162 Pork Production 



The pigs on the mixture of peas, oats, and rape made 

 faster gains than did those on alfalfa and a larger number 

 was grazed on a given area. The pigs on alfalfa, how- 

 ever, made their gains with the expenditure of less grain. 

 If the alfalfa plot also is credited with the nearly two tons 

 of hay cut to the acre, as well as the smaller cost of 

 growing the crop, it proves to be the more profitable. 1 

 The results reported here for second-year sweet clover 

 would indicate that this crop cannot be used profitably 

 as a forage for pigs when the more standard crops are 

 available. Although the first season's growth after 

 seeding proved at the same station to be a good forage, 

 it is such a vigorous grower that the stalks become woody 

 and unpalatable very early in the second season. Good 

 results have been reported for second-year sweet clover, 

 however, when fall pigs are used and they are turned in 

 early enough in the spring to keep down the rank woody 

 growth. 



DWARF-ESSEX RAPE 



Rape is a quick-growing succulent annual, unsurpassed 

 by crops of this class as a forage for pigs. The plant is 

 unusually tender and succulent and is eaten with relish 

 and no waste. Although not a legume, it ranks with 

 alfalfa and the clovers as a cheap source of protein and a 

 balancer of corn. Rape is a very heavy yielder and pos- 

 sesses unusual carrying capacity. It may be heavily 

 stocked and intensively grazed for a short period or it 

 may be handled so that it will furnish grazing until 

 freezing. Planted in the fall, rape has proved a valuable 



1 For rent, cost of seeding, labor, alfalfa cost $10.75 an acre ; 

 sweet clover, $9.20; and the mixture of peas, oats, and rape, 

 $13.37. 



