BREEDS OF SWINE 461 



the Missouri work, when both corn and middlings were fed in the 

 check lot, the skim milk proved to have a value of 70.4 cents a 

 hundredweight. 



As a rule, all kinds of dairy products, even the skim milk, com- 

 mand a very high price when offered to the public in the southern 

 markets. Many dairymen could not afford to feed skim milk to the 

 hogs. But there are many other dairymen who are situated in such 

 a manner as to have no outlet at all for the skim milk made upon the 

 farm as far as selling it upon the market is concerned. Many farmers 

 consider this feed as almost a waste product and treat it as such, 

 but if it is properly apportioned with the grains and given to hogs, 

 it can be disposed of, through the hogs, for an excellent price. The 

 hog, therefore, is a valuable adjunct to the dairy business as a means 

 of utilizing the waste or by-products. (F. B. 411.) 



Skim milk, on the basis of its composition, is of the class known 

 as protein feeds. Being too deficient in starches and sugars (carbo- 

 hydrates) , as well as fat, it is not very valuable as a fat producer when 

 fed alone. When combined with corn or some similar feed in the 

 proper proportions, the protein of skim milk supplies the deficiency 

 of the protein in the corn, while the carbohydrates of the corn supply 

 the deficiency of the carbohydrates in the skim milk, the two feed 

 stuffs thus forming a balanced ration. This means one which con- 

 tains the nutrients in proportions which meet the needs of the animal 

 body for its best development. "With the dairy industry rapidly de- 

 veloping in this State it is important to know the value of skim milk 

 as a feed for hogs. (Tex. B. 131.) 



At the Storrs Experiment Station 8 lots of 20 pigs were fed 

 for 114 days different proportions of grain and milk to determine the 

 mast economical proportions. The four lots receiving grain and milk 

 in the proportion of 1 to 7-8 made an average daily gain of 1.10 

 pounds. The average daily gain of the four lots receiving grain 

 and milk in the proportion of 1 to 3-4 was 1.27 pounds. The cost 

 of 100 pounds of gain for the lot receiving grain and milk in the 

 proportion of 1 to 7-8 was $4.95, and the average for the four lots 

 receiving grain and milk in the proportion 1 to 3-4 was $4.45. The 

 average amount of food required for 100 pounds of gain was 253 

 pounds of grain and 1,086 pounds of milk and the average cost 

 was $4.70. (Conn. Storrs B. 39.) 



Skimmed milk was worth about 15 cents per cwt. to feed pigs 

 from weaning up to a weight of 125 pounds. Clear corn meal is 

 perfectly satisfactory as a single grain when fed in connection with 

 skimmed milk. Weanling pigs in close quarters during cold weather 

 can be made to gain a pound live weight per day for three months. 

 There are indications that the proportion of skimmed milk can be 

 increased economically above the ratio of three pounds of milk to 

 one pound of grain usually recommended, thus lessening the amount 

 of grain food that must be purchased. (N. Y. Cornell B. 220.) 



Skim milk should be fed hogs if it can be obtained. It may 

 be mixed with the grain to make a thick swill, or if it is desired to 



