FEEDING SWINE 139 



fold it is not only a valuable swine-grazing crop, but on 

 cultivated ground it serves as a winter cover crop, pre- 

 venting washing, and in addition adds nitrogen to the 

 soil. 



Vetch pasture. There are over 100 varieties of this 

 valuable winter legume in America, but only a few attain 

 any importance. So far as we are concerned, we are in- 

 terested only in the hairy or sand vetch and the native 

 Carolina and Louisiana vetches. These annuals have 

 weak, slender stems, and for that reason generally do 

 best with some support crop, such as oats or rye. They 

 are generally seeded in August or September, and can be 

 grazed from December to May 1. They are of a 

 nitrogenous character, having a nutritive ratio averaging 

 around 1 : 3.5. Being grazed at all stages of growth, their 

 feeding value is naturally variable, and the digestible 

 protein will run from around 3.5 to 18 pounds per 100 

 pounds of feed eaten, and from 8 to 50 pounds of digest- 

 ible carbohydrate and from .4 to 1 pound of digestible 

 fat in the same amount of feed consumption. This sug- 

 gests their use with such carbonaceous concentrates as 

 chufas, corn, rice by-products, and possibly molasses, in 

 order to make up a balanced ration. 



Rye pasture. This small winter grain offers a good 

 winter pasture, because of all of the small grains it makes 

 the most growth in the fall and winter months. It is 

 often hogged down when mature. It can be pastured 

 from December to March or April, when the pigs should 

 be removed to give it a chance to make grain, putting 

 the pigs back in again in May or June to finish up the 

 crop. Being a cereal, it is naturally of a carbonaceous 



