428 SWINE IN AMERICA 



for tne skim milk when fed alone; or, if fed in conjunc- 

 tion with corn or barley meal, six pounds of gain, or 30 

 cents a 100 pounds." 



This is based on the estimates that a bushel of corn 

 meal or corn will return ten pounds of pork and that 20 

 pounds of skim milk, fed alone, will yield one pound of 

 pork. It takes into consideration also the interesting 

 fact that if a bushel of corn alone will make ten pounds 

 of pork, and 100 pounds of skim milk by itself will give 

 five pounds of pork, the two combined will, on an aver- 

 age, produce 18 pounds instead of 15 pounds of pork. 

 This peculiar and valuable effect has been noticed by 

 many feeders, but has never been precisely explained. It 

 is surmised, however, that the combination acts to stim- 

 ulate the appetite and digestion so that, in the end, a 

 larger proportion of the feed is digested or assimilated. 



Skim milk and buttermilk are considered of practically 

 equal feeding value except for extremely young animals. 

 The prices at which they are sold by butter factories and 

 skim stations depend much upon locality and conditions, 

 and range from about seven to 25 cents per 100 pounds. 

 Aside from the fat, the quantity of digestible nutrients in 

 either is about equivalent to that in the cow's milk, which, 

 when of average quality, contains 3^^ per cent of protein 

 and 5 per cent of carbohydrates. 



It will be seen that as skim milk affords less than ten 

 per cent of digestible matter, it must, by itself, be an 

 unsatisfactory and insufficient food. This has been 

 proved by numerous experiments. Those made at the 

 Utah station (Bulletin No. 57) showed that "from the 

 standpoint of quick returns, the milk and grain ration 



