FEEDING.] 



PIGS, 



[rEEDiNa. 



should be given, except in combination with a 

 large proportion of other substances, as they 

 are of a very greasy nature, and are apt to nn- 

 part a rank flavour to the flesh, if given in an 

 unmixed state ; and are, besides, actually more 

 eflacacious in combination. If there is plenty 

 of meal, the addition of a little to one of the 

 daily feeds will be found to tell well, especially 

 towards the close of fattening, a few weeks 

 previous to transferring your stock to the 

 butcher. The refuse of mills also forms a very 

 valuable item in swine-food, when mixed with 

 such boiled roots as have been enumerated; 

 or as what are called starch-sounds, the refuse 

 from the manufacture of that article; and 

 also the fibrous refuse remaining from the 

 manufacture of potato starch." In treating 

 of this subject, we must not forget to notice 

 the important experiments made by B. Lawes, 

 Esq., on the chemistry of pig-feeding; and 

 published in the fourteenth volume of the 

 Eoyal Agricultural Society. This Essay is of 

 the greatest value to the scientific agriculturist; 

 but for general perusal, is, perhaps, too elabo- 

 rate. The food employed in the experiments 

 made by this gentleman, comprised — 



1. Equal weights of beans and lentils. — 

 2. Indian corn. — 3. Bran. 



The food was accurately weighed, and the 

 animals were, every fourteen days, put into 

 the scales. Eor the first series of experiments, 

 thirty-six animals, of the same character and 

 age — about ten months — were bought and 

 separated into lots of three each. They were 

 then inclosed in twelve pens, and, for twelve 

 days, fed alike; but afterwards changed from pen 

 to pen, and the evil-disposed, or quarrelsome 

 ones, whipped, so that they might all be 

 brought into a sufficiently agreeable state, to 

 start fair in the feeding experiment for weight. 

 When this had fairly commenced, twelve dieta- 

 ries were prepared from three standard food- 

 stuffs, and arranged in the following order: — 

 Pen 1. — Of bean and lentil mixture, an un- 

 limited quantity allowed. 



Pen 2. — Two pounds of Indian corn to each 

 pig per day ; of beans and lentils, unlimited. 



Pen 3. — Two pounds of bnin per pig per 

 day, and beans and lentils unrestricted. 



Pen 4. — Two pounds of Indian corn, two 

 pounds of bran, and the beans and lentils un- 

 restricted. 

 782 



Pen 5. — Indian corn alone, in unlimited 



quantity. 



Pen 6. — Two pounds of beans and lentils, 



and an unlimited quantity of Indian corn. 

 Pen 7. — Two pounds of bran per day, and 



an unrestricted quantity of Indian corn. 



Pen 8. — Two pounds of bean and lentil 



mixture, two pounds of bran, and unlimited 



Indian corn. 



Pen 9. — Two pounds of bean and lentil 



mixture, with bran unlimited. 



Pen 10. — Two pounds of Indian corn-meal, 



and bran unlimited. 



Pen 11. — Two pounds of bean and lentil 



mixture ; two pounds of Indian corn, with an 



unlimited quantity of bran. 



Pen 12. — Beau and lentil mixture ; Indian 



corn-meal and bran; each separately and un- 

 limited. 



To render this food more palatable it was 



mixed with water, and the animals were fed 

 with it three times a-day — early in the morning, 

 at noon, and at five in the evening. In the 

 first two feeds, a small quantity of the food 

 which was to be given ad libitum, was mixed 

 with that which was limited, and care was taken 

 that the pigs should always have a liberal al- 

 lowance within their reach. The troughs were 

 also carefully cleaned out before a fresh supply 

 of food was put into them. 



Three sets of pigs having been portioned off, 

 and put into twelve pens, containing three 

 each, they were subjected to three series of 

 experiments, with the various proportions of 

 the food mentioned. In one series, barley- 

 meal took the place of Indian corn ; and the 

 third series was devoted to the trial of dried 

 Newfoundland cod-fish, in connection with the 

 other food named. The quantity given varied 

 from one to two pounds of cod-fish per day. 

 In all cases it was boiled, and a portion of other 

 food mixed with the soup thus obtained. The 

 more simple conclusions at which Mr. Lawes 

 arrived are as follow : — " Indian corn, or bar- 

 ley-meal, given with a liberal supply of bran, is 

 f^ood ; the bran contributing to the value of 

 the manure. Wiien the animals had unre- 

 stricted access to three kinds of food— namely, 

 to the highly nitrogenous false mixture, the 

 non-nitrogenous Indian meal, and the mode- 

 rately nitrogenous bran— the proportion of their 

 first week's consumption was gradually diacon- 



