furnished them, 

 this is all the attention they require, and they will continue to do the 

 work of Harvest hands very effectively. 



Compared with the cost of harvesting, thrashing, and marketing the 

 grain it has been determined that each hog will do about 1 cent's 

 worth of work per day. This, taken into account with the fact that 

 each hog will make a very creditable gain of one-half to three-fourths 

 of a pound per day, and in some cases a pound, during a time when 

 the labor situation is most tense, is a big factor in the economic 

 management of the farm. 



The composition of rye grain is about the same as that of corn, 

 being only slightly higher in protein than corn. Young clover, when 

 eaten with ripe rye, makes an excellent ration, which produces a 

 smooth, "growthy" type of hog that is in just the right condition to 

 put on fat rapidly when given a corn diet later. 



