WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ADEQUATE RATION 109 



All Factors Must Be Combined. A correct relationship, one 

 to another, of all of the factors named is required. This is a prob- 

 lem for the wisest of sages. Here is where the appetite of the pig 

 comes in splendidly; oftentimes because he can select his own ra- 

 tion pretty well. Of course he. makes mistakes, but under proper 

 conditions he usually gets there in excellent shape. 



Grind Hard Grains. Suitable physical preparation is neces- 

 sary. Hard seeds, such as wheat, should be ground or soaked, per- 

 haps both, rye the same, barley the same. Grains that have a hard 

 outer husk, such as oats, should be well ground. Feeds that have an 

 outer coating that is tough and fibrous, such as kafir or grain seeds, 

 would need to be finely comminuted. Ear corn needs very little, if 

 any, preparation for young growing pigs, because they do better 

 when they pick the corn off the cob, and chew it up themselves, 

 than when it is ground for them ; that is, they make more econom- 

 ical returns per day and per pig. Some feeds require to be cooked, 

 like potatoes, to break down the starch granules, and make the feed 

 more palatable. Generally speaking, however, the right kinds of 

 physical preparations depend upon the objects sought, and would 

 need to be given special study. 



Now that we have gone quickly over the essentials of an ade- 

 quate ration, it is well to mention some things that we should avoid 

 in making up a mixture of feeds which we wish to use so as to get 

 the most out of them. 



Avoid Poisonous Substances First. We must avoid poison- 

 ous materials, being careful, for instance, of cottonseed meal for 

 this reason. We want to be careful of rye, because it sometimes 

 contains ergot, which will cause trouble abortion and other disease. 

 We want to be careful of salt brine, which meat comes out of, be- 

 cause it is poisonous to pigs, if drunk in large quantities. 



Second. We want to avoid excessive fibre in a pig's ration. The 

 pig is constituted much like the human being, and can not handle 

 a large amount of fibre, hence timothy hay is a poor feed for pigs. 

 Oat straw makes a fair bedding, but it is almost worthless as a 

 feed. The same is true of rye and wheat straw. Walnut shells and 

 hickory nut shells for the same reason are not used for swine. One 

 of the big reasons why it takes sometimes as much as 50 percent 

 more of standard wheat middlings to produce the same amount of 

 gain as 100 pounds of concentrated corn grain, is because of the 

 greater amount of fibre present. Light-weight oats are poor for 

 pigs, because of the large amount of hull present, with its corres- 

 pondingly high percentage of fibre. 



Third. We want to stay away from inert materials which place 

 a useless burden on the organism. In this respect we might men- 

 tion sand, dirt and similar materials. Of course it may be that 

 certain limited amounts of these so-called inert materials, such as 

 sand and certain kinds of earth, would be beneficial, but generally 



