308 SWINE IN AMERICA 



sc\eral stations in widely separated states and countries 

 and with different feeds, yet the results were concordant 

 in showing that the frame of the growing animal and 

 the vital organs can be greatly modified by improper 

 nutrition — the muscles produced by such feeding being 

 less than normal in size, the bones robbed of their 

 strength, tlie vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys, 

 modified, and even the blood reduced in quantity. The 

 observant feeder and breeder of swine studying these 

 trials must be impressed witli the plastic character of the 

 body of the growing animal. He learns that the bones 

 and muscles as well as some of the internal organs of 

 the body can be thrown out of their normal relations 

 one to another through an unbalanced or improper food 

 supply. He sees it possible for immature animals to live 

 a long time without showing disease, while being 

 dwarfed in form and made prematurely fat. He learns 

 that nature's plan is to grow the framework first and 

 lay on fat afterwards. He understands that, while no 

 farmer would feed his pigs as these were fed, wrong 

 feeding may, nevertheless, be practiced by many. He 

 concludes, rightly, that if a pig or other young animal 

 is malnurtured so as to modify its bones, muscle and 

 vital organs ever so little, and the animal so atTected is 

 later used for breeding purposes, the descendants like- 

 wise being malnurtured, the cumulative ill effects may 

 in a few generations become very marked." 



Experiments conducted at the Utah station (Bulletin 

 No. 70) demonstrated that the practice of scantily feed- 

 ing pigs through one period of their growth and depend- 

 ing upon heavy feeding to finish the preparation for 



