362 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



averaging over 100 lbs. in weight, Lot II, fed corn and a nitrogenous 

 supplement, made over 40 per ct. larger gains and required 27 per ct. 

 less feed for 100 lbs. gain. Had they been younger at the beginning 

 of the trials those fed corn only would have done even poorer. These 

 trials show that one cannot afford to feed corn alone to growing, fat- 

 tening pigs. Corn alone gives fair results for fattening mature sows, 

 l)ut even here the use of a supplement is advisable. As has been shown 

 in the previous chapter, for brood sows it is highly important that 

 feeds rich in protein and lime be fed with corn. 



In the corn belt corn is usually fed on the cob. This is a wise 

 practice, for as we have seen in the previous chapter, there is no 

 appreciable advantage in shelling, grinding, or soaking corn for pigs 

 under 150 lbs. in weight, and it is doubtful whether even for older 

 ones the slight saving will pay for such preparation. Pigs do better 

 on ear corn than on corn-and-cob meal, for their digestive organs 

 can not well utilize a hard, fibrous material like corn cobs, even when 

 ground. 



Hogging down corn. — In the corn belt many farmers turn pigs 

 into fields of standing corn, in which rape or other supplemental crops 

 have usually been sown, and let them do their own harvesting. In 

 three trials at the Minnesota^ and Iowa ^ Stations this "hogging 

 down" system was compared with feeding ear corn in a yard, either 

 wheat middlings or tankage being fed to all lots in addition. The 

 pigs hogging down corn in which rape or rye had been sown at the 

 last cultivation made larger gains and required 10 per ct. less con- 

 centrates for 100 lbs. gain than those fed ear corn in the yard. 



In tests at the Iowa Station rape was grown in the corn field at an 

 additional cost of only $0.40 per acre, rape and pumpkins at $1.00, 

 rye, soybeans, or cowpeas at $3.33, field peas at $3.60, and hairy vetch 

 at $6.00 per acre. Feeding some protein-rich concentrate, such as 

 skim milk, tankage, wheat middlings, or linseed meal, is always de- 

 sirable, and is especially important when no supplemental crops have 

 been grown in the corn field. Spring shotes, well grown on pasture 

 and forage crops, are generally used for hogging down. Provided 

 the ground is not muddy, pigs hogging down corn pick it up as closely 

 as is usually done in husking. The pigs should be confined to limited 

 areas by fencing, so that they will clean up each area in 20, or better, 

 in 14 days. 



The other cereals. — In Europe barley is the most esteemed cereal 

 for the production of high quality bacon and in this country is im- 

 portant as a feed for pigs in the western states. In 6 trials at west- 



1 Gaumnitz, Wilson, and Bassett, Minn. Bui. 104. 



2 Evvard, Iowa Bui. 143. 



