BREEDS OF SWINE 479 



a fat producer. Like Indian corn, it is deficient in protein, only 

 more so, and this is the constituent which is necessary in a feed stuff 

 to produce the lean meat or muscle of an animal and, to some extent, 

 the frame work. Black strap or feeding molasses, a refuse obtained 

 in refining cane sugar, is produced in this State annually in large 

 quantities, and though its importance as a cattle feed has already been 

 thoroughly demonstrated by this Station and by cattle feeders in 

 different portions of the State and elsewhere, its value as a feed for 

 hogs has not been so clearly determined. (Tex. B. 131.) 



Hotel Slop. Feeding slop from hotels is practiced in some parts 

 of the State. With careful management it sometimes proves profit- 

 able, but one must be always on guard against contagious diseases, 

 such as cholera and contagious sore mouth, the germs of which are 

 frequently found in such slop. (Wyo. B. 74.) The cause of death 

 in certain outbreaks of disease among swill-fed hogs is the direct pois- 

 oning of the animals by the excess of free alkali (washing soda) in the 

 swill. These alkalies come from the powdered soaps used in washing 

 dishes. It appears that small quantities of the powdered soaps do not 

 produce immediate bad results. It is presumable that they can be 

 used in quantities sufficient for the needs of cleanliness with perfect 

 safety, but owing to the danger involved in their use it is safer not 

 to give the water containing them to animals. In addition to the 

 unwholesomeness of garbage and kitchen slops for animal food, and 

 in addition to the losses sustained from the immediate effect of such 

 kinds of food, hogs fed upon it are very liable to contract specific in- 

 fectious diseases, such as hog cholera, swine plague and tuberculosis. 

 (N. Y. Cornell B. 141.) 



Climatic Influences. The climate and soil which will best favor 

 the production of any kind of live stock are those in which the same 

 kind of stock is found wild. In his native state the hog frequents 

 those localities where vegetation is abundant, if not luxuriant. The 

 climate is usually one of only moderate severity. If extremes either 

 of heat or cold are common, the environment provides shelter in the 

 dense thickets in winter and shade and an abundance of water in sum- 

 mer. The hog is a heavy and promiscuous feeder, therefore in his 

 domestic state he thrives best where pastures are most luxuriant and 

 grain crops, nuts, or roots are most abundant. He is not a ranger, 

 nor does he thrive on grass alone ; he can not endure a great amount 

 of travel at a time; exercise he must have, yet he must be able to 

 find his feed with only a small amount of searching, and water should 

 always be accessible. During hot weather he craves a pool of water 

 to reduce his temperature, for he perspires little; and in winter he 

 wants shelter from storms. Owing to these requirements there are' 

 few hogs in the semiarid States of the West, and in that section hog 

 raising is generally coincident with irrigation and alfalfa growing. 



The first place in hog raising in the United States is easily with 

 the corn-growing sections, and here corn is the first grain thought 

 of w r hen the fattening of animals, especially hogs, is considered. It 

 is, however, fallacious to argue that hog raising will not give profit- 

 able returns outside of the corn belt. The corn belt has wonderful 



