250 SWINE IN AMERICA 



injure the tops and we did not dig and pit our crop until 

 late in November. The last beets taken out of the pit 

 in the spring were as fresh and crisp as when placed 

 there. There is no stock that needs succulence in food 

 more than swine or that will pay better for supplying it. 

 especially the breeding herd." 



"1 have fattened my own hogs for family use for the 

 last three years on sugar beets," sa3^s T. L. Diesem of 

 Kansas; "anfl I did not give them any grain until about 

 two weeks before slaughtering, when I fed them corn, 

 barley and oats. Their meat was as firm as if they had 

 been corn fed. The flavor of our sausage, at least, is 

 just the same as when we feed corn." 



.V phase of root feeding in winter which is worth con- 

 sideration has been advanced by A. W. Brayton of Illi- 

 nois, who says : "Stock fed entirely upon dry feed require 

 a great deal of water, and if the weather is cold and the 

 water near the freezing point they will not drink as much 

 as their systems demand, and the food sometimes be- 

 comes impacted, or passes only partly digested, causing 

 injury and disease; or, at times they will drink more 

 than is necessary, thereby washing the food out of the 

 stomach before half the nutriment is extracted. Taken 

 in large cjuantities ice-cold water reduces the animal tem- 

 perature, and the beast stands around for hours humped 

 and shivering with cold. If given a ration of succulent 

 food, which is largely juices, the liquid necessary is at 

 least partly supplied, a little at a time and in its most 

 acceptable form." 



