THE POTATO 307 



pork production. This is due to the fact that 

 sweet potatoes contain such a large amount of 

 carbohydrates and such a small percentage of 

 protein. The results of these experiments may be 

 summarized as follows: 



"In a feeding test lasting forty-two days, four 

 pigs were fed on sweet potatoes only, during which 

 time the pigs lost in weight instead of making a 

 gain. The pigs in this test were rather small, 

 averaging only twenty-two pounds. In another 

 experiment with older pigs, averaging about one 

 hundred pounds, the results were a little more 

 favorable; yet the gains in weight were not large 

 enough to make it a paying investment to feed 

 sweet potatoes alone. When some other feed was 

 used in combination with sweet potatoes, the 

 results were quite different. In one test lasting 

 for a period of twenty-eight days pigs averaging 

 150 pounds were fed sweet potatoes and shorts in 

 the proportion of one part shorts to six parts sweet 

 potatoes by weight. The pigs made good daily 

 gains, giving the sweet potatoes a value of about 

 50 cents per hundred (when pork was worth 5 cents 

 per pound) for pork production. 



"This may perhaps seem a very small price for 

 the farmer to receive for his sweet potatoes, but 

 it certainly gives him an idea as to the feeding 

 value of his potato crop. If the market price of 

 potatoes should fall as low as 65 cents or 70 cents 

 per hundred, it would be a question whether or 

 not the farmer could best afford to put his crop on 

 the market or feed it to his hogs." 



In "Farmers' Bulletin 410," the analysis of pota- 

 toes, potato skins, and potato slop is given as 

 follows : 



