314 PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



In the open winter quarters the pigs ate 526 pounds grain per 100 

 pounds gain, against 366 pounds for those in the piggery, a differ- 

 ence of 44 per cent in favor of the latter quarters. Brood sows in 

 similar colony houses required only 25 per cent more, a figure which 

 corresponds closely to that obtained in trials at the Kansas Agri- 

 cultural College 24 (Fig. 84). 



Feeding for Bacon Production. Bacon hogs are kept only 

 to a relatively small extent in the United States, but the raising 

 of such hogs and the production of a high quality of bacon are 

 important special industries in Canada and northern Europe, es- 

 pecially in Ireland and Denmark. The bacon found on the market 



FIG. 86. A convenient self-feeder for supplying charcoal and mineral matter to pigs on 

 pasture. (Breeders' Gazette.) 



in this country is largely the sides of lard hogs and has an inferior 

 grade of meat. The special breeds of bacon hogs are best adapted 

 to the production 'of good bacon, having a larger body and legs, less 

 thickness and depth of body, and being lighter in shoulder, neck 

 and jowl. There is less accumulation of fat and more lean and firm 

 meat than on the lard hog. While the latter hog is essentially a 

 product of corn, the bacon hog is produced where dairy products, 

 small grains, and leguminous feeds are readily available ; hence we 

 find some hogs of this type in eastern and northern States where 

 'favorable feeding conditions exist for bacon production, and there 

 is apparently an increasing home demand for all bacon that is 

 produced in this country. Bacon hogs are marketed at about 200 



24 Report Prof. Agr., 1883. 



