346 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



along with the vines. When thus fed, the value of the hay 

 is proportionately increased. Without any peanuts adher- 

 ing, the hay is nearly equal in value to peanut hay. Re- 

 jected nuts, in the form of meal, may be ground alone or 

 along with hulls and fed to cattle and other stock. The 

 richness of such meal will be proportionate to the amount 

 of nuts and hulls respectively which the meal contains. 



By sheep, the fodder and also the defective nuts will be 

 turned to good account as soon as they become accustomed to 

 such food. They may also be used with advantage in graz- 

 ing off the tops before the crop is harvested. No class of 

 live stock will effect such grazing with so little waste as 

 sheep. Peanut meal may be fed to them also as to cattle, 

 but the same necessity does not exist for grinding them for 

 sheep. The cake may be fed to sheep in about the same way 

 as oil cake. 



For swine, peanuts have higher adaptation in fur- 

 nishing food than for any other class of live stock, 

 as swine only, of all the domestic animals of the farm, may 

 be employed in harvesting the crop. When thus harvested, 

 the tops are first removed by grazing them down with cat- 

 tle or sheep, preferably the latter, or they are mown to be 

 made into hay. When thus harvested by swine, it is greatly 

 advantageous at the same time to give them access to about 

 an equal area of corn, or to feed them a supplement of corn 

 daily. It has been claimed that a bushel of peanuts, weigh- 

 ing from 22 to 28 pounds, will make 9 pounds of pork, 

 in other words, that 3 pounds of peanuts will make I 

 pound of pork, whereas about 5 pounds of corn are re- 

 quired to make the same. The crop may, of course, be fed 

 to swine when confined in pens. When so fed, the tops are 

 first removed and the roots are then dug and placed before 

 the swine with the nuts adhering to them. Peanuts alone 

 make soft pork, hence the necessity for feeding a supple- 

 ment of corn in order to firm the pork. 



For horses, peanuts whole or ground are not much 

 used. The hay from peanuts is frequently fed to them, and 



