ECONOMY OF FOOD. 137 



four pounds of corn is capable of producing over two pounds 

 of increase, and instead of gaining five pounds from a con- 

 sumption of twenty-two and one-half pounds of corn, they 

 should have gained seven pounds from a consumption of 

 twenty-six and one-half pounds. This is a pound of growth 

 for less than two and three-fourths pounds, or about fifteen 

 pounds of growth from a bushel of corn. 



Whether such a result can be obtained in practice is yet to 

 be determined. I think a pig could be bred that would do 

 even better than this. Converting the starch and oil of corn 

 into animal fat ought not to be such a wasteful process as it 

 now generally is. 



In fattening pigs our first object should be to reduce the 

 demands on the stomach for food to "run the machine." We 

 should keep the pigs warm, dry, quiet and comfortable. 

 Damp, cold, wet and dirty pens greatly increase the amount 

 of food required to keep up the necessary heat of the body. 

 Irregular feeding induces restlessness and indigestion. If 

 two pounds of corn, over and above that required to sustain 

 the vital functions, is capable of producing a pound of dressed 

 pork, we should understand that every extra two pounds of 

 corn required to keep up the heat of the body in a cold, damp 

 pen, is an actual loss, not of two pounds of corn, but of a 

 pound of dressed pork. 



And the same is true in regard to restlessness and the 

 unnecessary production of offal. How much we lose in this 

 way is shown by Dr. Miles's experiments. The restless and 

 ill-bred native pigs required twenty-two pounds of corn per 

 week to "run the machine," while the well-bred Essex pigs 

 required only thirteen pounds. Both lots of pigs had all the 

 food they would eat, and both were kept in like conditions. 

 The difference is mainly due to the restlessness of the ill-bred 

 pigs ; nine pounds of corn per week were used up in producing 

 unnecessary motion. And, as before said, this is not a loss 

 of nine pounds of corn merely, but a loss of four and a half 

 pounds of good, dressed pork. 



The next point to be looked to in fattening pigs is to give 

 them all they will eat, digest and assimilate. Well-bred pigs, 

 I think, will usually assimilate more than they will cat and 

 digest. We should, therefore, aim to secure a good appetite. 



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