FEEDS FOR SWINE 673 



gained on the average 1.15 Ibs. a day and required only 127 Ibs. corn and 

 0.18 acre soybeans for 100 Ibs. gain. Where soybean pasture was used, 

 pork was made for only 40 per ct. of the cost when corn was used alone 

 without pasture. 



Heavy feeding of soybeans produces soft pork, but the quality may be 

 improved by finishing the pigs on corn with tankage, fish meal, cotton- 

 seed meal, or shorts after the grazing period on soybeans, as is discussed 

 elsewhere. (1005) 



990. Cowpea pasture. Especially on the poorer soils in the southern 

 states the cowpea is an important forage crop for swine, as it flourishes 

 where other legumes will not produce good crops. (357) In a 60-day 

 trial by Gray, Summers, and Shook in Alabama 132 pigs fed 1.56 Ibs. 

 corn per head daily on cowpea pasture gained 0.90 Ib. daily and required 

 only 173 Ibs. corn and 0.83 acre cowpeas for 100 Ibs. gain. Others fed 

 corn and tankage in a dry lot gained only 0.54 Ib. a day and required 

 540 Ibs. concentrates for 100 Ibs. gain. Peanuts and soybeans usually 

 excel cowpeas for pigs on soil rich enough for their culture, for they 

 produce more seed per acre. Like soybeans, cowpeas are often grown 

 with corn for hogging down. Cowpeas are not a satisfactory forage 

 crop for the northern states, as they are too late in maturing. 



991. Velvet bean pasture. In the South velvet beans are often grown 

 with corn and the crop hogged down, part of the corn ears sometimes 

 being picked first. The gains are usually satisfactory as long as the corn 

 lasts, but then they are often poor. The velvet beans are not very 

 palatable to pigs and furthermore, as has been pointed out before, raw 

 velvet beans are not an efficient hog feed when forming the greater part 

 of the ration. (981) 



In an Alabama trial 133 pigs were turned into a field where velvet 

 beans had been grown with corn, but the good corn ears had been already 

 removed. In addition they were given a half ration of corn meal 9 parts, 

 and tankage 1 part, while another lot was fed corn and tankage in a 

 dry lot. The pigs foraging on velvet beans gained 1.23 Ibs. a head daily 

 and required 0.38 acre of beans and only 170 Ibs. concentrates for 100 

 Ibs. gain, while those in the dry lot consumed 400 Ibs. concentrates per 

 100 Ibs. gain. 



992. Rape pasture; combinations including rape. Over the greater part 

 of the northern United States rape is the best single annual forage crop 

 for swine. As it may be sown both early and late in the season, forage 

 may be provided at any desired time. The best yields are usually 

 obtained with spring seeding, and if the crop is not pastured too closely, 

 growth will continue until severe frosts in the fall. Pigs should not be 

 turned on the rape until it is 10 to 14 inches high. If rape is pastured 

 heavily, the pigs must be removed when it has been grazed down to 4 

 or 5 leaves to the plant, in order to give the crop a chance to recover. A 



w Ala. Bui. 168. 



1S3 Gray, Summers and Shook, Ala. Bui. 168. 



