680 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



ment of Agriculture in co-operation with southern experiment stations 

 indicate that to secure carcasses that will be uniformly firm the pigs 

 must be finished for 8 weeks or longer, after being taken off peanuts or 

 soybeans. 



1006. Chufas. Like artichokes, the small tubers of the chufa remain 

 in the ground uninjured all winter. Chufas grow best on light, sandy 

 soils, producing 100 to 150 bushels per acre. Duggar at the Alabama 

 Station 165 hurdled young pigs on a chufa field, giving them corn and 

 cowpea meal additional. The average of 2 trials showed that, after due 

 allowance was made for the grain fed, the chufas produced 307 Ibs. of 

 pork per acre. (377) 



1007. Cassava. At the Florida Station 166 Conner found that pigs fed 

 cassava alone or equal parts of cassava and sweet potatoes did not main- 

 tain their weight. "When fed with shorts cassava produced fair gains. 

 Larger returns can generally be secured from other crops for pigs than 

 from cassava. (378) 



1008. Silage. Alfalfa, clover, or other legume hay is much more satis- 

 factory for pigs than silage of any kind. Corn silage is too woody and 

 too low in digestible matter to be valuable for swine. If shotes and breed- 

 ing stock live on a limited allowance of rich concentrates alone, they 

 may suffer from lack of proper bulk in the ration. In such cases, if 

 legume hay or roots are not available, even corn silage will be helpful 

 in distending the digestive tract. 



1009> Legume hay. The high value of legume hay for swine has been 

 emphasized previously in this and the preceding chapter. (918, 939, 966) 

 Legume hay is rich in protein and this protein is of such a kind that it 

 balances the proteins of the cereals quite efficiently, thus differing from 

 the proteins of linseed meal, wheat middlings, gluten feed, and corn 

 germ meal. Furthermore, legume hay is rich in calcium, and, at least if 

 well cured, is high in the fat-soluble vitamine. An additional merit is 

 that it is slightly laxative. The following chapter points out that, as a 

 result of these virtues, no other feed aids more in keeping brood sows 

 thrifty in winter and ensuring vigorous litters. Indeed, every farmer 

 in the northern states should make a special effort to provide choice 

 legume hay for his sows in winter, after the pasture season. (1016) 



Young pigs can not utilize much alfalfa hay, for their digestive tracts 

 are not suited to digest any large proportion of dry roughage, even good 

 legume hay. Therefore, it is usually not economical to feed legume hay, 

 even alfalfa, as the only supplement to corn for growing and fattening 

 pigs. This is shown clearly by the trials reviewed in the following 

 article. (1010) Legume hay has its highest value for pigs when added 

 to a ration which might otherwise prove inefficient and produce poor re- 

 sults. For example, adding 5 per ct. of alfalfa hay to a ration of white 

 corn and skim milk will prevent the pigs suffering from the lack of the 

 fat-soluble vitamine in this ration. Also, at least for fall pigs in the 

 Bui. 122. 18a Pla. Bui. 90. 



