Hogging-down Corn 231 



As shown by the data in the preceding table, the expe- 

 rience of the practical feeder coincides with the results of 

 experiment station studies. These figures were obtained 

 by the Iowa Station in response to inquiries addressed 

 to farmers who had experience with the hogging-down 

 method of feeding. 



Granting that the pigs gain as rapidly and as eco- 

 nomically when hogging-down corn, as when fed from the 

 scoop shovel or trough, the saving in labor alone would 

 be sufficient to guarantee popularity for this method. 

 The average cost of husking and marketing a bushel of 

 corn as estimated by 148 farmers interviewed by the 

 Iowa Experiment Station was 8.81 cents. The cost 

 of husking alone is now 8 to 10 cents a bushel. 



Other important advantages to which practical feeders 

 testify are the following : Cribbing space is saved ; the 

 hogs develop strong constitutions and are in good condi- 

 tion for following cattle or for a short finishing feed in 

 the dry lot ; the droppings are left where they will do the 

 most good, which insures cleaner yards at the barn and 

 better prospects for the succeeding crop; and, when 

 hogging-down is practiced, a poor stand of corn may be 

 supplemented most advantageously by sowing rape or 

 other forage crop at the time of last cultivation, thus insur- 

 ing a larger return in pork or feed from a given area. 



SUPPLEMENTAL FORAGE CROPS 



In order that satisfactory results may be obtained 

 from hogging-down corn, it is necessary that a nitrogenous 

 supplement be provided either in the form of a commer- 

 cial concentrate or a forage crop. The crop may be 

 grown in with the corn or in the field adjacent to it. The 



