FEEDS FOR SWINE 641 



Mixed feeds of many different types are being manufactured for swine. 

 Some are intended as complete rations, while others are protein-rich 

 feeds to be used as substitutes for such feeds as tankage or dairy by- 

 products, and still others are relatively low in protein. In extensive 

 experiments by Eward and colleagues at the Iowa Station, 64 and also in 

 trials at the Indiana and the Washington Stations, 65 the gains have in 

 nearly all cases been cheaper on well-balanced rations made up of farm 

 grains and common protein-rich supplements, than where commercial 

 mixed feeds were fed. From these experiments we may conclude that an 

 intelligent farmer who is capable of balancing rations properly for his 

 stock will usually find such mixed swine feeds economical only when 

 they actually furnish nutrients as cheap or cheaper than rations made 

 up of farm grains and protein-rich supplements. Mixed feeds for swine 

 should be low in fiber, as these animals are not suited to utilize much of 

 such low grade feeds as reground oat feed (chiefly oat hulls) or chaffy 

 grain screenings. (288) 



956. Garbage. Until the discovery of methods of vaccination against 

 hog cholera, most attempts to feed swine household garbage on a large 

 scale were unsuccessful, due to heavy losses from this disease. Now, 

 however, the garbage from a large number of cities is fed to swine. In- 

 deed in 1918, 345 cities in the United States of over 10,000 inhabitants 

 and having a total population of 11,000,000 were thus disposing of their 

 garbage. In most cases the garbage is fed by contractors who purchase 

 the collected garbage from the cities or else collect it themselves under 

 rigid rules. Garbage feeding is a highly specialized phase of pork pro- 

 duction and cannot be here treated at length, but the following general 

 points are of special interest : 66 



Garbage varies greatly in composition and feeding value, but on an 

 average and allowing for normal losses of hogs by death, a ton of muni- 

 cipal garbage may be expected to produce 40 Ibs. of marketable live 

 weight of hog. Garbage of excellent quality, such as that from large 

 hotels and restaurants, may be twice as valuable as this. 



The garbage must be collected with reasonable frequency and be free 

 from tin cans, soap, broken glass, and other undesirable or injurious 

 foreign articles. The public should be kept informed that the garbage 

 is being fed, so they will not put such material in the garbage. Usually 

 it is best for the cities to make the collections and then dispose of the 

 garbage to individuals or corporations on a contract basis, unless the 

 city operates its own hog-feeding farm. Long-time contracts are likely 

 to be most satisfactory, for they tend toward a better class of equipment 

 and more sanitary conditions. 



The pigs to be fed may be bought as feeders or may be raised. 

 Methods of feeding, handling, housing, and care may differ considerably 



"Information to the authors. 



"Skinner and Starr, Ind. Bui. 219; Hislop, Wash. Rpt. 1916, pp. 8-9. 



""Chiefly from Ashbrook and Wilson. U. S. T). A. Farmers' Bui. 1133. 



