CHAPTER XXXIII. 



MANAGEMENT AND FEED OF SWINE HOME MARKETS AND 

 BACON PRODUCTION. 



I. CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



The digestive organs of the pig, with the contents, comprise but 

 7.5 per ct. and those of the ox over 14 per ct. of the total weight 

 of the body. (28) The horse, ox, and sheep are normally herbiv- 

 orous, living on the finer and more delicate portions of plants 

 and their seeds, while the omnivorous pig feeds not only on the 

 tender leaves, stems, roots, and seeds, but on animal matter as well. 

 Because of the limited capacity of the stomach and the nature of 

 its digestive apparatus the pig requires food that is more concen- 

 trated and digestible and less woody than that of the other large 

 farm animals. Not only is the pig an omnivorous feeder, but in 

 nature it lives close to the earth, gathering some of its food from 

 beneath the surface and swallowing considerable earthy matter in 

 doing so. The intelligent swine feeder takes cognizance of all such 

 facts and is helped by them in managing his herd. 



905. Summer care of swine. Breeding stock should live all sum- 

 mer in the open on uncontaminated soil, grazing on succulent pas- 

 tures in order to develop bone, muscle, and constitution. The 

 grasses do not provide a satisfactory pasture for swine. Far bet- 

 ter are rape and the legumes clover, alfalfa, vetch, etc. While the 

 pig can barely subsist on grass alone, the legumes and rape will 

 somewhat more than sustain life and so leave for producing in- 

 crease all the extra feed which may be supplied. (894-901) In ad- 

 dition to good legume or rape pasture there should be fed a proper 

 allowance of muscle- and bone-building feeds, such as wheat mid- 

 dlings, bran, soybeans, cowpeas, linseed oil meal, tankage, dairy 

 by-products, etc. These need not, however, constitute over one- 

 third of the feed supplied. The remainder, carbohydrate in char- 

 acter and cheaper in price, should consist of corn, barley, kafir, 

 milo, emmer, etc. The daily concentrate allowance should be suffi- 

 cient to keep the pigs thrifty and gaining, but in no case so abun- 

 dant as to make them lazy and shiftless, for pigs, if heavily fed, 

 do little foraging, but lie idly in the shade. Observation will soon 



552 



