658 FEEDING OF HOGS. 



good, healthful quality of meat, and when the proper amount of fat 

 is laid on, the animal should be slaughtered at once.'* 



How to Change Hogs from Grass to Fattening 

 Food When hogs are changed from grass to concentrated food, 

 there should be a method pursued in Effecting the change. If it is 

 made with too great precipitation there is danger that it will be 

 attended with more or less bad effects, and possibly some of the 

 animals may die. At first the concentrated feed should be of a 

 light and cooling character made into a mash or slop. Bran, mill- 

 sweepings, middlings and other food of such character prepared in 

 that way may be fed at the same time with the grain, and it is still 

 better if potatoes, pumpkins, apples and other foods of such charac- 

 ter are mixed with the mill-feed, and the whole cooked together. 

 Corn which is cut just about the time the ears are ripening may be 

 fed to good advantage at this time, the ears, stalks, etc., being all 

 cut and fed together. If pumpkins are allowed, it will be wen to 

 open them and remove the seeds, which have an injurious effect 

 upon the kidneys and bladder. 



Effect of Cob-Meal Ground with Corn in Hog 

 Fattening Corn itself is a very heating and stimulating food, 

 and if fed constantly, not infrequently leads to derangement of the 

 stomach, and in this connection it may be suggested ; if grass is 

 good for the health of the animal in summer, why not hay from 

 good grasses, during the winter? Undoubtedly, properly prepared, 

 cured grass, fed occasionally in winter, will be found beneficial in 

 promoting the health of the hog. But the heating tendency of corn 

 alluded to, may be also advantageously counteracted by grinding 

 the corn and cob together and thus feeaing them at the same time. 

 The report made by two Farmer's Clubs on this subject will prove 

 interesting and put the matter in a practical and intelligible light. 

 They say : " We have long been satisfied that a certain amount of 

 coarse material fed to cattle with concentrated food is both econom- 

 ical and profitable, but on account of the peculiar construction of 

 the hog's stomach, we were not prepared for the result, which estab- 

 lished the desirability of feeding coarse material in connection with 

 corn meal." This report was connected with experiments made 

 which immediately concerned three separate lots of hogs, of which 

 one lot was fed corn -meal alone, wetted with pure water; another 

 lot was fed with corn and cob-meal wetted in like manner; and the 

 third was fed whole corn soaked in water. The first lot at the 

 beginning of the experiment weighed 453 Ibs., and when slaugh- 

 tered, 760 Ibs. The gain in live weight was 307 Ibs. and the actual 

 dressed weight was 615^ Ibs. Lot Iso 2 weighed, when the exper- 

 iments were undertaken, 467 Ibs. The live weight at the time of 

 slaughter was 761 Ibs., which made the gain in weight 294 Ibs. and 

 the Qressed weight was 593 Ibs. Lot Is o. 3 weighed at the outset 

 456 Ibs., and at time of slaughter 689 Ibs. Tneir gain in live 

 weight was 233 Ibs., and the dressed weight was 567 Ibs. These 



