BREEDS OF SWINE 477. 



scales, but the general testimony of practical feeders of experience 

 is that such diet promotes easy parturition, a generous milk flow and 

 vigorous offspring. Pigs that are to be fattened in a short period 

 of feeding do not perhaps need roots in their diet, though I believe 

 it would be to their advantage, but breeding stock, both male and 

 female, and suckling sows will certainly be materially benefited by 

 summer pasturage and roots in winter. Swine should always be fed 

 with discretion the first few days after turning on. pasture to prevent 

 bloat, but where roots are fed no special danger is likely to occur. 

 (Ind. B. 82.) 



It may be stated, as a general rule, that root crops can not be as 

 profitably used for fattening hogs as can some of the crops hereto- 

 fore mentioned. The South must adopt a system of farming that 

 requires as little labor as possible, and when the root plants are 

 grown much labor must be expended upon them. One of the advan- 

 tages of stock farming is that it lends itself to handling large areas of 

 land without a corresponding increase in the amount of labor used. 

 If, through the addition of stock to our system of farming, we should 

 materially increase the amount of labor required 1 , the business could 

 not be made a success, as there is but little extra labor to be had. 

 Then again, the effect of the crop upon the soil should never be over- 

 looked. The common root crops now in use are not legumes, so the 

 soil will not be improved as a result of their having been grown. 

 Nevertheless some farmers are so situated and their soils are of such 

 a character that they can probably use root crops to advantage. 

 (F. B. 411.) Roots as a supplemental food also make a valuable 

 addition to the ration, coming next in value to skim milk and tank- 

 age. (Mon. B. 73.) 



Sugar Beets. For light weight fattening pigs, weighing from 

 60 to 160 pounds, sugar beets are not an economical fattening feed 

 in connection with grain, when they constitute approximately one- 

 half of the ration by weight. Our experience indicates that when 

 such pigs are fed beets at pleasure, they will eat the beets and grain 

 in about equal proportions by weight. (Colo. B. 165.) 



In experiments made on the Colorado Agricultural College farm, 

 hogs fed all the sugar beets they would eat, and no other feed, just 

 maintained their weight. Hogs fed grain and all the sugar beets 

 they would eat made less gains than those fed the same amount of 

 grain and no beets. A small quantity of beets fed as a conditioner 

 were valuable, one ton taking the place of 200 pounds of grain. 

 (Colo. Cir. 2.) 



Potatoes. No tests have been made of feeding potatoes to fatten- 

 ing hogs at the Colorado Experiment Station. Several other sta- 

 tions have tried them, and it has been found that potatoes alone 

 do not make a satisfactory feed, and that raw potatoes have little 

 feeding value. Potatoes cooked until dry and mealy and mixed 

 with raw grain make a palatable feed, and from 400 to 450 pounds 

 of potatoes are equal to 100 pounds of grain. (Colo. B. 146.) 



At Cornell the Irish potato was fed both cooked and raw. A 

 little grain and skim milk were fed in addition to the potatoes. Over 



