138 Pork Production 



of the previous year. If the feeding of corn alone to pigs 

 of this development means such waste of feed and time, 

 one should expect the effects of such feeding on weanling 

 pigs to be very much more pronounced or disastrous. 

 That such is the case is the experience of every observant 

 feeder. Investigations show that young pigs restricted 

 to a diet of corn alone, especially when denied the oppor- 

 tunity of rooting, very early develop evidences of im- 

 perfect nutrition. The appetite becomes weak and 

 depraved, and they display a craving for earthy materials, 

 ashes, charcoal, cement, limestone, and the like. If some 

 of these sources of ash or mineral ingredients are not 

 supplied, especially if the water is deficient in salts, 

 evidences of starvation become prominent. They cease 

 to make gains, the coat becomes rough, the eyes dull, 

 and the gait uncertain. Not only are the rate and cost 

 of gains with young pigs out of all proportion to the results 

 obtained from well-balanced rations, but when long- 

 continued the effects may even result in the death of the 

 weaker individuals. 



To show the possible effects of a ration of corn alone on 

 the size and strength of bone of growing pigs, Burnett 

 of the Nebraska Experiment Station made studies of 

 fundamental importance to the breeder and feeder. 

 Twenty pure-bred Duroc-Jersey pigs, averaging 62 pounds, 

 were divided into five equal lots of four pigs each. From 

 August 2, 1907, to January 3, 1908, a period of 154 days, 

 they were fed the following rations : Lot I, corn-meal 

 alone; lot II, 75 per cent corn-meal and 25 per cent 

 shorts; lot III, 25 per cent corn-meal and 75 per cent 

 skim-milk ; lot IV, 90 per cent corn-meal and 10 per cent 

 tankage; lot V, 90 per cent corn-meal and 10 per cent 

 bone-meal. During the first 84 days of the test, all the 



