978 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



of a century. The hog in a state of nature lived during the 

 larger part of the year on coarse, fibrous food. In summer he 

 ate the various grasses, and in the winter mast, roots, and grubs, 

 and his life was one of constant activity. It is little wonder 

 that disease and loss has followed from the change to corn feed- 

 ing and close confinement. 



As with cattle so with hogs, much cheaper meat can be pro- 

 duced by grass than corn, but in the case of the hog there is a 

 matter of still greater importance, and that is that a hog that 

 has been on pasture without any grain for a few months is in a 

 much better condition for fattening than one that has been fed 

 some grain through the summer. Among our large hog grow- 

 ers this matter has been repeatedly tested, and it may be con- 

 sidered fully settled, that when a hog is not to be fattened till 

 the new crop of corn is ready to feed, it is better that it should 

 have no corn through the summer. The bulky diet distends 

 the stomach, and bone and muscle are built up rather than fat, 

 so that when the animal is put on a corn diet it will make a 

 much greater gain than one will which has been fed grain 

 through the ummer. Some experiments have been made with 

 hogs confined in pens, one lot being fed in summer on corn- 

 meal alone, and another with meal mixed with cut clover; and 

 again in winter when clover hay was cut fine and mixed with 

 the meal for one lot. In both cases the gain from the lot to 

 which the clover was fed was much the greater. Mr. Coburn, 

 in his book on hogs, claims that an acre of good clover will, 

 when fed to hogs, produce nearly one-third more pounds of pork 

 than an average acre of corn, but I doubt very much whether 

 the claim can be sustained; but even if it will produce half as- 

 much it would be much the cheaper food, as it grows without 

 cultivation and the land is greatly improved by the crop. The 

 hog will also gain faster and feed at a profit for a longer period 

 after summering on clover than on corn. 



I would advise that hogs never be turned on clover till it 

 begins to blossom, and as this is usually not till late in May, to 

 lengthen the pasture season we need some earlier crops, and for 

 this purpose we have two excellent plants rye and blue-grass. 



